Easy methods to Use Instagram Procuring to Enhance Product Gross sales
Have you used shops on Instagram? With over a billion active users and growing, Instagram may already be one of your favorite places to promote your ecommerce store. There are many opportunities for marketing on the channel, however, so it can be a great place to build a follower base and get the word out about your products and brand.
What if you could take passive interaction to the next level and actually buy and sell straight from the platform? You can do that with Instagram shopping. This can be tempting for Instagram users and ecommerce stores that want to maintain their interaction from discovery to sale right on Instagram itself.
What is an Instagram store?
Instagram stores are an option for Instagram account holders with ecommerce brands that can sell directly through the Instagram platform.
They give Instagram users the ability to interact and shop with brands they love, find new brands they might like, and shop through the Instagram app.
An Instagram shop, like a mini e-commerce shop, exists within Instagram as an extension of your brand's page. As a brand owner, you can create collections that are customizable and reflect your style and perspective.
Shops can authorize the purchase directly via the app via Facebook Pay or refer to an external e-commerce shop via their Instagram shop. In both cases, they can offer their users a more interactive shopping experience.
How does it work? Shopping Instagram Job?
Instagram shopping is a pretty straightforward process for Instagram users. The whole idea of this feature is to make things more alluring so that users can spend more time on the app, reviewing the stores they love, and discovering new brands.
To find stores to explore or buy from, bring up the little shopping icon that looks like a shopping bag in the app:
From there, you'll see stores from brands that you already follow, as well as some that are recommended based on your interactions on Instagram. You can also search for different categories under "Editor's Picks", e.g. B. by gift guides, by collections and other recommendations.
Clicking "Browse Stores" will bring up a list of the brands that you already follow and who have stores on Instagram. This can be a good place to start your sightseeing as you are likely already interested in the products and may even have purchased them in the past.
As soon as you click on a shop, the available products and collections are displayed.
From there, you can learn more or buy, just like you would on an ecommerce website.
How to set up an Instagram shop
To set up a shop on Instagram for your brand, you must have an Instagram Business account and be eligible. According to Instagram, the authorization includes:
- Operate in a supported market (depending on your location)
- Have an ecommerce website that you sell products through
Remember, an Instagram store is an extension of your ecommerce store, and not necessarily a replacement for it.
You will then need to connect your Facebook account. More on this later, how these two are linked, and why it's important to your Instagram shopping account.
Then follow the steps to set up your account, upload your product images, and start shopping.
Here are some tips to keep in mind as you follow these technical steps:
- Use high quality editorial images for your products and collections: Think of your Instagram shop as a kind of interactive catalog. Select the images that you use for your products. Make sure they stand out and show lots of detail.
- Have all product information ready: If you think of this as a catalog you will need to fill in all of the descriptive information about each product, including prices, colors, sizes, flavors, types, etc. You will also need information about shipping and other details. Have everything ready before you dive in.
- Get ready to mark: After you've set up your Instagram store, Instagram recommends starting tagging as the final step. When uploading an image, select "Tag Products" and enter the name of the product you want to tag in this post. You can also do this in Instagram Stories.
Advantages of an Instagram shop
Why should brand managers take the time to set up stores on Instagram? First, let's look at some numbers. According to Instagram, 60% of respondents said they discovered new products in the app. According to Facebook, 70% of people categorized as shopping enthusiasts turn to Instagram to shop, and 36% of Instagram users consider shopping a hobby of theirs.
The best reason to set up shops on Instagram is to capitalize on that excitement. Think of Instagram Shopping as the hippest mall back then, with eager shoppers and window shopping. You also want to be there with your brand, right?
Here are some more advantages of a shop on Instagram:
- It's free: Yes, you can set up your Instagram store for free. The only fees associated with this are a sales fee when customers place an order and the fee for ads used to promote your products or shop.
- It's another online storefront: Do not put all your eggs in one basket, this also means for online purchases. If one platform hiccups, you are already set up elsewhere.
- It is a mobile catalog: Instagram designed these shops to be very clean and scannable. They are easy to read and provide an overview of the appearance of a brand and information about the products. Because of this, you can think of stores on Instagram as a kind of mobile catalog. You might even send people there just because it's so easy to scroll through to get a feel for what you're selling.
