Oh boy, Instagram is on a roll of rolling out features that have loads of potential! We can’t help but get excited every time the platform announces some new juicy tool for small businesses and big brands alike. And while the shoppable posts feature isn’t exactly new, it might as well be for everybody outside the US. Starting this Thursday, 22nd of March, Instagram is bringing the shopping feature to 8 more countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. So, if your country’s on the list, it’s time to get excited.
Wondering why? Well, because the shopping feature will allow you to tag products in your organic post. Starting to feel it now? Yeap, who needs links in their captions when you can have shoppable photo tags that will drive followers directly to your e-commerce store? And Instagram’s head of business Jim Squires summed it up perfectly by saying “Whether it’s a local artisan, florist or clothing store, shopping directly on Instagram has never been easier”.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As always, let’s have a closer look at this whole shopping feature affair and unravel it all: the good, the bad and the shoppable!
How to get approved for shoppable posts on Instagram
In order to start tagging away products in your posts, there are a few conditions you must meet. First of all, you must be from one of the 8 countries mentioned above or from the US.
Secondly, you need to associate your Instagram Business Profile (because if you don’t have a business profile, you can forget it from the start) with a shop on Facebook or a catalog in your Business Manager. It’s your choice if you do it though Shopify, BigCommerce platforms or directly through your Business’s Page on Facebook. Pay attention, as the shoppable posts will display the product description language and currency that are set in your catalog, so carefully select these to match your audience.
Thirdly, it goes without mention that the physical goods you sell must comply to the merchant agreements and commerce policies implemented by Instagram.
Oh, and make sure to have the latest version of the Instagram app installed. Absolutely mandatory!
If you fulfill these requirements, then you’re one step closer to enabling product tagging through your Instagram account. But not so fast! Instagram will still take a few days or longer to review your account and see if it grants you access to the feature. If the answer is “yes, you’re eligible to start tagging away shoppable posts”, then you’ll receive a notification. Exciting!
How to enable shoppable posts on Instagram
Once you’ve received the notification for approval, you’ll be ready to roll. So lose no more time and enable the shopping feature. How? Simple. Just follow our lead.
In the easiest case scenario, you will see a “Get started” notification at the top of our profile. If you don’t see the alert, keep calm. There’s another way this can go down.
Tap the Settings button on your profile and select the Products category. Hit Continue, select the Product Catalog of your choice and tap Done. That’s all, folks!
If you don’t see these options, it’s possible that your account is still under review. Did you receive that approval notification we were telling you about or was it just wishful thinking?
How to use the shoppable post feature on Instagram
Finally, it’s time to move to the real fun stuff and start tagging products in your post. Shoppable posts, here you come!
In order to tag products in your posts, start by doing your usual routine.
1. Chose the photo you want to add
2. Craft your caption
3. Add your hashtags
…and the novel step
4. Tap the products you want to tag in the photo
5. Once you tap the products, also enter the names and select them as they appear in the search box.
Voila! You’re all ready to go. Click done and share away!
With the shoppable feature activated, you can also revisit old posts and tag the products which appear in these as well. So go ahead, tag away up to 5 products per single-image posts and up to 20 products per multi-image posts.
In the end, it’s just as simple as tagging another person in your posts.
How followers see the shoppable posts
All the shoppable posts will have an embedded caption reading “tap to view products” that stays visible on screen for a few seconds.
Once a user taps the photo, the product description and price appear.
Another tap redirects the follower to a new page much like an Instagram ad. Here they’ll be able to read more details about the tagged products and, with yet another tap, arrive on the e-commerce platform of the brand.
Are you excited about the new shoppable posts?
There you have it, all you need to know to get started with shoppable posts. If you’re from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK or the US of course. Now, the question is: will you jump on board the shopping train? We say it’s at least worth a try. If it’s anything like the brand Lulus describes it, it’s going to be awesome!
“We’ve found as Instagram users become accustomed to seeing these native shopping experiences, they are more inclined to shop on Instagram. We’ve experimented with new ways to inspire followers to shop, from creating unique outfits in which every item is available for purchase, to showcasing user generated content, to giving shoppers real-life ideas for how to wear the items they purchase from Lulus. Since launch, shopping on Instagram can be directly attributed to over 1,200 orders and over 100K sessions.“, said Noelle Sadler, the VP Marketing from Lulus.
What do you say?
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