Instagram Shopping is a major game changer that provides businesses with tools to sell products in-app and stretch their reach. Keeping your followers on your Instagram page removes obstacles in their path to purchase, making it easier than ever to click "buy."
Every small business selling material goods should consider setting up an Instagram Shop in 2021.
Here’s how to get started.
So what is Instagram Shopping?
Instagram Shopping allows people to shop directly from your photos and videos without ever having to leave the app. Instagram introduced in-app payments in 2019, solidifying an important transition from organic content to ecommerce.
Now, Instagram Shopping includes tons of features like analytics, insights, and resources right in the Instagram app and a Professional Dashboard for business and creators.
How to set up an Instagram shop for your business
Instagram Shopping makes it easier than ever to connect with consumers and make direct sales. While it's still important to invest in other facets of your small business, including high quality invoicing tools, in-house videos and creative, and a strong marketing strategy, Instagram shopping can merge your social media management efforts with your larger sales goals. Win, win.
To get access to the new shopping features on Instagram, you need to set up Instagram Shopping. Here’s how:
How do I get approved for Instagram Shopping?
- Compliance with Facebook and Instagram policies.
- Product listings must be available on your website.
- Location in a supported market.
- You must provide a clearly stated return policy and pricing.
How to make your products shoppable
To take full advantage of Instagram Shopping as a business owner, you will want to incorporate product tags in the photos and videos that you post.
All you have to do to enable product tagging on your professional Instagram account is hit Next after adding captions and filters and tap Tag Products. Then click on the products in your photo or video that you want to tag, use the search box to find and select your products. Tap Done and Share, then boom! Your post is shoppable. You can also go back and tag products in your existing posts.
How many products can I tag per image? Per carousel?
Here’s what you'll need before getting started with Instagram Shopping
An Instagram Business or Creator Account
First things first, you’ll need to change your personal Instagram account to a business account if you haven’t already. Analytics are really important for businesses, and free general analytics tools that come with a business account can be particularly useful for small businesses who aren’t ready to invest in a more comprehensive program.
A Facebook page
In order to use Instagram Shopping features, you are required to connect your Business or Creator account to an active Facebook page that you use for business. This is important because Facebook and Instagram will use this page to verify your Instagram shopping account.
Scroll-stopping product photography and video
Creating content can be time consuming and time is more valuable than money. It is vital that small businesses find ways to streamline their product photography and video production.
Here’s why Vimeo Create is a perfect solution for making product imagery pop:
How do I set up Instagram Shopping with my Shopify store?
- From the Shopify admin page select Facebook Sales Channel > Overview.
- From the Instagram Shopping section click Set up to Start.
- Ensure that your Facebook Page is connected to the Facebook sales channel.
- Accept the terms and conditions and then hit Request Approval.
- From Instagram settings select Business > Shopping.
- Confirm your Facebook account and product catalog then hit Done.
9 tips to strengthen your Instagram shop:
What’s next for Instagram Shopping
Creating a direct-buying platform has been the major focus for Instagram and you can expect to see more Instagram Shopping developments. They plan to expand on their existing AR shopping, try-on, and product video tagging tools along with more advanced shopping options. You might even see some intuitive adjustments to your home feed as well.
Create a video for your IG shop now
When you're creating your shoppable video (or creating anything you can load into the Vimeo player) take advantage of Vimeo’s video editor to perform tasks like trimming clips, merging files, compressing videos, cropping, or even creating GIFs.
