How to create a real online store on Instagram that customers trust?

In 2025, Instagram remains one of the most popular social networks for online sales and business promotion. With more than one billion active users monthly, an Instagram store is a powerful tool for advertising and attracting new customers.

However, the growing competition on the platform requires business owners to develop effective promotion strategies.

How to open an online store on Instagram? How to promote it to increase followers and sales? What to sell on Instagram, and how to design a page so that customers trust you?

How to define and find the target audience on Instagram?

When analyzing the target audience of the social network, focus on the following parameters:

• Gender. For example, if you sell children's products, in 90% of cases you should target women.

• Geography. It matters if the store does not ship abroad or if the business has a limited area: delivery, food, services such as costume rental, photographers, tutors, etc.

• Age.

• Interests.

• Social and marital status. 

When launching your own store on Instagram, learn from competitors. Start by analyzing competitors' followers using parsers or manually if you want to better understand the interests of the target audience. 

Parsers are services that collect and filter a database, excluding bots, as well as closed accounts from the collected data. There are paid and free services, some of which also offer trial periods (for example, Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Netpeak Spider). 

Use analytics services to collect information about competitors and their audience (Similarweb, Semrush (Social Media Tracker), Ahrefs, Brandwatch).

How to distinguish a real store from a fake one?

Recently, a large number of fake Instagram accounts have appeared on the social network. Simple order processing, payment through direct messages… open up opportunities for online fraudsters. 

They easily counterfeit the pages of well-known online stores or create new business accounts with products that do not exist in reality. And this is currently one of the main obstacles to transparent online business. 

The first sign of a fake Instagram store is a small number of followers and a large number of photos without faces. Although a large number of users may be bots, it is still worth being cautious if a well-known brand page, for example, has only 500 followers.

Starting a business: how to create an online store on Instagram? 

Creating an online store on Instagram requires a certain sequence of steps. 

1. Choose a product category

If you are just starting to sell products online and are interested in how to open an online store on Instagram, the first step is to choose a niche. Look at how competitors work and do it better. 

Find your competitive advantage that will distinguish your store from hundreds of similar ones on Instagram. This is important, because for your product or store to be noticed by not dozens but thousands of users, it must stand out in some way. At the very least — by design. 

Popular product categories on Instagram

What to sell on Instagram in 2025:

• Cosmetics (with a focus on sustainable and cruelty-free products)

• Healthy food, nutrients, and food blogging

• Clothing and accessories with an emphasis on ethics

• Products for home, organization, renovation

• Handmade and digital products (courses, templates, presets)

• Children's products

Traditionally, products with bright visual content are in demand on Instagram, such as clothing, accessories, cosmetics, interior items, products for mothers and children. However, almost any type of business can be visualized by knowing the secrets of promotion on social media, which we will discuss below. 

Products for the home, household and renovation, healthy lifestyle and nutrition, and rare limited-edition items also sell well on Instagram.

To use the social network to its full potential and achieve high profits, it is better to sell trending and high-margin products.

How to choose suppliers for sales through an Instagram online store?

After solving the issue with your store's niche, move on to the next step — finding suppliers. There can be many ideas here: you can purchase products from wholesalers and handle storage and logistics yourself, or you can work according to the scheme —  dropshipping. 

By choosing several reliable suppliers, you will not spend money on maintaining a warehouse and purchasing goods. This is an optimal option for beginners who want to start their own online business but do not have enough funds to launch a full-fledged company. Many entrepreneurs started with a small Instagram shop and later launched a full website and even their own production.

2. Create a professional account

A business profile provides more opportunities for an entrepreneur than a regular account. In the settings of a regular profile, find the button "Switch to professional account." Then choose the business category and account type. Specify contact details, email address, and a link to your website.

3. Prepare quality content

Each niche is an unlimited source of content ideas. Create engaging content that showcases your products or services. Use high-quality photos, talk about the features and advantages of your products, and provide useful information that helps customers make informed choices.

Over the past five years, Instagram has been actively transforming. While in the past only images and posts were trending, now it’s videos and reels. In particular, reels are one of Instagram's main strategies in 2025, and they continue to grow.

4. Design your Instagram page

First, fill in the profile with information about the store and your product, which will serve as your business card and help users find you faster on the social network.

• Choose a store name. It should be easy to pronounce, memorable, and reflect the essence of your brand. With the name, people can more easily search for the right products online.

• Select a business category that reflects your field of activity.

• Fill in the profile header/description. Upload a main photo, which can be your logo. Consider the size — 150×150 pixels.

In the 150-character profile description, specify the main information about the store: 

✓ brand name,
✓ field of activity,
✓ key benefits for the customer, such as free delivery, discounts, or new collections,
✓ contact details: phone, email, address (if relevant for the business),
✓ link to website/catalog (for example, a multilink like Linktree).

