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Instagram is a very popular social media platform, with nearly a billion users every month. It’s a fun place to socialize and enjoy pictures and videos. Apart from just socializing and having fun, you can even use this platform to promote your company and build your brand, focusing on photography and video.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to set up your Instagram account for an eCommerce business and sell products to your followers. The process has a few steps, but it’s quite straightforward and won’t take much time. Let’s begin!
Why Should You Consider Selling Via Instagram?
Here are some amazing business facts about Instagram:
- Over 200 million people visit Business Profiles daily, and 90% follow some business accounts
- One out of every three popular Instagram stories is from a business
- About 60% of users find new products on Instagram
- Over 500 million accounts use Instagram stories every single day
So, selling on Instagram has several benefits, like:
More Exposure: Products can be shown through Reels or stories, expanding followers. As shared content spreads, more people discover and buy the product.
Visual Appeal: You can use photos/videos for effective marketing. This improves brand recognition and sales.
Website Alternative: If you lack a website, an Instagram Shop can serve as your online store, where you apply marketing strategies for maximum benefits.
Easy Checkout: After the first purchase, user details are saved for smoother future checkouts. Shoppers receive shipping updates. Note that Instagram Checkout has a 5% transaction fee.
Analytics: Instagram shopping accounts get access to IG Insights, providing performance data. This helps tailor content to your target audience and refine marketing approaches.
What Is Instagram Shopping?
Instagram Shopping is a feature that lets you turn your Instagram account into an online store. It allows you to add your products and prices to your posts. By tagging products in your posts, you can directly promote them to Instagram users and boost your sales.
You can add up to 5 shopping tags per image or up to 20 products in multi-image posts. When people visit your Instagram account, they can easily view your products by clicking on the “View Products” icon on your posts.
When they tap on the icon, they can see the name, description, and price of the products in the shopping posts. If they keep tapping, they’ll be taken to your Instagram store, where all your products are showcased.
To visit your online store, all they have to do is use the “View on Website” button.
Pros Of Instagram Shopping
Easy buying process: Users can view product details and prices on shopping ads and quickly make purchases on your website.
Higher sales potential: Tagging products in posts and using shoppable posts on Instagram’s Shop tab increase visibility, capturing users’ shopping mindsets.
Influencer Marketing: If you collaborate with influencers to promote your products, leverage their popularity to drive more sales and brand exposure.
Cons Of Instagram Shopping
Not available to all businesses: In order to start a business via Instagram, you must meet specific requirements set by Instagram. Small businesses may find it challenging, and even if they meet the requirements, they might not be able to set it up.
Product limitation: Instagram shopping is limited to physical goods, not services, making it more suitable for product retailers
Country limited: Instagram Shopping eligibility varies by country, and some countries may not have merchant agreements with Instagram.
Controlled by Instagram: Even if you get approved, they can disable your account if you fail to meet their standards, and you’ll have to deal with Instagram shop fees.
Requirements To Start An Instagram Business
Before you start your online Instagram Shop, make sure you meet certain requirements:
- The latest app version
- An e-commerce platform
- A business profile with public information
- Admin access to a Facebook page or Business Manager
- A connected product catalog
- Domain verification while adhering to commerce policies
Step 1: Setting Up A Business Account On Instagram
If you don’t have a business account, you can easily create one. Just follow these steps:
- Open your Instagram account
- Tap the three horizontal lines in the upper right corner
- Tap Settings and privacy
- Tap Account Type and Tools
- Select “Switch to professional account“
- Tap Continue
- Choose a Category for your business and tap Done
- Tap OK to confirm
- Tap Business
- Tap Next
- Add your contact details and tap Next. If you don’t want to provide this information, tap “Don’t use my contact info.”
- If you want to share logins with Facebook, tap Continue. This step is optional and allows you to connect your business account to a Facebook Page associated with your business, but you can skip it by tapping the “Skip” button.
- Complete any other optional steps to set up your professional account, or tap X in the top right-hand corner to return to your profile.
- To show or hide business information on your profile, go to your profile, tap Edit profile, and then choose whether you want to hide or display your category label and contact info under Public business information. Finally, tap Done.
By converting your account into a business account, you gain access to valuable insights that can help grow your business. This also allows you to build your brand’s presence on social media in an authentic manner.
Step 2: Linking Facebook Page To The Instagram Business Account
Linking your Facebook account to your Instagram account is essential to starting an Instagram business. If you don’t have a Facebook account, create one. To link your Facebook page to your Instagram business account, follow these simple steps:
- Open your business Instagram profile
- Tap “Edit profile“
- Click on “Page, Connect, or Create“
- A prompt for “Connect your Facebook Page” will appear
- If you don’t have a Facebook page, click “Create Facebook Page“
- If you already have a Facebook page, you can log in to your existing account
Pro Tip: Make sure you’re the admin of the Facebook page you want to link to; otherwise, it won’t show up.
Step 3: Setting Up Your Product Catalog For Instagram Shop
To get your Instagram Shop up and running, you’ll need an organized list of the products or services you want to sell. Here’s how you can create this catalog:
- Sign in to the ‘Meta Commerce Manager,’ where you can set up your Facebook shop
- Click ‘Add catalog‘
- Choose the type of catalog as E-commerce
- If you’re selling products online, decide how to add them:
- Click Upload Product Info to add items yourself
- Click Connect eCommerce Platform if you use a store platform. Pick the platform, click the link to its website, and follow the steps to set up and import items to Facebook.
- Pick the Business Manager account that your catalog belongs to
- Give your catalog a name
- Click Create
Step 4: Sending The Business Account For Review
To use your Instagram business profile, you must first get approval. Here’s what you need to do:
- Go to your account Settings and click on “Sign Up for Instagram Shopping”
- Accept the Seller Agreement rules and finish the setup
After you’re done, you can see if you’re approved by going to Settings and clicking on the Shopping option. Usually, Instagram will approve your request within a few working days. They’ll let you know if you’re approved or if they need more information.
Step 5: Creating Instagram Shopping Posts
After you’ve finished all the above steps, it’s time to make shopping posts on Instagram. Begin by putting shopping tags on your posts. With Instagram Shop, you can tag up to five products on one picture post and up to 20 products on a post with multiple pictures.
Also, use these shopping tags in your Instagram Stories. Double-check all the tags to make sure they go to the right places. Apart from product tags, you can only have one clickable link in your bio.
Remember, on Instagram, links don’t work in captions or comments. So, always tell your followers to click the link in your bio. This will take them to an outside website.
Simple Tips To Boost Your Instagram Shop Sales:
- Stay Consistent: Use the same style for posts
- Tag Right: Use relevant hashtags for more reach
- Go Live: Show products live to build trust
- Offer Deals: Promotions and giveaways create excitement
- Partner Up: Collaborate with Instagram influencers
- Fun Videos: Engage with entertaining Reels and Stories
- Share Info: Post helpful and interesting content
- Feature Fans: Share user content and interact
- Advertise: Use paid IG ads for more visibility
These tips will amp up your Instagram shopping!
Conclusion
Embracing Instagram Shopping can be a game-changing strategy for businesses in today’s digital landscape. With its vast user base, engaging visual content, and user-friendly features, Instagram offers a unique platform to showcase and sell products.
The benefits of enhanced exposure, visual marketing, simplified checkout processes, and valuable in-app analytics make Instagram Shopping a valuable addition to any marketing toolkit. Whether you’re a small startup or an established brand, leveraging Instagram’s potential can lead to increased brand recognition, higher conversions, and, ultimately, a thriving online business presence.
