Simply put, if you sell products online – whether or not you currently have a presence on Instagram – you NEED to be taking advantage of the platform’s Shoppable Posts feature!
In the not-so-distant past, the only way you could connect your Instagram followers with your products was via a link in your bio or by making use of clickable links in Instagram Stories. Those days are gone!
With the advent of Shoppable Posts, Instagram has made it easier than ever for online shoppers to fall in love with your products and quickly make them their own!
Instagram Shopping provides your ecommerce business with an immersive storefront where people can easily explore your best products. With Instagram Shopping, you can share featured products through your organic posts and Stories, or have people discover your products in Search and Explore.
When someone taps a product on your post or a product sticker in your story, they’ll be taken to a product description page where they’ll see:
- An image of the product from your post
- A description of the product
- How much the product costs
- A link that takes them directly to your website, where they can purchase the product
If the stats above weren’t enough to convince you, here are five solid reasons for considering Instagram Shoppable Posts:
Now that you know why your brand can’t afford NOT to use Instagram’s Shoppable Posts feature, here’s a step-by-step guide for setting up your posts, straight from the source.
How To Set Up Instagram Shopping:
Step 1. Make Sure You’re Eligible for Instagram Shopping.
- Is your business located in a supported market?
- Does your business sell physical goods?
- Does it comply with our commerce policies?
- Is your Instagram account a business account?
- Is your account connected to a Facebook page?
Step 2. Connect to a Catalog. You can accomplish this easily by either using Catalog Manager or by working with a certified Facebook Partner.
Step 3. Sign Up in the App. Once your account and catalog are connected, go to the Instagram app to sign up for “Shopping.” Go to your profile’s settings, tap “Business,” and tap “Instagram Shopping.” Follow the steps to make sure everything’s good to go and to submit your account for review. This process usually takes a few days, but sometimes it can take longer. You can visit “Shopping” in “Settings” at any time to check your review status.
Once you’ve been approved, you’ll receive notifications from Instagram and complete the setup in “Shopping” in “Settings” to start tagging products in your posts and stories.
Step 4. Create Your First Shopping Post or Story. Now that you’ve set up shop, you can start adding product tags and stickers to your Instagram posts and stories. Start creating a post as usual and tap “Tag Products” to add a product from your catalog. You can feature up to 5 products per image or video post, and up to 20 products on multi-image posts. You can also go back and add shopping tags to old posts on your business profile. Stories can feature one product sticker per story. You can also adjust the color and text of product stickers.
Step 5. Check Out Your Shopping Insights. Visit the “Insights” tab in your profile to see how your shopping posts and stories are performing. These insights can tell you more about what your customers might want, so you can offer more relevant products.
As you can see, the process is pretty simple. But if you’re a smaller organization, it’s possible that you might need a little help getting started with Instagram Shoppable Posts. Fortunately, the social media experts at HighClick Media are here to assist you every step of the way. Give us a call today at 252.814.2150 to set up a social media consultation. We can help you elevate your brand, one click at a time!
