How to Build an E-commerce Brand Using Instagram When You Have No Followers

There’s a ton of advice about using Instagram as an effective online marketing tool, but it can be challenging to scale your e-commerce brand on Instagram if you are a new brand without many followers yet.

New accounts often have low engagement rates, which can be disheartening, but there are ways to navigate this period strategically.

Let’s talk about why Instagram as a marketing tool matters, how it can help you grow your business, and look at effective strategies to grow your e-commerce brand—even when you have no followers.

Why Is Instagram a Powerful E-Commerce Tool?

Today, 81 percent of people use Instagram to research products and services to buy. Therefore, using strategies to stand out from the competition and attract potential customers to your Instagram e-commerce page can reach a wider audience.

To do this, you have to understand what makes Instagram a powerful e-commerce tool.

Research shows we remember more of what we see through photos and videos than what we read through plain text. This makes visually-oriented platforms like Instagram a prime tool for marketing.

Instagram lets you upload product photos, share demo videos, launch partnerships with influencers, connect with engaged followers, and boost your ROI.

This can help you grow your e-commerce business faster than marketing only through Facebook and Twitter (which have less than half of Instagram’s brand engagement rate).

10 Ways to Grow an E-Commerce Brand on Instagram

We now know Instagram has a lot to offer marketers at all levels, but how do you capitalize on these benefits when you have no followers?

Don’t worry. Here are actionable strategies you can use today to start growing your Instagram following.

Engage With Comments and Review Feedback

Having a ton of followers is useless if you are not engaging with them. The best way to gain and maintain a large number of followers is to engage with potential customers.

Engaging with users takes mere minutes but has the potential to boost your revenue significantly.

Here’s how to get started.

Step to turn on Instagram e-commerce notifications

Turn on notifications for all comments.
Respond to every comment you receive, be it positive or negative. This will help increase engagement on your posts.
Review feedback and see if there are areas you can improve in.
Thank users for taking the time to interact with your posts.
Avoid starting fights in your comment sections, even if you disagree with a user’s perspective. This will help you maintain a positive impression online.