Instagram Tips & Resources
By Jillian Warren
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Updated on June 13, 2022
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5 minute read
Instagram Shop is a major e-commerce tool. We're breaking down how to set up your own & drive sales 💸
Published January 25, 2021
With Instagram Shop, brands can curate a list of shoppable products that are directly accessible through their Instagram profile.
This makes it easier to sell on the app, and be discovered by potential customers too.
Ready to set up an Instagram Shop and start driving sales? Here’s everything you need to know.
Instagram Shop offers a way for businesses to showcase their product catalog and reach new customers on Instagram.
Brands can curate a list of shoppable products that are directly accessible through the “View Shop” button on their Instagram profile page.
But that’s not all. Brands with Instagram Shop can also be featured on the Instagram Shop tab — a shopping destination accessible from Instagram’s main navigation menu.
Instagram Shop is a streamlined way for users to discover shoppable products on Instagram, with the option to search by categories, see "Editors' Picks," and more.
By clicking on a suggested product, users can see more images that feature the product, pricing information, other products from the same retailer, and how to purchase.
Plus, for US-based brands with access to Instagram Checkout, shoppers can tap “Buy on Instagram” to purchase without even leaving Instagram.
TIP: Capitalize on your opportunities to drive sales by making the link in your Instagram bio shoppable too.
With Later's link in bio tool, Linkin.bio, you can create a clickable version of your Instagram feed and add it to the link in your bio.
And if you’re on a Later Growth or Advanced plan, you can connect your Shopify account to Linkin.
bio and tag products directly on your page.
Ready to turn followers into customers with a shoppable Instagram feed? Start using Linkin.bio today!
How to Set Up an Instagram ShopSetting up an Instagram Shop is easier than you might think. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started.
Step #1: Check Your EligibilityTo get set up with Instagram Shop, your business needs to meet the following eligibility requirements:
Your business is located in a supported market
Your business has an eligible product
Your business complies with Instagram’s merchant agreement and commerce policies
Your business owns a website domain in which you intend to sell from
Before you can set up an Instagram Shop, you’ll need to switch to a Business account. Follow these steps to convert your account.
Once you have a Business account, you can add in relevant business information, such as opening hours, business address, phone number and a link to your website.
Next up, follow these steps to link your Instagram business account to a Facebook Page:
Go to your business’s Instagram profile
Select “Edit profile”.
Under the “Public business information” section, select “Page”
Choose a Facebook Page from your Pages that you’d like to connect.
If you don’t have a Facebook Page, select “Create a new Facebook Page”.
NOTE: Facebook Page Shop is not required, only a Facebook Page.
Step #4: Upload Your Product CatalogInstagram Shop requires you to have a product catalog, which is a list of all your products, inventory, and descriptions.
There are two ways to connect a product catalog to your Instagram business account:
Catalogue Manager (The “do it yourself” method found within Facebook Business Manager)
E-commerce Platform Partner (An integration through one of our certified e-commerce platform partners, such as Shopify or BigCommerce)
Once you’ve connected a product catalog to your Instagram, you will need to submit your account for review by following these steps:
Go to your business’s Instagram profile and tap the menu icon
Select “Settings”.
Sign up for shopping
Follow the steps to submit your account for review.
Visit “Shopping” in your “Settings” at any time to check your status.
NOTE: Account reviews typically take a few days but sometimes can take longer.
Some businesses may be notified that additional information is necessary to prove ownership of your website domain. If you receive this notification, follow these steps to complete a domain verification process to submit your account for review.
Step #6: Turn On ShoppingOnce your account is approved, you can turn on shopping features.
Go to your business’s Instagram profile and tap the menu icon.
Select “Settings”.
Tap “Business” and then tap “Shopping”.
Select the “product catalogue” that you want to connect to your account.
Select “Done”.
NOTE: If you don’t see Shopping in your settings, your account is probably still under review or hasn’t been approved for Instagram Shopping.
Your Instagram Shop will automatically appear on your Instagram profile page.
