If you’re not using Instagram to sell your product, now is the time to start. In a survey by Sprout Social, 83% of people surveyed use Instagram to discover new products or services and 80% use Instagram to decide whether to buy a product or service.
Instagram has long been prioritizing eCommerce on its platform, shown most recently by the launch of Instagram Reels to support the creator and influencer communities.
Instagram even offers its own eCommerce-centric features Instagram Shopping, to let you sell your products right when customers are ready to buy. Instagram is a powerful selling tool; here’s everything you need to know about Instagram to generate more sales.
What is Instagram Shopping?
Instagram Shopping is a set of features across the platform that allow people to shop on-platform. It includes the following:
- Shops: A customizable storefront which lives on your business profile
- Shopping tags: Photo “tags” that allow shoppers to click through and purchase
- Instagram Shop: Essentially the shopping version of “explore,” located within the Explore tab
- Product detail pages: a page where you can include product details and media. This also pulls in all tagged media with your product.
- Shopping ads: Boosted shopping posts
The best part? Your customers can pay and check out in the Instagram app, so you can literally sell when customers are thinking about buying.
How Do I Set Up Instagram Shopping for my Business?
Setting up Instagram Shopping for your business is easy. Just follow the steps below!
1. Connect Your Instagram Page to Your Facebook Business Page.
2. Upload your product catalog, either manually in Facebook Business Manager, or through an eCommerce platform partner, such as Shopify.
3. Submit your account for review.
4. Turn on shopping.
5. Start tagging!
Ten Ways to Use Instagram Shopping to Sell More
Instagram has a variety of offerings to help you sell more. Below are ten ways to use Instagram to sell even more.
1. Be authentic to your voice and aesthetic
Your shopping posts and stories should seamlessly integrate with your feed. Your followers should feel like they’re part of your content versus an ad. And don’t overshop your photos! Your customers should feel like they could easily use and understand your products by their images.
2. Don’t be afraid to experiment
Never used Instagram stories? Now’s the time to test it out. Instagram just announced that it will test shopping from Instagram Reels this year. You never know what might work with your audience.
3. Make your customers feel like “insiders”
Your customers want to know your brand beyond your products. Consider posting behind-the-scenes content or sharing more about you as a founder.
4. Group similar products in carousel posts
If you have a ton of products, you’re better off putting them in one carousel post than multiple, single-image posts. This works especially well if you’ve recently done a photoshoot for your products, or if you want to feature the same product in different colors.
5. Want to land on the Instagram Shop page? Use hashtags!
Instagram Shop features products based on categories and trends. Using the proper hashtags can get your products featured. A few best practices: don’t use too many, research what hashtags your competitors are using, and make sure your hashtags don’t have an NSFW double meaning! (It happens more than you’d think)
6. Boost in-app purchases with Instagram-exclusive sales or promo codes
A tried and true method to boost sales
7. Don’t forget about non-shopping posts in your feed
Keep building your brand. Customers will appreciate you not pushing them to shop all the time.
8. Don’t just tag your shopping posts; build your own Instagram storefront
With your own Instagram storefront, customers can browse and shop all of your offerings across Facebook and Instagram. You can even create curated collections in your storefront to fit with trends and seasons. Your customers may even forget they’re not shopping on your website!
9. Think outside product photos to boost sales
Your customers are some of your best salespeople; you just need to learn how to harness them. Ask customers to post user generated content, or UGC, of themselves using your products. You can even post an image of a customer review. You can also utilize influencer campaigns to show real-life use of your offerings.
10. Measure and optimize your efforts
It’s one thing to feel good about your strategy; it’s another to check the data! Instagram offers a built-in analytics tool to help you assess your efforts. Make sure to use the numbers to help you tweak your marketing. Another quick tip: if you’re linking out to your website from Instagram, be sure to at UTMs to your links so you can attribute any actions appropriately.
Instagram Shopping is a powerful way to meet customers where they’re at, especially in time for the holiday season. With just a little bit of effort, you’ll be well on your way to making more sales and racking up revenue
