Instagram as a social media platform has long been used by businesses and brands alike to promote and increase sales for their products ever since it first came into existence.
And Instagram knows it too! That’s why there are tons of different tools that Instagram has incorporated into its app to help businesses connect with people.
You’ll be surprised to know that Instagram as a sales engine is so popular that some Businesses operate solely through Instagram. And one of the most popular and easy to set up businesses is a Thrift Store.
What is a Thrift Store?
Before we dive too deep into how to start your own thrift store, We need to know exactly what a thrift store is.
A Thrift Store is one that sells gently used clothing, or other items such as handbags, furniture or other household items at a heavily discounted price.
Products found at a Thrift Store are generally ones that were lovingly used by their previous owner which means that they are often in pristine condition.
Why Do People Love Thrift Stores?
Thrift Stores are like a goldmine, they can have the most expensive, exotic products. And unlike other stores, every product on a Thrift Store is unique and there’s no limit as to what can show up next.
This makes shopping at a Thrift Store much more exciting because you can never anticipate what you might find at a thrift store.
The other reason is the heavily discounted prices. Finding a luxury item at half the price is what drives people towards Thrift Stores.
One of the first things to do is to find products to sell and set up a distribution channel. You can find products to sell in your city, from garage sales or charities, to even on Instagram or Facebook Marketplace.
Pricing and Fulfillment are yours to figure out. We’re not going to dive too deep on how to price and fulfill your products. But make sure to not price the products too high.
Now that you’ve got some products, time to start selling them.
Time to create an Instagram account. Come up with an interesting username and a logo design and create the account. For actually selling the products, you can create a website and use Instagram to target your audience or sell your products directly through Instagram.
Tips for Starting an Instagram Thrift Store
Engage with Customers
Whether it’s through DMs or Comments, make sure to engage as much as possible with your audience to create positive customer feedback.
Take Professional Looking Product Images
One of the key aspects of selling online are your product images. Make sure the product images are clean and showcase the product well. Invest in a professional camera if possible.
Use Instagram Ads
Using Instagram Ads to target a specific audience is a great way to boost engagement and sales.
Don’t Use Fake Images or Hashtags
Using wrong hashtags negatively impacts your instagram impressions, making your account less discoverable and overall reducing traffic.
How do Thrift Stores get Followers on Instagram?
Now that everything is done, it’s time to grow your Instagram Thrift store. The number of followers on a store or brand’s instagram have a huge impact on how new visitors feel about the store. A larger number of followers creates a sense of trust and creates goodwill. All of which is important for any business. And there’s a lot of ways thrift stores get followers on Instagram.
Consistent, Regular Posts
One of the most obvious ways is to keep posting your product images and using correct hashtags and metadata. Posting regularly to Instagram is a really good way to boost your instagram traffic and the more traffic that comes your way, some people will follow.
Diversifying Content
Since you can’t only rely on just posts to grow your Instagram Thrift Store, diversifying your content is also a great idea to generate traffic and thus increase the number of followers. Reels, Instagram Stories, Videos, IGTV are all ways you can use to better diversify your content and get more people to reach your Store.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer Marketing is one of the best ways to get your brand name out there and generate followers and sales. Look for thrifting-focused influencers who buy and showcase products from different thrift stores.
Promotions and Contests
Audience loves heavy discounts, or free giveaways. One of the best employed strategies to generate more followers is to start a giveaway and set the requirement to enter to be a follower and tag some friends. This is a great way to encourage people to follow your Instagram and drive a lot of traffic your way.
Buying Followers
Buying followers on Instagram isn’t new, and it’s something that brands and influencers have been using to boost their number of followers for a long time now. One tip to buying followers is to look for a genuine, reputed provider, like us.
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Cross Platform Promotions
Even if you sell your products solely through Instagram, having an account on multiple platforms like Twitter, Facebook and TikTok helps a lot. And most of the time, you can simply reuse the content from Instagram on other social media platforms and encourage them to follow you on Instagram as well.
And this is how you can create and grow a Thrift Store on Instagram.
That’s all for today, Stay tuned for more power packed content!