Add keywords to the description that are most relevant to your business, by which users will search for your store. For example, the Respect store indicated in their profile description their business field — Shoe and accessories store:

• Location. If you sell products for people in a specific city or region, specify this in the store name. This way, your target audience will find you through geotags by entering the city name in the search. This is especially important if you promote services.

• Highlights. Pin your stories under the profile header into “Highlights” groups: store assortment (you can group stories by categories); customer reviews; brand history, advantages, achievements; promotions and discounts; seasonal novelties; answers to frequently asked questions. 

Accurate and concise information about your store in the page description can serve as a business card for future orders on your website.

5. Create two accounts

One acts as a catalog and price list. Fill this page with photos, product descriptions, and a list of services, and provide contact details. The second account is personal, where you tell the story of the brand, show production details, inform about news and achievements, and present the lifestyle. In the header of the second profile, include a link to the first.

Visual design of the page

The key task at the stage of filling the page is to develop a visual strategy that will attract consumers’ attention and encourage them to purchase your products. On Instagram, this is more than important, as primarily aesthetic-oriented buyers come here.

 

Try to post photos and stories of real people and real-life situations. This is especially important when it comes to product reviews.

You can design your Instagram feed in a unified style that will make it stand out among other posts. Use third-party services. For example — the Inpreview app can be used both as a photo editor and as a photo content planner.

 

Do not forget about text content either. A bright visual with only dry facts about a product, without explanations or interesting stories, will not create the desired effect on readers. Try to communicate with your customers in posts, address them directly, ask questions, wish them a good day. Such small details can truly work magic on your page.

Services for creating Instagram content

✅ For design and visuals: 

Canva — templates for posts, Stories, Reels, Highlights

Crello (VistaCreate) — Canva alternative with animations

Figma — for team collaboration on visuals

Adobe Express — quick templates for social media

✅ For video and Reels

CapCut — video editing, subtitles, effects

InShot — trimming, adding music, text

VN Video Editor — simple and convenient editor

Adobe Premiere Rush — simplified version of Premiere Pro.

✅ For planning and autoposting

Later — visual feed planning

Planoly — post calendar, autoposting

Buffer — managing multiple accounts.

How to communicate with Instagram followers?

An online store needs to become an opinion leader. Only then will people want to buy from you, listen to your advice, and follow your updates.

• The main advantage is honesty. For example, you created an online store for clothing of your own production. The assortment includes mass-market products as well as exclusive items. Prices vary. Tell users why. For instance, if it is a mass-market dress, it is clear that it is made from cheaper fabric, while creating an exclusive outfit requires more time, and materials are twice as expensive. Note that honesty has become a trademark of popular bloggers who often emphasize in Stories that they do not advertise products whose quality they do not like and would not use themselves.

• Be open. Show subscribers production details, talk about challenges, funny stories with customers. Such accounts are interesting to follow.

• It is not recommended to hide product pricing. Talk about labor costs, material costs, rent of premises or workshops, delivery, and the tax system.

• If you are not ready to talk about pricing, share who is involved in production, how you come up with designs, and where you find inspiration to create unique novelties.

• Share the process of product photography, also photos of friends and partners, online store employees, tell Stories about interesting habits, hobbies, and business ideas.

Working with customers

Be active, but if you do not have enough time, hire a person who will respond to user requests in direct messages and comments within 10 minutes.

Build a loyal audience:

• Do not be afraid to block negative comments as well as spam. There is a category of dissatisfied users who criticize constantly. Add such people to the "blacklist." Do not force subscribers and potential customers to wade through this mess; try to ensure negativity is not associated with the store.

• Do not block everyone indiscriminately. Respond adequately to feedback from those who bought a product or service but were left dissatisfied. If a user leaves a negative review, find out the details of the order and clarify the issue. Learn to admit mistakes, because no one works perfectly. If the client is dissatisfied due to the store’s fault, compensate for the lost time and money by giving, for example, a discount coupon. Share such situations with your followers, show how you corrected the mistake, and present everything in a positive way.

How to promote a store on Instagram: 7 rules of success

1. Create engaging content

Successful store promotion on Instagram directly depends on attractive and targeted content. 

✅ Product descriptions. Write briefly. Add interesting facts or share personal experiences, tell the story of how a product appeared in the store. You can also explain and show examples of how people solve problems with products and services. The main goal is to evoke emotions and discussions. 

✅ Talk about the purpose of products. Describe the emotional benefits of the items. For example, if you sell linen sundresses and skirts, add that they are comfortable even at +40°C. After capturing attention, indicate the price, link to the website or profile. Try to keep the store or brand name constantly visible to the client.

✅ Create an editorial policy, prepare a technical task (brief) for Instagram posts.

✅ Introduce interesting sections related to sales: product of the day or week, and explain why it should be purchased.

✅ Communicate with followers. Engage your audience with interactive posts, encourage them to participate in contests and giveaways. Ask your clients about their preferences and opinions regarding your service and products.

