Instagram is more than just a social media platform. It’s a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website and keeping users engaged when they get there. You can do this by leveraging Instagram content on your website and there are several ways to approach this.
Adding Instagram content to your website can make it look more active and it can help you build trust with your audience. You can send traffic from Instagram using links in bio or captions and your website can send traffic right back using embedded content.
WordPress enables you to do this easily thanks to plugins like Spotlight. In this article, we’ll go over five ways to drive website traffic using your Instagram content. Let’s get to it!
1. Embed Your Instagram Feed on High-Traffic Pages
Most websites have some pages that get an outsized share of overall traffic. These can be anything, from your homepage, to service pages, and popular blog posts. The important thing is that all of that traffic makes those pages valuable internet real estate.
If you want to embed an Instagram feed in WordPress, it makes sense to do it on a high-traffic page. More eyes on the feed means more interactions and more time that these users spend on your site. This is an example of a feed from the Spotlight demo page:
Spotlight enables you to show Instagram feeds anywhere on your site without code, using shortcodes and blocks. The plugin also includes an intuitive feed builder and customizer that enables you to set up feeds that match your website’s aesthetic:
Some examples of Spotlight Instagram feeds on real websites include Course & Wale…
…and Nica Lilly:
If you put a lot of work into your Instagram account, it makes sense to show it off on your website. Embedding an Instagram feed on your homepage all but guarantees that visitors will see it and you might even get new followers out of the effort.
2. Use Shoppable Instagram Feeds
A shoppable feed on Instagram can link you to third-party product pages. Depending on your account type, you might even be able to sell products directly through Instagram from your account.
Spotlight only works with professional Instagram accounts (Business or Creator) due to a recent API deprecation by Meta.
In WordPress, a shoppable Instagram feed can link to any product page you want. With Spotlight, you’re in charge of the feed’s behavior and you can link elements from the feeds you create to your online products.
Shoppable Instagram feeds give users a different way to browse products. Instead of going to the Shop page and spending time looking at options, they see a curated Instagram feed including shoppable videos and images.
When you’re creating a new feed for your website, Spotlight gives you several options for what kind of element you want to set up. Shoppable feeds are one of them:
Then you get to choose what you want your feed to look like. Every layout option works with every type of feed.
To create a feed you’ll need to connect an Instagram account and Spotlight only works with Business or Creator accounts. Once you connect an account, you can select what posts to include in the feed. If you go over to the Shop tab, you can configure where each post links to and how the links work:
Instagram content can be a great way to get people to visit products, offers, and service pages. It’s all a matter of choosing what posts to display and where to embed the Spotlight feed.
3. Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)
UGC is a fantastic way to show off how people interact with your brand on social media. Showing UGC on your website also has the added benefit of helping you build trust. If visitors can see actual customers using your products or services and talking about it on social media, that sends a very positive signal.
The beauty of Instagram is that, with the right incentive, you can get a lot of people to create amazing, potentially viral content for your brand. You can effectively turn Instagram followers and creators into brand advocates.
Some brands offer discounts for people who publish reviews on social media or run contests to reward the best creators. Finding the right incentive is important since it’s what drives users to spend time creating reels and posts and stories discussing your products or services:
Once you convince users to create Instagram content for your brand, you’ll want to show it off on your website. Spotlight enables you to create feeds that include posts your account is tagged in, which is perfect for UGC.
You can use Spotlight’s moderation tools to exclude any content you don’t want people to associate with your brand. Alternatively, you can use it to highlight the UGC you want to show front and center.
4. Highlight Campaigns and Events with Dynamic Feeds
Spotlight feeds update automatically to show new content based on the configuration you set up. You can take advantage of these dynamic feeds to highlight marketing campaigns or events with an Instagram wall.
You may be familiar with events asking you to tag them or use a specific hashtag for Instagram stories, posts, or reels you upload during the occasion. When you look at those hashtags, you can find a goldmine of UGC that you can use to promote your brand.
With Spotlight, you can use hashtag feeds and filters to show only related content. If you’re hosting an event like a party, you can come up with a unique hashtag for it, ask people to use it, and show everything using a Spotlight dynamic feed.
As with every type of of feed, you can filter content you don’t want to appear on your website. You can do this manually or configure automated filters that will only add new content to your website if it meets specific rules:
Campaign and event feeds can go anywhere on your site. If you want to drive more engagement for campaigns, though, you’ll want to include time-sensitive feeds like this on your homepage.
5. Add Strategic CTAs to Your Instagram Feed
A big part of convincing people to take action on social media boils down to just asking them. If you see a message like, “Learn More”, “Shop Now”, or “Book a Table” on an Instagram post or bio, that’s a Call to Action (CTA).
A lot of times, users might not know what they’re supposed to do or they might be ready to convert, but they need a small push. CTAs provide clear instructions and this makes them one of the most important components to a good marketing strategy.
The right CTA, in the right place, at the right time, can drastically increase conversions. If you want people to visit your site and explore it, include CTAs throughout your Instagram content and feed.
When you set up an Instagram feed in Spotlight, you can add custom bio text to it. This is the perfect way to include a simple CTA like “Shop now”:
Using CTAs enables you to use Instagram feeds as part of your conversion “funnel”. You can use feeds to show UGC, build trust, make your site look more active, showcase events, and more. For every feed you set up, also add a clear and concise CTA that tells users what you want them to do. The number of conversions you get might surprise you.
Conclusion
It’s safe to say there are few platforms in the world as engaging as Instagram. Instagram content is designed to keep you entertained and focused on seeing more. If your brand is already putting effort into Instagram marketing, it makes sense to leverage that content on your site as well.
Spotlight makes it easy for WordPress websites to integrate Instagram. You can create as many custom Instagram feeds as you need, pick what content to display, what CTAs to include, and even add links to product pages. With Spotlight, you can show off UGC, events, and everything else you’re already posting to Instagram, but as part of your site.
Do you have any questions about how to leverage Instagram content to increase engagement on your website? Let’s talk about them in the comments section below!