PSA: You can add product tags when you schedule your posts in advance with Later! Join 4M+ marketers and sign up for a Later account today.
How to Sell on Instagram ShopOnce you’re set up Instagram Shop, a new “View Shop” button will appear on your business’s Instagram profile page.
From here, visitors will be able to browse your products, tap to find out more, and shop:
You will also be able to start tagging products in your feed posts, Instagram Stories, Reels, Guides, and Live broadcasts — opening up a ton of new e-commerce opportunities!
Setting up an Instagram Shop is a good first step when it comes to making sales for your business on Instagram.
However, setting up an Instagram Shop isn’t a guaranteed ticket to success — you also need to consider your content strategy.
Using a social media management tool for Instagram is one of the best ways to get ahead of your strategy, identify opportunities to make sales, and analyze your performance — all from one easy to use dashboard!
Ready to kickstart your Instagram strategy? Sign up to Later and start planning your content strategy in advance! Plus, you can now tag products from your Instagram Shop directly in Later.
About the Author
Jillian is Later's Editor. A go-to expert in social media strategy and content marketing, she has worked in both London and New York. Next up? Lisbon and Paris! You can reach out to her on Instagram here: @jillwrren.
Category Social Media & E-Commerce Blog Posts
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9 min read
By Jessica Worb
Category Social Media & E-Commerce Blog Posts
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7 min read
By Monique Thomas
Category Instagram Tips & Resources
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6 min read
By Jillian Warren
© 2022 Later. All Rights Reserved.
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Instagram Help CenterFacebook Ads GuideFree Online CoursesNearly half of people say they use Instagram to shop, weekly.1
Instagram Shopping is a set of features that allow people to easily shop your brand’s photos and videos all across Instagram.
Open your shop by completing the set-up process below in Commerce Manager.
You can choose to onboard onto Instagram Shopping by setting up your shop in Commerce Manager or a supported platform. Or, you can get started directly within the Instagram app.
You can choose to onboard onto Instagram Shopping by setting up your shop in Commerce Manager or a supported platform. Or, you can get started directly within the Instagram app.
GET STARTED IN COMMERCE MANAGER
@instagramforbusiness
Elena
Sergeeva Targeted advertising specialistAccording to Facebook Ads, 70% of users learn about new products from Instagram. To help sellers promote them, Instagram created the Instagram Shopping tool, which became available in Russia in March 2021. We will tell you why to connect this tool and how to set it up.
Instagram Shopping is a tool that allows you to tag products in your posts and Stories. Instagram takes information about products from the catalog that the seller uploads.
The profile with the option enabled looks like this:
There is a bag icon on the photo, which means that if you open a post, goods will be marked in it.
Source: COS Several items can be noted in the photo. When clicking on shopping tags, users will see the price and description of the product, and will also be able to follow the link and place an order on the site. nine0007
In addition to prices and the products themselves, the user also sees additional information about them: in the description, you can specify the composition of the fabric, size, available colors, etc. The user can also view the item from different angles in the gallery or learn about other products of the online store All this without leaving Instagram.
To get to the catalog with goods, you need to click on the "View store" button. Inside the store, products can be grouped into thematic collections, such as new arrivals or gifts. nine0007
US residents can pay for items within the app using Facebook Pay. In other countries, including Russia, this option is not yet available: users follow the link on the product to an external site and pay for the order there.
For example, Facebook prohibits the sale of brand replicas and any products with copyright infringement, and in order for the system algorithms to work correctly, the advertiser must consent to the transfer of data from his site. Violation of the trading agreement can result in account suspension.
The new catalog is created in Facebook's Commerce Manager, a section within the social network where you can manage your inventory and sales. If you already have a catalog, you can add it using one of the partner platforms: OpenCart, WooCommerce, Shopify, etc. We will talk about this when we go through the setup. nine0031 Log in to Commerce Manager, also found in your ad account.
The system prompts you to create a shop or catalog. The store is a single storefront for Instagram and Facebook, which is available to companies with physical goods.
