The internet is where we all go to shop, and Instagram has become the first stop in many customer journeys. Instagram, unlike many websites or social media platforms, is great for presenting the simple and stunning images that customers want in their personal lives and when online shopping. Did you know that over 130 million shoppers shop on Instagram monthly? Combined with Instagram’s ease of use for businesses, customers love the opportunity to easily browse, see reviews and build a relationship with the product and company. Many businesses are wondering how to best set up their Instagram shopping site for maximum productivity and efficiency in 2022, so let’s explore their findings!
Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels
1) First Steps
Instagram shopping is tightly controlled, to ensure sites are reputable and following rules that keep customers safe and happy. It’s important that you understand the rules from the start, to make the best design and set-up for your particular product or business. Before setting up your Instagram shop, you must ensure you meet all Instagram’s technical and business requirements, to avoid getting shut down! Ask yourself:
- Are you in a supported market?
- Are you selling an eligible product?
- Do you comply with Instagram’s published merchant agreement and commerce policies?
- Does your business have a website?
This information is available on the Instagram platform, so take some time to familiarize yourself with all Instagram information. It’s now time to set up your business or creator account, where you can get help setting up your Instagram shopping site, and also track valuable data easily and quickly. Now that you have taken the all-important first steps, it’s time to make sure you meet all the requirements to use Instagram shopping in 2022.
2) Requirements for Instagram Shopping in 2022
In addition to the high-level requirements above, Instagram requires businesses to have several ancillary elements before they can start doing business on the Instagram platform.
- A well-constructed and written business profile
- An established Facebook page and catalog
- 9 or more shopping publications (blogs or articles)
- An official website selling reputable and quality products
- Access to the Instagram application and an Instagram business account
Checkout our recent blog: Top 25 Trending Products to Sell Online
3) Main Advantages
One of the first things you should ask yourself when moving to a new ecommerce platform is, what are the main goals or advantages you hope to get from opening up this new area of the business? Instagram has proven itself valuable in many measurable ways including:
- Making the customer purchase process easy, streamlined and prepared for you by Instagram
- Customers love the ease of Instagram shopping, and also the trust in a reputable business. For example, businesses partnering with trusted sites like the USPS Shipping Calculator enjoy more customer confidence.
- The product display is uniform and plug-and-play, requiring very little time and effort from your staff to create stunning visual marketing
- A potential 70% increase in product discoverability
- Easy linking of products to written content and shoppable posts
- Easily integrate video with product and company descriptions
4) Tips and Tricks
Now that you have confirmed many of the requirements and initial steps for setting up your Instagram shopping platform, it’s time to consider the details. There are many tried and true best practices out there to help you get set up quickly and keep your page organized. Let’s explore a few tips and tricks to make the most of your new Instagram Shopping journey.
- Use high-quality (HD) video and images for all posts
- Use as much video as possible to showcase your products in-use
- Feature positive customer feedback or comments
- Communicate directly with your customers quickly and professionally, to create a relationship with your business and brand
- Tell a compelling visual story using a combination of customer and business images and video
- Tell the story of your products using concise captions and tools like hashtags and links
- Optimize easily for SEO by using compelling keywords in your product descriptions
- Pivot quickly and easily as needed in an ever-changing market environment
- Reach new customer bases easily through influencer links and customer feedback
Instagram has the potential to be your most valuable business resource, if used correctly. It’s important that you carefully research all Instagram shopping guidelines, and adhere to their policies, put in place to protect both businesses and customers. Take the time today to research how Instagram can boost your sales and help you reach new markets!