INTRODUCTION
Social commerce is gaining traction among Internet users and is most popular among younger generations. In fact, Statista reports that close to 50 percent of U.S. adults ages 18-34 have purchased products through social media.
Instagram, which has long been used for product discovery, recently added Instagram Shop to its platform. The new shopping experience allows users to easily discover and purchase products directly on Instagram.
Following are some tips on how you can use Instagram Shop for your retail store or e-commerce business.
HOW TO SET UP YOUR INSTAGRAM SHOP
Instagram shops are immersive, full-screen storefronts that enable businesses to build their brand story and drive product discovery. As a retailer, you are able to set up your Instagram shop for free. Follow the steps below to get started.
- Confirm eligibility. To set up Instagram shopping, your business must be located in a supported market (like the United States), and it must comply with Instagram’s merchant agreement and commerce policies. You also must offer an eligible product (e.g. physical good), and your business must own the website domain from which you intend to sell.
- Convert to a Business account. You need to have a business account to be able to sell on Instagram. If you are set up as a personal account, go to “Settings” > “Account” to switch to a business account. Then add the required information, such as business category and contact details.
- Connect to your business’ Facebook page. Go to your store’s Instagram profile and select “Edit Profile.” Then click “Page” under “Public Business Information” to choose the Facebook page you’d like to connect. Select “Create a New Facebook Page” if you don’t have an existing Facebook page and follow the steps to create one.
- Set up your product catalog. There are two ways to connect a product catalog to your Business account. You can either create a catalog in Facebook Business Manager, or you can integrate your existing catalog through a certified e-commerce platform like Shopify. Go to “Business” within your Instagram account settings and select “Set Up Instagram Shopping” to view specific instructions for each.
- Submit your account for review. Once you connect a product catalog to your Instagram business account, you will need to submit your account for review. This can take a few days (or longer), and some businesses may need to take additional steps to verify their domain.
After your account is approved, a “Shopping” option will appear under “Business” in your Instagram account settings. Confirm which catalog you’d like to use and complete the setup to start using shopping features, such as tagging products in your posts and stories.
HOW TO SHOWCASE YOUR PRODUCTS ON INSTAGRAM
Unlike other shopping platforms that encourage images of standalone products with white backgrounds (e.g. Amazon, Google Shopping), you should feature your products on Instagram in a more engaging way.
For instance, clothing retailers should create visually compelling photos and videos of an individual (or individuals) sporting an entire outfit. You can then tag up to five products per image, and up to 20 products on a multi-image post. You also can create stories with one customizable product sticker per story.
To tag your products, start creating a post as usual and tap “Tag Products” to add products from your catalog. You also can go back and tag products in past posts if you’d like.
When someone taps on one of those product tags or stickers, they will be taken to a product description page where they will see an image of the individual product and its variations (e.g. color, size), a description of the product, its price and a link to proceed to check out. They also will see additional products you offer under “More from this shop,” or they can explore all of the products or collections in your catalog by clicking “Shop [name of your business].”
In addition, Instagram users can access your shop through your business’ Instagram profile (via “View Shop”), or they can come across it through the “Shop” tab within Instagram Explore. Add relevant hashtags to your posts and products to make them more visible on the platform.