Last week, both Shopify and BigCommerce announced that Instagram Shoppable posts will soon be available to merchants on their ecommerce platforms. This is exciting news for ecommerce merchants, as Instagram users are quickly becoming the most valuable customers of all social media channels ($65 AOV, compared to Facebook’s $55) and using the platform to discover new products (60% of users use Instagram to find new products).
Source: https://selfstartr.com/instagram-marketing-tips-ecommerce/
How do Instagram Shoppable Posts work?
Shoppable Posts allow retailers to tag up to five products in a photo, and include more details on those products and a more direct link to purchasing them.
Source: https://marketingland.com/instagram-opens-shoppable-organic-posts-businesses-u-s-209652
Shoppable Posts have a tap to view icon at the bottom left of the photo. When that icon is tapped, a tag appears on the products with pricing. When a product is tapped, a new detailed view opens with a Shop Now link. If the customer clicks on the Shop Now, they are then transferred directly to the product page on the website.
Instagram began piloting their Shoppable Posts feature last November with 20 U.S.-based retailers, including Kate Spade, Jack Threads and Warby Parker.
How do the Shopify and Bigcommerce + Instagram integrations work?
Much like other social media networks, Instagram will be a sales channels that you can added through the Sales Channels (Shopify) or Channel Manager (BigCommerce) sections.
You must meet a number of requirements before you can begin using the integration:
- Have an active Facebook Shop enabled as a channel within your ecommerce platform.
- Have an Instagram Business Account
- Connect your Facebook and Instagram accounts together
- Enable Product tagging via your Instagram account
- Your products must be physical goods (not digital products or services) that fit into a handle of available categories, including apparel, health and beauty, electronics, sporting goods, office supplies, auto parts, books, etc.
Once these requirements are out of the way (and you are approved, more on this below) you can simply send your product catalogue to Instagram and tag products products on new and existing posts.
How can I create Shoppable Posts?
You tag products on Instagram the same way you tag people. You can tag new photos or go back and edit old ones. Click the “Tag Products” section when posting a new image, or click “+ Tag” button in the bottom left corner, then select “Tag Products” when editing old posts. Just as you would when tagging people, click on the products in your image then select the appropriate product from your catalogue.
Shopify and BigCommerce are slowly rolling out the sales channel to merchants in the United States. Shopify has alluded to a broader rollout before the 2017 holiday season, but that’s still only for “merchants selected by Instagram and Shopify.” So if you’ve gone through all of the steps above to make yourself eligible, and still can’t tag products, be patient and wait for a notification of approval via your Instagram account.
Your best option now is to review the eligibility requirements and get your accounts set up and linked so you’re ready to rock once you’re approved! Since Shoppable Posts are the only way to send users directly to your website besides ads, we’re excited for this new opportunity to drives sales for merchants!