It’s no secret that being active on social media channels can remind past customers of your store, gain you new interest and enhance your business overall. Why not put your energy into Instagram, a platform that thrives on inspiration, and also happens to have 800 million active users? While there are dozens of ways for you to boost your sales and bring in new customers with the popular app, here are 5 ways you can start utilizing Instagram today.

Visuals Are Everything.

Instagram is an aesthetically pleasing mashup of colorful, edited, carefully curated (and sometimes completely random) images, videos and the ever-popular Boomerang. Catch your customers’ eye and remind them to come in to check out what you’ve got for sale. We recommend taking the time to organize your merchandise by color and snapping a photo, making a time-lapse video of shelves being stocked, a funny Boomerang of your employees having fun, or some other slice of content that will stop an Instagram scroller in their tracks.

Give a Behind-The-Scenes Look At What You Do.

People love people, so why not show your repeat and potential customers that your boutique is run by real people who care about the merchandise, store displays and helping customers find exactly what they’re looking for? A fun way to do this is to post a weekly Employee Spotlight so that customers may get to know your staff.

Get Involved With Your Community’s Fellow Small Businesses.

For example, if you grab a toasty latte every morning at a local cafe across the street from your shop, why not give them a shoutout and ask them to return the favor? As a way of bringing in new faces, you could run a promotion in which customers who are referred by the coffee shop could receive a 15% discount. This could be something as simple as featuring their storefront and tasty treats in your Story, or you could post a photo with a little write-up about how much you enjoy this local small business’ offerings.

Offer Insta-Only Discounts and Promotions.

A-list brands have taken advantage of the power of the giveaway, promotion, and discount. This can be as simple as offering 15% off of a total purchase amount or giving away a free accessory to every customer who spends $50 or more. Accrue more followers by asking users to follow your page and to tag a friend in the comments in order to enter your giveaway. Offer an Instagram-exclusive discount for customers, using a special coupon code and an expiration date, and see if it brings customers into your store.

Run an Instagram Advertisement.

Instagram offers businesses to pay for ads that “drive awareness, increase customers and share your story with a highly engaged audience.” In November 2015, a user survey revealed 60% of those surveyed said they discover new products on Instagram. According to internal data from November 2017, 200 million+ Insta users visit at least one business profile a day. Instagram’s ads can be a simple photo of your beautifully arranged stock of spring accessories, a carousel ad that users can swipe to view additional pictures, an ad placement on Instagram Stories—or up to 60 seconds of your employee of the month showing off your new, trendy ballet flats that just got put on the shelves. The #advertising possibilities are endless!

Do you use Instagram to reach new customers? Tell us about your Instagram experience in the comments below!