A shoutout on Instagram is a great way for brands to give each other praise and use the power of social media. A shoutout on Instagram can help you reach more people, get more followers, and, in the end, make more sales.
So, do you know how to make the most of Instagram shoutouts? Did you know that you could even buy a shoutout from a popular Instagram account? Yes, shoutouts are the only way many Instagram pages make money.
Let’s see how Instagram shoutouts can help you start a successful dropshipping business.
What Is an Instagram Shoutout?
A shoutout on Instagram is when one Instagram user or business mentions another Instagram user or business in a post or story.
Most of the time, the influencer will post a photo or video of a product from the dropshipping store account. Most of the time, the Instagram influencer will also tag with a @ the company whose products or services they are promoting.
How Do You Give a Shoutout on Instagram?
A shoutout on Instagram could be a story or post where user A (the influencer) shows the product of user B. (the dropshipper).
They do this by posting a picture or video of themselves using or unpacking the product, etc. Most of the time, the influencer will tag you with a @ when they talk about your Instagram profile.
How Can I Get an Instagram Shoutout?
There are different ways to get shoutouts on Instagram, some of which cost money and some of which don’t. Here are a few of the most important:
Free (Voluntary) Shoutout
If your dropshipping product is so good that people talk about it on their own, you’ve hit it big.
When a customer who bought your service or product loves it so much that they post about it and mention your business, this is called a “voluntary shoutout.” That’s the best shoutout you can give on Instagram.
Shoutout for Shoutout (S4S)
S4S is probably one of the most common ways to get a shoutout on Instagram. It means that you get a shoutout and give one in return. This is called “shoutout for shoutout.”
To do this, you’ll need to find Instagram accounts with about the same number of followers as yours, reach out to them, and offer them a shoutout in exchange for the same. If you have to choose between a paid shoutout and S4S, S4S is always the best choice.
Paid Shoutout
Paid shoutouts could be the best choice for new dropshippers who don’t have a big following yet. You can find top Instagram accounts to shout out with a lot of apps or tools like Shoutcart.
Many influencers will want money for a shoutout, but some might be willing to take a free product instead. You have nothing to lose by asking them. You can only gain.
Affiliate Shoutout
The last model is the affiliate shoutout. If you sell clothes or other things, this can be a great way to do business.
In order for an Instagram shoutout to work, the influencer needs to be given a UTM-tagged link or a discount code that customers can use at checkout. This lets the business know how many sales came from the shoutout. After that, they get a cut of each sale.
If you use Shopify for dropshipping, you can find affiliate apps in the Shopify app store that will help you work with influencers.
How to Get an Instagram Shoutout for Free?
The S4S method is one of the best ways to get a free shoutout on Instagram if you’re interested in free dropshipping.
We suggest looking for accounts that have about the same number of followers as you do, so that the value you give them is about the same as what you ask for.
For example, if you have 5,000 followers, you can’t ask an account with 1 million or more followers to “shoutout for shoutout.” They aren’t likely to agree to something like that because, well, what would they get out of it?
You could use hashtags that describe the kind of Instagram account you want to find to find the best ones. Influencer marketing depends on reaching the right people, so it’s important to send similar content to accounts in your niche.
For example, if you sell baby toys, you should talk to a mom who has a lot of other new moms as fans. It doesn’t make sense to try to sell baby toys through an account for men’s cosmetics.
What Are Paid Instagram Shoutouts?
Paid Instagram shoutouts are the primary income source of many Instagram influencers. Once an influencer gets established as an authority in their industry and has a decent number of followers, they can start accepting payments for shoutouts.
Having said this, it’s only natural that there are many websites, directories, and tools helping you find the best influencers for your brand. You can even find Instagram shoutout pages dedicated only for reach and shoutouts.
For instance, Instagram quotes pages that reshare aspiring authors. Or, Instagram profiles with photos of exotic trips with regular shoutouts for different travel agencies. Get the gist?
How Much Is an Instagram Shoutout?
Most of the time, the price of an Instagram shoutout depends on the influencer and, most importantly, the size of their audience. Instagram influencers often charge for posts that are featured for 12 or 24 hours and have a link to your product in the bio.
Depending on how big an account is, a shoutout on Instagram can be very different. Some smaller accounts might agree to do a shoutout for just $10 a day, while others might have a minimum of $200 for a shoutout.
Did you know that some famous people can get millions of dollars for just one mention of a product? You did read that correctly! It’s all about how many people they can reach, and theirs is worth a lot!
How to Pay for Instagram Shoutouts Securely?
Before the shoutout goes live, most Instagram influencers will ask to be paid through PayPal. This is normal and to be expected. We wouldn’t use services like Western Union or wire transfers to send money.
PayPal
If the influencer doesn’t do the shoutout as planned, you can get your money back within 30 days if you paid them through PayPal.