2. Do not forget about hashtags

Hashtags are keywords or phrases marked with the # symbol, which allow users to find the desired product or store in Instagram search. Hashtags increase the visibility of posts in the feed and contribute to better store promotion on the social network.

Use branded hashtags that reveal the essence of your brand. For example, at Torgsoft we use hashtags: #облік #автоматизація #CRM #ERP.

 

It is better to duplicate them under each promotional post. The maximum number of hashtags in one post is 10.

Also, do not forget about geotags, which are aimed at reaching the audience of a specific region. If you set the location, for example — Lviv, Kyiv, or Kharkiv, people who search for products in these regions will find your store faster than other stores without geotags.

3. Use Instagram Shopping

Instagram Shopping is a powerful feature that allows companies to tag their products in photos and videos so that users can purchase them directly from posts. This provides a convenient way to shop and improves conversion rates.

What is Instagram Shopping?

Instagram Shopping is an additional sales option on your Instagram page, essentially a shop in your profile. You must first have a Facebook product catalog that you want to connect to your Instagram account.

To activate Instagram Shopping, you need to complete a few steps:

1. Check if your business profile meets Instagram’s requirements for using the Shopping feature.

2. Connect your Instagram account to a product catalog on Facebook. For this, you will need a Facebook Business account.

3. Follow Facebook’s instructions to create a product catalog and link it to your Instagram account.

   To create a store on Facebook, go to the Facebook Commerce Manager page, click “Create a Shop” and upload your product catalog. This can be done manually or automatically using an accounting program. For example, the Torgsoft accounting software instantly synchronizes databases across different online platforms. To do this, you first need to upload the product catalog into the accounting program or synchronize products from your website to the Facebook store.

4. After connecting the product catalog to your Instagram account and after it passes moderation, you will be able to tag your products in photos and videos using the "Product Tag" feature. Select the product from your catalog that you want to tag in the image and specify its price.

5. Users who see your tagged products can click on them, go to your website or the post with its description, and make a purchase.

The Instagram Shopping option is useful not only for sellers, who get an additional tool to increase sales, but also for buyers. Since all online stores are verified for authenticity, it is much harder to counterfeit someone’s store than to create a fake business profile with fictitious products.

4. Create Reels and Stories

In 2025, video remains the most popular type of content on Instagram. Create short videos showcasing your products in action or make long informational videos where you explain product features or show the “behind the scenes” of your store. Stories and Reels formats are suitable for quick interaction with your audience or announcing new arrivals, promotions, and sales in your store.

Keep in mind that Instagram’s algorithm currently considers 100% of Reels video views, so to make sure users watch your videos until the end, create short entertaining clips of 10–20 seconds. They will create a viral effect if your audience starts watching them actively. 

Unlike Stories, Reels appear not only in the profile or feed but also in Instagram recommendations. Therefore, having Reels in your promotion arsenal is a must.

5. Record “collabs” with other accounts

Use another promotion tool — Collab posts. Usually, brands reach out to bloggers or online opinion leaders and record joint videos with them, which can significantly boost page activity, increase customer trust in your store, and improve brand awareness.

You can also directly approach bloggers or influencers from your niche and order paid advertising from them. 

Keep in mind that the blogger’s target audience should be similar to that of your online store. Pay attention to what the blogger is promoting and check the engagement of their followers. Approve a brief and technical requirements for the ad posts, specifying exactly what you want to see in the advertisement. Bloggers’ audiences are already primed to buy, so your task is to create a unique offer. 

6. Stay connected with your audience

Among other important tips — try to stay active in comments and direct messages with your followers. Answer customer questions, provide necessary support, and respond promptly to their inquiries. Communication with clients is crucial for building trust. Moreover, it shows that the account is active and reliable, making it easier for customers to trust you with their money and time.

7. Encourage customers to share reviews (UGC content)

UGC content is created not by the brands themselves, but by their customers or followers. It is free content generation and positive feedback about your brand. Encourage your followers to share photos with your products in Stories. 

Recommendations from real people to try your product will help increase the trust of other customers in your store and — in the long run — boost sales. Customer reviews are best pinned in “Highlights” so that everyone interested can see them.

 

The best practice is to encourage customers to share their experience: offer bonuses, discounts, or simply ask them to tag your account in their posts.

So, to build trust in your Instagram store, you need to carefully think through every step: from choosing a product category to using video reviews and customer feedback on the page to confirm the quality of your products. 

It is not enough to provide a professional design and give detailed and truthful information about your business and product. You should also provide quality customer support and respond quickly to their needs.

8. Launch targeted advertising

Targeted advertising is set up through the Facebook Ads Manager and then appears in users' news feeds. This is paid promotion, but money is charged only for clicks or ad interactions. If you are not familiar with this process, use the services of specialists.

Checklist for effective targeted advertising on Instagram

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