How a CPG Founder Can Turn Instagram Followers Into Repeat Buyers

POV: You’re a CPG founder who’s been posting consistently. You’re reaching new consumers. They’re engaging with your content. So why does it feel like social media isn’t doing much for your bottom line?

The answer lies in the final part of our Seen, Shared, and Sold Method.

If you’re new here, the Seen, Shared, and Sold Method is our three-part social media framework for CPG marketing.

It’s what we use with every CPG founder because it’s aligned with how consumers discover and purchase new products. Getting seen is about visibility and reaching new consumers. Getting shared is about building the community that keeps them around. And getting sold is what we’re going to talk about today.

How a CPG Founder Can Turn Instagram Followers Into Repeat Buyers

It’s unrealistic to expect a consumer to purchase your product after seeing it on Instagram for the first time. What usually happens is consumers discover a brand, follow it, consume the content, then purchase a few weeks later.

On average, a consumer needs to see your product at least eight times before purchasing. Getting sold is about showing up consistently enough to make that happen as efficiently as possible.

Speed this up by streamlining the consumer journey with an easy-to-navigate website, accessible product information, and a one-step checkout. You can also offer new customers 10% off in exchange for their email address. You capture their email for future marketing, they get a discount. It’s a win-win.

The content that will get your CPG brand sold:

• Product photos
• Transformational content
• Social proof
• Retail collaborations
• Launches and restocks

Product Photos

Instagram isn’t just a slew of pretty pictures anymore, but high-quality product photography consistently drives more website taps than almost any other content type. This is especially true when it’s a carousel because carousels get more reach and engagement than single images.

Transformational Content

Consumers don’t purchase products, they purchase the outcome your product provides.

Will your greens gummy make it easy for them to feel more focused and energized? Will your high-protein hummus mean they feel satiated without choking down clumpy protein shakes?

Clearly articulate the transformation a consumer will experience once they buy your product.

Social Proof

Let your customers do the selling for you.

Formal testimonials, on-site product reviews, screenshots of comments and DMs, reposted story mentions, all of this social proof tells a prospective consumer that real people have tried your product and loved it.

That kind of third-party validation is more convincing than anything you could say yourself.

You can also include retailers and press in this section, as both are social proof. Consumers assume you’ve got something special if you can land a spot on the Target shelves or a feature in Snaxshot’s latest post.

Retail Collaborations

Highlighting the retailers that carry your product makes it easier for customers to find and buy IRL and it strengthens your retail relationships at the same time. Like I mentioned above, it’s also another form of social proof: being stocked somewhere reputable shows that your brand has been vetted by an established company consumers already trust.

Most of the time a CPG founder will do one or two posts to announce a new retailer, but I really encourage you to create an entire campaign strategy around each retail launch. If you can, collaborate with the retailer for cross-exposure that’ll lead to increased reach and revenue.

Launches and Restocks

Launches and restocks create urgency and exclusivity. This is why a lot of fashion brands do “drops” with limited quantities.

You can take their learnings by running launch or restock campaigns as it makes sense for your business to get your consumers in the habit of immediately purchasing from you.

Consistently launching new products also tells consumers you’re a growing, innovative brand worth paying attention to.

Your Next Steps

TLDR; Getting sold isn’t a separate strategy; it’s the natural result of getting seen by the right people, building genuine relationships with them through sharable content, then giving them compelling reasons to purchase.

Want to see how the method comes together? Read about the entire Seen, Shared, and Sold Method here.

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Wait, Who Am I?

Hiiii! 👋🏻 I’m Sarah, a CPG social media strategist with over 10 years of experience. I went from starting a clean beauty blog right out of high school to managing social media for Canada’s largest wellness retailer. Now, I live in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina, helping high-growth entrepreneurs get SEEN so they can build a crazy fun life their business supports, and not the other way around.

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