When it makes sense, you could ask the influencer if they would rather get a free product (or a box of your products) than money in exchange for a shoutout. You’d be surprised at how well this works, especially if you’re selling expensive items.
What Are the Benefits of Instagram Shoutouts for Dropshipping?
If you decide to do influencer marketing on Instagram, you get the following:
Reach and exposure go up; the number of people who follow your dropshipping store goes up; trust and loyalty go up; brand recognition goes up; you get a lot of social proof (people love seeing other people use a product because it makes them feel good about it);
sales went up;
Long-term sales from organic products;
More results for less money;
What Are the Risks of Instagram Shoutouts for Dropshipping?
A shoutout on Instagram can make or break your dropshipping business, but it also comes with some risks:
working with the wrong people who have power;
Not being able to control the audience; Not being able to measure results;
A rise in traffic but not in sales, usually because the wrong people were targeted;
Trying too hard to sell;
What Do You Write in an Instagram Shoutout?
The main goal of an Instagram shoutout is to boost sales and get more people to follow you on Instagram. So, it only makes sense that you want the shoutout to show your product in the best possible light.
Usually, you would show the influencer using the product, list some of its benefits, explain how it works, or something similar. The goal is to get as many people as possible interested in the brand or product they are promoting.
We suggest that the caption be short, simple, and clear, with a clear call to action. People don’t read as much as they used to, so make sure your caption is clear and easy to read at a glance.
If you need a longer caption, put something interesting in the first sentence to get people’s attention, and then move on to the less interesting stuff further down.
A caption should make someone want to buy the product or follow the dropshipping store. In both cases, the influencer should tag your user account with a @ and post a clear call to action, such as “follow,” “buy with a discount code,” etc.
Is My Dropshipping Niche Suitable for Instagram Shoutouts?
In short, if your drop shipping niche and products have an audience on Instagram, then yes, your drop shipping business is a good fit for Instagram shoutouts. Think about the kind of person you want to buy from you. Would that person have an Instagram account?
Keep in mind that Instagram is a visual social media. Most of an Instagram post’s success comes from how it looks. So, does your product have enough visual appeal to be shown on Instagram?
How to Find the Best Instagram Influencer for a Shoutout?
There are a few things to keep in mind when looking for the best Instagram influencer for your dropshipping business:
Account language
The first and most important thing to know is what language the account is in. If the Influencer account posts in Spanish and your audience speaks English, getting a shoutout from them doesn’t make sense.
Account niche
Influencer marketing only works if the right people see it. Because of this, it’s important to choose a similar account. But you should never talk to a direct competitor.
If you’re selling phone cases, talk to someone who sells phone car holders or phones, not another shop that sells cases.
Number of followers
How well and how many people see a shoutout depends on how many people follow it. If you want to find S4S models, you should talk to IG users who have followers like yours.
If you’re going to use paid shoutouts, it’s best to choose accounts with a bigger but not too big following. Accounts with 1 million or more followers will cost a lot. Plus, they don’t have a very good return on investment (ROI) because they look like sponsored posts.
On the other hand, accounts with 50K to 200K engaged followers could be much cheaper and get you much better results.
“Micro-influencers” (those with 5,000 to 50,000 followers) are getting all the credit for the most successful shoutouts these days. We think this is because they have a smaller audience and are therefore closer and more personal, which makes people trust them more.
Quality of followers
It’s not just the quantity that matters, but also the quality. You don’t need accounts with 10 million spammy or bought followers. You’ll need real people who interact with their fans and have a relationship with them.
The comments are a good way to tell if the account has real followers or fake ones. Most of the time, real users will have a large following and comments on all of their posts.
Good engagement analytics
Before you agree to work with an influencer, it’s always a good idea, especially if you’re paying for it, to ask to see engagement analytics, especially if you’re paying for it.
Instagram Engagement Analytics Paid influencers who are real and confident in their skills will have no problem sending you a quick screenshot from their Audience Insights. If they won’t send it to you, find someone else who will.
By looking at an influencer’s audience insights, you can find out the best types of posts, the age and gender of their audience, the best days for engagement, and much more.
Where to Find Good Influencers for Instagram Shoutouts?
You can find influential people in three different ways:
Directly on Instagram
You can start your search right on Instagram by looking for the hashtags that are most relevant to your business. If you sell natural skin care products, for example, you can look for:
naturalskin #naturalproducts #organicskincare #cleanbeauty #naturalbeauty #cleanskincare
Then, open some interesting accounts and look at how many followers they have and what kind of posts they make. Most of the time, influencers who are open to shoutouts will put their email address or ask you to direct message them (DM) to work together in their bio.
Google search
You can also try doing a direct search on Google. For example, if you’re selling skin care products, try typing something like “top skincare Instagram influencers.”
Google lookup
Check out the first few pages, and we’re sure you’ll find someone who could work.
