Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash
Would you believe me if I told you that a majority of individuals discover products and services through Instagram? In fact, a survey commissioned by Facebook found that as many as 83% of people use the social media service for this purpose.
Instagram has come a long way from being a photo-sharing site. Since 2019, Instagram has rolled out a “Checkout on Instagram” feature and a new “Shop” tab on the main page. With the introduction of these new features, it has transitioned into a shopping platform, enabling businesses worldwide to sell through visuals.
With over 2 million businesses connecting with their audience through the platform, it's evident that Instagram is an effective and growing platform to boost sales, especially for younger audiences. Over 60% of Instagram’s advertising audience aged 18 to 34.
There are some terrific guides out there for using Instagram as part of your eCommerce strategy. If you are a business owner looking to embrace the potential of Instagram Shopping, KittyKat has found some of the best guides to creating a shop on Instagram for you.
1. How to Sell on Instagram: A Full Guide on Instagram Shopping in 2023
This guide from social software company, Combin, offers a strong step-by-step approach to using Instagram within your eCommerce strategy. Starting with setting up your store to using all the features within Instagram, it’s short, to-the-point and still fairly comprehensive, giving you a good idea of all the shopping tools in the Instagram toolbox.
Highlights:
- “Instagram Shop: If you set up your Instagram Shop, you let your followers save products to a wishlist right on Instagram, find items that are on sale, find more details about the item (discover its description), message right to the seller upon additional questions, see prices, find it on your website store, sort and filter the items by various parameters (size, colour, etc), and more.”
- “Instagram Shopping from Creators: Influencers are a powerful asset that every marketer should leverage. They had this power before the shopping from creators was available on Instagram, and it has been multiplied: now creators can bring direct traffic to your Shop and increase sales on the platform. How? Creators tag your products in posts, and their followers go right to your Shop to browse them.”
All Topics in the Guide:
- Instagram Shops
- Instagram Feed Post Shopping
- Instagram Live Shopping
- Instagram Shopping via Guides
- Instagram Shopping from Creators
- Instagram Stories Shopping
- Instagram Reels Shopping
- Instagram Shopping Requirements
- Instagram Shopping Ads
2. Ultimate Guide to Instagram Shopping
Most people have seen tagged shopping posts, but did you know that stories are an effective yet subtle way to highlight your product? With product stickers, you no longer need to swipe up and follow a link to their website. Later’s guide covers this and other insights, ensuring that you’ll be equipped with lesser-known, yet useful tips.
Highlights:
- “Instagram Live Shopping: With Instagram Live Shopping, you can tag products directly in your Live broadcast for viewers to tap and purchase. It’s like a modern-day QVC experience. How does it work? Accounts with access to Instagram Checkout can tag up to 30 products from their Facebook Shop or catalogue before going live.Then, during the broadcast, the host can pin one product at a time to the screen — providing a new and interactive way to shop.”
- “Instagram Guides Shopping: Instagram Guides provide an easy way to share recommendations or tips — and there are three different formats to choose from: places, products, and posts. With product guides, you could curate a list of your best-selling products, or create targeted roundups based on your audience’s needs. Plus, anyone can create a product guide on Instagram, so this can also be a great way to partner with influencers or creators.”
All Topics in the Guide:
- Instagram Feed Post Shopping
- Instagram Shops
- Instagram Stories Shopping
- Instagram Live Shopping
- IGTV and Instagram Reels Shopping
- Instagram Guides Shopping
- Instagram Shopping from Creators
3. How To Sell on Instagram: The 2023 Guide
The team behind e-commerce platform Shopify created this updated guide on different ways to leverage the social media platform. It’s informative, even incorporating clear illustrations and case studies. Need a reliable customer support automation tool? Unsure what assets you need before setting up a product catalogue? This guide has all the answers and more.
Highlights:
- “Run Instagram Ads: When someone is interested in your promoted product, they can go directly to a product detail page to learn more. If you’re a US business, you can run ads with Instagram checkout too, so people can purchase directly in-app. These ads run in feed or Explore using single image, carousel, or video formats from your product catalogue. They work just like regular Instagram ads: you build them in Ads Manager and can show to a custom audience or lookalike audience to find new potential customers.”
- “Publish Reels: Reels let your business create and publish videos up to 60 seconds long. It’s easy to get creative with easy-to-use text, AR filters, and audio to tell your brand’s story. Reels can also appear on the Explore page where anyone on Instagram can see them. The coolest part? You can tag products in your Reels, so that when someone views your Reels they can easily access the products or collections mentioned in it.”
All Topics in the Guide:
- Partner with influencers
- Run Instagram ads
- Use product tags
- Publish reels
- Curate user generated content
- Use the right hashtags
- Use video to showcase your product
- Automate customer support with DMs
Keep Up with Instagram Shopping
Stories, Reels, Posts, Storefronts, IGTV, Creator Content, Lives. The world of social e-commerce is evolving everyday. To keep up with the growing list of ways to sell, brands need an endless supply of eye-catching visuals. Follow us on Instagram as we share tips and insights on using video, animation and images to sell more products.
