For this Instagram case study, I chose an account unlike one I’ve reviewed before. And I think it’ll be a great addition to this series and highlight some of the Instagram marketing tactics I often recommend. If you want to know how to sell products on Instagram, you’ll want to read through this case study. And even if you have a service to promote, you’ll find some good insights from this account.
I want to introduce you to Covered Goods – a “multi-use nursing cover” company that is getting it right on Instagram. This account literally sells ONE product. But oh, does she do it well! And I’ll show you how.
But, first, my obligatory disclaimer… I am in no way affiliated with Covered Goods. I haven’t discussed with her how she uses her Instagram account or what results she gets from Instagram. I am not being rewarded, compensated, or paid in any way to write this post. This post is based entirely upon my opinions of her Instagram content from what I’ve seen shared publicly.
Informative Bio
The product, the covered good, is a wrap style nursing cover for moms and babies but it has a lot of multi-purpose uses. And I love that she uses her bio to highlight these uses and actually describe the product. This eliminates any confusion when new people find her account.
Of course, she has the link to her website in the bio. So that people can easily get to her website. Now, if you’ve read any of my posts, you know I wish she would use a custom bit.ly link here so that she could more effectively track her Instagram traffic.
Selling ONE Product
Here’s why this account intrigued me so much: she only sells ONE thing. The nursing wrap.
Yes, it comes in different colors, etc. But it’s ONE product. I mean, how many ways can you possibly promote one product successfully on Instagram? Well, a lot of ways actually! This just proves that you don’t need a whole store or warehouse full of product to use Instagram effectively. You just need the right strategy and the right content.
User Generated Content
If you’re wondering how to incorporate content that your customers create, check out this account! She incorporates a TON of user generated content (UGC) and does it really well.
This tactic showcases her products without being pushy and it allows her to show her products in the way they are actually being used by customers. Not to mention, she doesn’t need to go out and take a bunch of photos, because her customers are doing the content creation for her!
I also love that she incorporates the story from her customers. She doesn’t just post a photo they shared. She includes the story – and the emotional connection that brings – with the post. From one mom to another, she is building a business and a brand that her audience can relate to.
And this is how she is able to share so much quality content around just one product.
Frequent Posting
While some accounts struggle with what to post once a week, Covered Goods is posting fresh new content daily. And, often multiple times a day.
This keeps her content fresh in the eyes of her audience and keeps her top of mind. I have to admit, I haven’t bought one of her wraps yet. Although I’m highly considering it now that I have the little miss. But, if this account didn’t show up regularly in my feed, I would most surely forget about this account and never think to order from her.
And because her content varies and shows unique images, not just the same “stock” photo of her product over and over again, it doesn’t get annoying to see it in my feed daily.
Behind the Scenes
You know I love a good behind the scenes post for a business! And I like how she incorporates aspects of her personal life and other aspects of the business into her posts. Although I would like to see more of this from her.
This humanizes the brand and allows her audience to really connect with her as both a mom and a business, building her community and her business.
Whenever you can find a way to show people the back end of your business or the realities of what makes your business work, it only helps to forge that relationship and grow the trust in your business.
Contests
I actually found this account through a contest loop on Instagram. By partnering with other like-minded businesses on Instagram and offering a high quality prize, each of the participating accounts can reach whole new audiences and grow their followings quickly and effectively.
Contests are a really good way to drive more engagement, grow your audience, and even drive more sales through Instagram. And you get to reward your audience with something they value!
You can even look at the example above which, although a behind the scenes type post, she turned into a contest for added benefit.
I highly recommend you get more comfortable with hosting contests on Instagram and use this tactic to build your Instagram presence.
Engaged with the Audience
Finally, you know I’m a stickler for engaging with your audience. I don’t feel that you can really succeed on Instagram, and build a community, unless you are actively engaging with your audience. And this account is great about responding to, joking with, and helping her audience.
When it comes to promoting her product and using calls-to-action (CTA), I would like to see this account use more clear CTAs in her posts. While she does often say that items are available on her website, it would be more helpful (in my opinion) if she follow that up with a “click on the link in bio” or other CTA to further direct people to buy. You know I hate a pushy sales tactic so I wouldn’t want to see this on every post, but mixing it in occasionally would be a good sales method.
And, shockingly, I picked an account that doesn’t use an aggressive hashtag strategy. I know, I always hype and preach the power of the hashtag! And I wish she would use more hashtags on this account. She very well may be happy with the limited use she incorporates but I would like to see her own branded hashtags included in each post along with key industry and niche related hashtags to reach more people and a more targeted audience.
So, if you have a product to sell, take some time to review this account. If you have ONE product to sell, review this account! And if you have multiple products in your line or business, hey, if she can do it with one product, you know you can do it with more than one thing to sell!