To promote products on Instagram, click Add Catalog. Choose the type of catalog depending on the subject of your business, e-commerce is suitable for online stores.
In the next step, you need to configure the parameters and method for loading products. From the drop-down list, select the advertising account to which the catalog will be linked. nine0007
You can create a catalog yourself - by uploading a spreadsheet or by connecting a pixel - or through integration with one of the partner platforms. In the second case, the goods will be loaded from an existing online store.
Click the "Create" button - the catalog is ready.
Important : the catalog must contain exact prices and information about the availability of each item. In addition, the rules for returning goods must also be indicated - on the store's website or in the Instagram account.
To proceed with product creation, select the desired catalog in Commerce Manager and then click Add Products.
Add products using one of the following methods:
If you choose to download manually, a form will open. In it you need to add the name of the product, its description, images, link to the site and price. The system will tell you which data is not required.
After completing the form and uploading, the products will appear in your catalog. nine0007
Inside the catalog, products can be grouped into collections: for example, by subject, season, upcoming holidays, etc.
Collections help sellers to get to the user's interests more accurately, and users to quickly select goods.
You can create not only the standard collections, but also those that will attract more attention, such as "Top 10 coats" or "Gifts for best friends".
You can combine products into groups manually or using filters, for example, if there are a lot of products. nine0007
At the final stage, specify the name of the collection and click the "Create" button.
After creating a product catalog, you need to send an account for verification. The verification may take several days.
To add a catalog to Instagram, go to the "Settings" section in the application and select the "Company" tab.
Then click "Set up Instagram Shopping" and follow the prompts.
If the catalog passes the check, a "Purchases" section will appear in your Instagram account. Once your account is approved, turn on Instagram Shopping.
To do this, in the "Purchases" section, select the product catalog that you want to connect, and click "Finish". nine0007
To tag an item in a post, start posting as usual - add a photo and post text, and then follow these steps:
You can also mark the product in Stories. To do this:
Up to 5 products can be tagged in one photo, up to 20 in total in the gallery. In Stories, a sticker is added to only one product, but you can change its color and text.
Instagram Shopping will increase sales and user engagement in your account.
The product catalog can be used not only to familiarize subscribers with the assortment, but also to set up targeted advertising on Facebook and Instagram. nine0007
We especially recommend this tool for e-commerce: the user immediately sees the price and all information about the product. True, if a product or service involves preliminary communication with the client and a long transaction cycle, then the published price may scare the user away. Therefore, before using Instagram Shopping, consider whether the tool suits your product and the behavior of your target audience.
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Social networks are constantly expanding their functionality, adding various business opportunities. One of the most important options is the convenience of communication with customers.
The Instagram button, placed in the profile header, perfectly performs this function. Seeing such a button, the user can perform a certain action in one click.
Instagram active buttons allow you to quickly send a message, call, reserve time or place an order. In this article, we will show you how to make buttons on Instagram and add them to your account. nine0007
1. Why do we need buttons on Instagram
2. Action button on Instagram
3. Website button on Instagram
4. Store button on Instagram
5. Call button on Instagram
6. Whatsapp and other buttons on Instagram
7. Conclusion
Social network Instagram is actively used as a business platform. For quick interaction with potential customers, you can add active buttons to Instagram. They are divided into 2 categories:
Only business account holders can set up a button on an Instagram profile. For those who already have an Instagram profile, switching to a professional account is easy. You can do this in your page settings. nine0007
To do this, go to the profile editing mode in the "Account" section and select the "Switch to a professional account" option. Next, you need to choose from 2 proposed modes: "Author" or "Business".
Instagram profile buttons can be seen on most accounts created for commercial purposes - it doesn't matter if it's a big company, store or brand, or one person who promotes their services.
In any case, if Instagram is a way to earn money and attract new customers, it is necessary to use the tools for effective communication as much as possible. nine0007
Most often, on Instagram business pages, you can see the "Write" and "Call" buttons.
The "Write" button immediately directs you to Direct so that the user can send his message.