- In this way you can create: As we mentioned earlier, people go to Instagram to shop. Most importantly, setting up your store will help attract buyers ready to make a purchase and build a following for your Instagram account (which will likely aid your overall social media marketing strategy).
Instagram Shopping vs. Facebook shops
You may be wondering how doing business on Instagram compares to doing business on Facebook. Although they are different platforms, both are under the umbrella of Facebook.
Remember that company Facebook owns Instagram, which means Facebook supports Instagram shopping. To set up your Instagram store, you need to create a link to your Facebook account. As already mentioned, payment is made via Facebook Pay.
Should you set up an Instagram shop and a Facebook shop? Here are some considerations to help you decide:
- Simply link: Since you need Facebook to start the Instagram shop, it can be worth it to have products on both platforms. You can use the same products and collections in each case if it makes sense for your target market and brand.
- Consider the demographics: Your target market may spend more time on Instagram than on Facebook. In this case, you should make sure to set up an Instagram store. If your target market includes both Facebook and Instagram demographics, you may want to set up a store for each.
Sending and receiving payments for Instagram shopping products
How do you actually buy and sell with Instagram Shopping? A big part of that question is how money is exchanged.
Remember, you can choose to have your products link to your ecommerce website. Buyers will then be directed to your website in a browser within the Instagram app instead of making the purchase through the Instagram platform.
However, if you want to save buyers in this step, you can set up payment options to facilitate the transaction through Instagram. When you set up your shop, you'll need to create a link to Facebook Pay. We mentioned the relationship between Facebook and Instagram above. With Facebook Pay, you receive payments for purchases made.
When buying something in stores on Instagram, you'll need to provide your credit card, debit card, or PayPal information in order to use Facebook Pay to complete the transaction.
How to Promote Your Instagram Store
Once you've set up an Instagram store, you'll want to find ways to promote it and attract potential customers to your new location. Here are some tips to help you achieve this:
- Start timely collections: When creating collections or groupings of products to display in your store, think of the browsing shoppers and what they are looking for first. Instagram recommends thinking about seasons, holidays, or pop culture moments to create collections that connect and attract buyers.
- Make it easy for customers: When creating posts and stories, make sure you select the "Label Product" option to create a direct link to your shop products. Also, Facebook recommends adding calls-to-action to your captions to remind buyers what to do. Another recommendation is to update your bio with shopping information.
- Invest in ads: Would you like to reach even more people with your Instagram shop? You can post an ad on Instagram with clickable tags that will attract people to your shop.
Alternatives to Instagram shopping
There may be a few reasons why a shop on Instagram isn't the right platform for your brand, or you might want to explore other shop options to find a better fit. Some of these reasons could be:
- It is not the right population group: Yes, Instagram is very popular, but not everyone shops there. If your brand's target market isn't tech savvy, doesn't use Instagram, or prefers not to shop on new platforms, you might not want to set up an Instagram store.
- There are not enough products: Stores on Instagram present product collections well and allow brands to launch or promote product groups. If you're only selling one item, it might not be worth setting up a shop. However, just one product could be popular there if it is well photographed and advertised.
- They are not physical products: You have to sell a physical product. Digital products or services cannot be sold with the app.
- It's not in the right place: As mentioned earlier, you need to work in a place where Instagram shopping is available. If you don't, you need to find an alternative.
In those cases, or if you're just looking for more customization or more comprehensive tools, you may want to pick an alternative to Instagram Shopping. Examples can be:
- Like2Buy:: With Like2Buy you can create shoppable solutions and create other calls-to-action such as: B. Requesting email addresses from potential customers.
- Yotpo: In addition to several e-commerce marketing tools, Yotpo offers an Instagram integration tool.
- Sixty-four: FourSixty promotes a design-centric aesthetic and offers Instagram marketing tools including shopable galleries and scheduling.
Conclusion
Shops on Instagram allow you to interact seamlessly with your followers (and new buyers!). You can create collections in time for a season or holiday, and promote your products to an audience that loves to buy.
This feature allows brand owners to dynamically sell on Instagram. It might not be the only solution you need, but it can be a great addition to your Instagram sales strategy.
Do you buy and sell right on the Instagram app? Or do you prefer a more traditional e-commerce platform?