Paid apps and tools
If you don’t want to search for influencers by hand, you could pay for a service like NeoReach, Shoutcart, or ShoutoutExperts. All of these tools have lists of influencers who have been checked out and who could give you a shoutout on Instagram.
How to Analyze and Track Conversions from Instagram Shoutouts?
If you’re a dropshipper who wants to use influencer marketing, you’ll often have more than one Instagram profile promoting you at the same time. In this case, you need a way to keep track of how each shoutout is doing (to know which influencer works best for you).
UTM tagging is the best way to deal with this. You can tag each link using the free Google campaign URL builder. Fill in the fields and put the name of the influencer in the campaign source or medium field. After that, the tool will make a URL for each influencer.
URL builder for a campaign
If you don’t want to do this, the best thing to do is to make sure that no more than two shoutouts happen at the same time. So, you can keep track of each activity within the time limit of each shoutout.
What Type of Content to Prepare for an Instagram Shoutout?
If you want a popular Instagram page to give you a shoutout, you should make it as easy as possible for them to do so.
The last thing you want to do is give them more work to do, like looking for a picture or a caption to describe your product on their own.
We suggest going to these accounts with a template that they can just copy, paste, and use as is. Most of the time, you’ll need the following:
High-quality images in the right format, with the right sizes for an Instagram post or story;
if necessary, a video of the product being opened, being used, or just being shown from different angles;
A link back to your Instagram page (a user account marked with a @);
You want them to use certain hashtags;
One or more choices for captions that are already written to go with the images;
Link to your online store or product (this link should be in the influencer’s bio for a limited time so that it can be clicked on);
By giving these things to an Instagram influencer when you reach out to them, you make your request easier and make their job much easier.
Think about how much more time they’d have to spend if they had to do all of that by themselves. So, the influencers only need a minute to do everything. This makes it much more likely that they will agree to give you a shoutout.
But some of the best Instagram accounts may insist on writing their captions, which is also fine.
How to Use Giveaways in IG Shoutouts?
Giveaways are a great way to get the word out, boost sales, and get more people to follow you. Most of the time, two or three Instagram accounts in the same or a similar niche will work together to plan a giveaway for their followers.
Instagram gives aways
The giveaway will be shared by all three users, and the only rule is to follow all three accounts and tag a friend (or more) in the comment section. There will be a set deadline after which they will pick a winner at random. That person will get the prize.
That’s a great way to get more people to follow all three of your Instagram accounts and boost your sales in the long run. Most of the time, this kind of shoutout is S4S, which means that everyone gets something out of it.
Are Facebook Ads Better than Instagram Shoutouts for Dropshipping?
Let’s start with the fact that Facebook ads will cost you more. In the end, both the ad and the shoutout will work better if they reach the right people.
Ads on Facebook
In short, if you do influencer marketing with the right Instagram user, a single shoutout can bring you more success than an ad that runs for a month.
You just need to make sure you pick the right influencer who has a big enough following of people who would buy your product.
What Is Shoutout for Shoutout (S4S)?
S4S, which stands for “shoutout for shoutout,” is a common way to get a shoutout on Instagram and give one in return. That’s usually a deal between two Instagram accounts to give each other a shoutout post.
For this to work, the two accounts usually need to be in the same industry so that their audiences are a good fit. But they shouldn’t try to sell the same things as each other.
How to Approach an Instagram Influencer for a Shoutout?
First, it’s important to interact with the influencer and show that you are doing something before you reach out. With that, you won’t feel like you’re reaching out to people in a cold way. Instead, the atmosphere will be more friendly. For example, once in a while, write a thoughtful comment or like some photos.
Next, you should know that sending the same message to multiple DMs by copying and pasting it will only get you banned. People no longer respond to messages that are too generic or too robotic. So, try to make every message you send to an influencer as unique as you can.
For example, try to use the user’s first name if you know it, praise their account, be polite and friendly, and add something to your message.
If you want an S4S, try the following:
“Hello, first name>,
I’ve been following you for a while now because I love your account. It would be fun to join forces and do an S4S. (shoutout for shoutout). At least I know that my readers would love what you have to say!”
If you want to pay an influencer, you could do one of the following:
“Hello, first name>,
First, I want you to know that I love what you write! Do you take money for shoutouts? And if so, could you tell me how much you charge?
I could send you a template and some pictures, or you could make something on your own if you’d rather. Tell me, and we can talk about the details.”
Or maybe you want to give them a free product in exchange for a shoutout:
“Hey, first name>,
I love that you always post skin care tips! I’ve been reading your posts for a while and I’m impressed.
I’d be happy to send you free samples of my natural and clean skincare line so you can try it out. If you like it, you could give me a shoutout, but you don’t have to.”
Always remember that short and sweet is the best way to start. After they agree to the shoutout, you can talk about all the details.
As a last point
When done right, using Instagram influencers for eCommerce is a powerful strategy that can bring a lot of success for a small investment.
Even if you try everything, if you still can’t sell, it might not be you but the product.
