You’re not the only retailer looking to tap into the platform’s immense capabilities and get customers to buy directly from your Instagram shop.

It’s no secret that customers use Instagram to research brands and look for the products they need. But with Instagram Shopping, you can bring the retail experience to social media and allow your customers to buy directly from the app.

A recent Instagram study found that 44% of users use Instagram to shop every week. The same study noted that 28% of the shopping activities on Instagram are planned.

These stats show that Instagram is a great place to promote your products. This post will show you how to set up your Instagram shop and attract product buyers.

How Does Instagram Shopping Work?

Instagram shopping is an impressive feature that lets business owners sell on the platform by creating a catalog of their products. The feature allows shoppers to access product information, read reviews, and even buy directly from the app.

To enjoy all these capabilities, marketers need to learn how to set up Instagram shopping to showcase their products to high-intent buyers as they browse the feed.

Previously, brands used Instagram ads to advertise their products and ask users to click the shopping link on their bio to buy the product. This is quite hectic, and brands would miss out on sales because users find it hard to quit scrolling the timeline and visit a brand’s page to access a shopping link.

However, with the introduction of Instagram shopping, brands can now market and sell their products from the same location. A customer could browse Instagram, see a product they like, and buy it in a few clicks.

Instagram shopping has helped brands improve their product sales channels and grow their revenue.

Natori, a women’s fashion brand, witnessed a 1416% increase in Instagram traffic with Instagram shopping. After figuring out how to set up Instagram shopping, they published 61 posts with tagged products like the one in the image below. This resulted in a 100% increase in revenue from the platform in just a few weeks of using Instagram shopping.

Magnolia Boutique has also increased its revenue with Instagram shopping. The brand created 117 posts with tagged products. By the end of the campaign, they had seen a 4% increase in traffic and a 20% increase in revenue.

1. Makes Shopping Easier for Customers

Before Instagram Shopping was introduced, the only way for businesses to drive traffic to their e-commerce stores was through links on their bio and clickable stories. This was besides using the best lead generation software, of course.

The introduction of Instagram shopping has made it easier for customers to shop online. This is mainly because prospective buyers can see a product when scrolling through the feed and buying it in a few clicks.

The NBA has an Instagram shop where they promote their products. By clicking the “View on Website Button,” shoppers are directed to the checkout page where they can buy the product.

2. Allows Businesses to Promote Products Directly

Selling on Instagram was a long and tiresome process for shoppers. Instagram Shopping has shortened this process since brands can promote their products directly to customers and get them to buy without leaving the platform.

This has made the buyer’s journey shorter and reduced instances of shoppers abandoning their carts when shopping online. Learning to set up Instagram shopping allows customers to make direct purchases by simply clicking your shoppable posts.

3. Targets Buyers With a High Purchase Intent

Instagram shopping allows you to use hashtags and shoppable phrases to make your products more discoverable on the Explore page. This will see your products will be displayed to users with high purchase intent.

A simple search of the phrase “shop Palazzo pants” displays a shoppable post as one of the top search results, like in the image below. Brands that optimize their posts to the term can reach users with a solid drive to purchase.

Use descriptive terms and hashtags on your shoppable posts to get more people to buy your products. This will help you reach more people and drive traffic to your Instagram shop.

4. Turns Followers Into Customers Quickly

Another benefit of learning how to set up Instagram shopping is the ability to transform your followers into customers quickly.

As your followers go through your profile, they can easily visit your Instagram shop to see your latest products.

Should they see something they like, Instagram Shopping allows them to buy it directly from the platform or click a link that takes them to your website for a quick checkout (just ensure it is secured with an SSL certificate and SSL monitoring of its validity).

Creating product videos is a great option for Instagram shopping. Use an online video editor such as Movavi, iMovie, and Animoto to merge videos of your products. Add subtitles and music to your product videos. It helps you to show multiple products in a single video.

