One the biggest headaches that any creator has is deciding where to sell its products. Big or small retailers? Online, offline or both? In which countries? Every option has its advantages and disadvantages.

The number of stores selling through Instagram is increasing. In fact this is even more common among small businesses. It’s also easy to find independent producers selling their shoes directly to consumers using Instagram (without even having a website!).

Why is Instagram so popular?

With more than 700 million users, Instagram is now one of the most used social media. Why? Mainly because it’s so visual. People communicate here through photos and videos, which makes it easier to consume content. And funnier.

Realizing this, brands started to invest and adapt to it. While big brands use it to raise awareness and engage consumers, small brands are discovering it as a tool to sell their products.

Small businesses and individual contributors realized that establishing a social profile, filled with pictures and photos of their products, is the perfect way to connect with their consumers. Besides, they can even identify their products using the matching hashtags “#”.

For instance, many artists are selling shoes in Brazil through Instagram using the hashtag ”Sapatosporencomenda” which means “shoes for delivery” or “custom-made shoes”. An Instagram user can easily identify this artist if he searches for this hashtag. Then users can send a message to the brand asking for the shoe model, size, and color.

Few tips for footwear brands wanting to sell through Instagram:
? Take good quality pictures
? Do interviews to tell more about your brand and creations
? Don’t bother users with too many commercial messages
? Post videos about how you design and produce your shoes

Instagram is definitely revolutionizing the way footwear producers can reach consumers. It gives young designers and other contributors not only a possibility of selling their products but selling them with higher margins, since they are not dependent on retailers.