In addition to these most obvious methods of communication, the Instagram functionality allows you to add other buttons to the profile header. Later in the article, we will look at what other buttons you can make on Instagram and how to add them to your page.
Instagram action buttons redirect customers to third-party services where they can get the services offered by the company. At the moment, you can add 3 types of action buttons: "Order food", "Book" and "Reserve". nine0007
The “Order food” button is often seen on the pages of restaurants that cooperate with online food delivery services. You can place an order through Instagram using the Delivery Club and Yandex Food services.
In order to add a "Book" or "Reserve" action button on Instagram, you must first also register on one of the special services. The most popular are SimplyBook.
me, MyTime, Quandoo.
After that, you can proceed to setting up the action button on Instagram. To do this, in the settings add "Action buttons" -\u003e "Select a button" -\u003e "Partner selection". Select a third-party service that needs to be integrated, and then log in by entering your username and password. nine0007
You can also set up internal profile navigation - “buttons”, when clicked, the visitor will see the terms of delivery, examples of work, price list or something else. Highlight on Instagram will help with this - saved stories that serve for quick access to information.
In the Instagram profile description, you can add not only basic information about yourself, but also make an active link to the site. There can be only one website button on Instagram, and it is displayed in the profile header. If the url looks too long, you can use link shortening services (for example, clck.ru) to increase click-through.
nine0007
The Instagram Shopping option allows you to create an online store on Instagram and tag products from it in your posts. At the same time, the “Open Store” button appears in the account.
To use this option, you first need to create a Facebook store. To do this, you can automatically upload the catalog from your online store to the Facebook Shop section. Only physical goods can be sold in this way, and they must comply with the rules of the site. nine0007
Next, you need to make sure that Insagram is switched to a business profile. The account must be linked to Facebook so that the store on Instagram can integrate products from there.
By clicking on the “Open store” button on Instagram, the user sees product cards. They consist of an image, a title, a short description, and a price. At the moment, there is no way to place and pay for an order directly in the Instagram app. Therefore, under each product there is a button "look on the site" so that users can go to the online store and make a purchase.
nine0007
Like other action buttons, only business account holders can add a call button to Instagram. This is the fastest communication method that can be convenient for potential clients to get all the necessary information here and now. Those who decide to make a call button on Instagram need to be prepared to answer calls and communicate with customers on the phone. You may have to devote a considerable amount of time to counseling on all issues. nine0007
The "Call" button on Instagram will appear in the profile after the following actions:
Each user has many different instant messengers and social networks installed on their phones.
In order not to get confused in a large number of dialogues on different platforms, many people prefer to communicate in one messenger. For the convenience of potential customers, the WhatsApp button on Instagram is used. By clicking on it, the user enters the WhatsApp dialogue, where he can immediately start a correspondence.
The button to write to whatsapp on Instagram eliminates the need to look for a phone number, copy and add it to contacts. This is convenient not only for customers, but also for account holders. Through the messenger, an appointment is often made for various services, or consultations are given on the product. The WhatsApp WhatsApp button on Instagram helps you quickly get in touch with customers and increase the percentage of conversions. nine0007
How to add a whatsapp button on Instagram:
from country code: Russia 7; Ukraine 380; Belarus 375.
The number is written without "+" and brackets.
Thus, an active link will appear in the profile header, which will redirect the user to the WhatsApp conversation.
You can configure the link so that after clicking on the button and going to the chat, the user sees the standard template for the first message. So he does not have to think about how to start a dialogue - all that remains is to click on the "send" button. To do this, you need to create a link of format https://wa.me/number/?text=text
Instead of "text" you can add any message, the finished link will look like https://wa.me/7913545**31/?text=I want %20specify%20availability%20of goods
To make buttons for other messengers on Instagram, you can place a multilink in your profile. It is created using special services, such as Taplink, Mssg, etc. With their help, it is easy to set up quick access to all communication methods. You can make an unlimited number of buttons for all available instant messengers and social networks so that the user can choose the most convenient interaction option for himself.