5. Allows You to Make the Most of Your Marketing Efforts

If you have an e-commerce store, you can stretch your marketing efforts further by creating an Instagram shop. Most shoppers start their purchase journey on social media.

Instagram Shopping allows you to appeal to such users as they browse social feeds and get them to buy your products in a few easy steps.

You can track the performance of your shopping campaign by leveraging SocialPilot’s Instagram analytics and make any corrections if required to avoid any adverse impact on your campaign.

How to Set Up Instagram Shopping to Boost Sales

Instagram has made it easy for brands to add products to their Instagram shop and market them to users as they scroll the news feed. This is an incredible way to boost sales since it makes it easy for customers to acquire the products they need.

Here’s how to set up Instagram shopping to improve your social media reach.

1. Ensure That You Meet the Eligibility Requirements

The first thing you need to do as you figure out how to set up Instagram Shopping is to ensure you meet the eligibility requirements for starting an Instagram shop.

The eligibility conditions for Instagram Shopping are not that difficult, and they include the following:

• You must have an active business or creator account. If you don’t have a business account, convert your personal account into a professional one from your profile settings, like in the image below.
  
• Your business must be located in a region that supports Instagram Shopping. The screenshot below shows the markets that are approved for this.
  
• You sell physical, eligible products.
• You agree to comply with Instagram’s merchant rules and regulations.
• You have an active business domain from which you sell products from.

2. Connect Your Account to a Facebook Page

Even if you don’t do business on Facebook and only use a Google review widget to promote your brand, your Instagram Shopping must be connected to a Facebook page. This process is very straightforward.

From your business profile:

• Go to your Profile and click Edit Profile
• Select Public Business Information
• Click Page and select the Facebook page your Instagram shop will be connected to

3. Upload Your Product Catalog

After the above step, you need to upload your product catalog. You have two options for uploading your product catalog, which include:

• Doing it manually by uploading each product individually into the commerce manager
• Using a pre-existing product database from platforms such as Shopify or BigCommerce, their headless architecture capabilities allow for greater flexibility.

Option 1: Uploading Products Manually in the Commerce Manager

• Log into the Commerce Manager with your Facebook account details
• Click on Create a Catalogue from the options provided
  
• From the Catalog-type options, choose E-commerce
  
• Click Upload Product Info to manually add relevant details such as product name, image, and description to create a product catalog.
  
• Add a link to your e-commerce store where shoppers can buy the product and set its availability.
• Repeat the process until you add all the products to your Instagram shop

Option 2: Use a Pre-existing Database

• Go to Commerce Manager and click Create a Catalog
• Click E-commerce from the options and click Connect a partner platform
• Select the e-commerce platform to import your products from the drop-down menu
  
• Click the link to the partner platform to connect your Instagram shop to your product catalog on your e-commerce store.

4. Submit Your Account for Review

After creating your product catalog, you must submit your Instagram shop for review. This process usually takes a few days, and Instagram may ask you to verify the ownership of your e-commerce store.

5. Turn On Instagram Shopping and Start Selling

Instagram will review your account and let you know if you qualify to start selling on the platform. Connect your product catalog to start selling on the platform when you get the go-ahead.

Here’s how to do that:

• Go to Settings
• Click on Business
• Select Shopping
• Choose the product catalog you want to connect with
• Tap Done

6. Promote Your Instagram Shop

The reason for learning how to set up Instagram Shopping is to increase sales.

With your shop set, you must promote your products to users on the platform. One way to do that is to tag your products in posts like Natori in the image below.

Instead of learning to use a video editor yourself, you can also work with a video animation agency to create short videos for your Instagram Stories and tag your products. Natori also tags its products in its Stories to showcase its incredible product catalog.

Conclusion

Instagram Shopping gives you an extra sales channel for your online store. Learning how to set up Instagram Shopping creates more opportunities for your followers to buy your products.

Use the tips mentioned above to create your Instagram shop and get your products in front of interested customers.

The post How to Set Up Instagram Shopping to Boost Sales in 2023 appeared first on Social Media Marketing.