Instagram has long been a platform for many brands to showcase their brand and products and the idealized lifestyle that can come with them. As a marketing and advertising tool it has been priceless whether you’re targeting customers directly or through their favorite influencers.
One of the biggest drawbacks of advertising and marketing on Instagram was the fact that you have to send customers off-site in order to purchase your products. Fortunately Instagram remedied this issue in March 2019, almost exactly a year ago.
So one year after going live, here’s what you need to know about selling on Instagram Checkout.
Why Sell on Instagram Checkout
Instagram is where many people now do their “window shopping.” Instead of paging through fashion or lifestyle magazines people turn to Instagram. It’s not just for fashion or travel though. They get updates on everything from pet products to gardening tools.
There is no better way to capitalize on this attention than to allow people to buy what they see in a post right then and there! Here’s how it works…
“When you tap to view a product from a brand’s shopping post, you’ll see a ‘Checkout on Instagram’ button on the product page. Tap it to select from various options such as size or color, then you’ll proceed to payment without leaving Instagram. You’ll only need to enter your name, email, billing information and shipping address the first time you check out.”
Even before Checkout on Instagram launched Instagram was becoming a shopping destination. According to the social media platform, “130 million Instagrammers tapping to reveal product tags in shopping posts each month.”
While there are some drawbacks, like the fact that you can only tag a limited number of items to purchase per post, the benefits far outweigh them. It’s important to note that Checkout on Instagram is part of a healthy strategy.
Just like any other e-commerce platform (Amazon, eBay, etc.) you’re subject to their terms, conditions and algorithms. If the algorithm changes or you accidentally violate their terms and conditions you could lose a lot of business. That’s why it’s important to sell on a variety of platforms instead of going all in on one.
Top Tips for Selling on Instagram
Use Your Best Images
Instagram is all about the visuals. This might seem obvious but it’s worth stating. Investing time into creating engaging images will pay off in the end, literally. Images that are sloppy, poorly lit, out of focus or pixelated won’t spark anyone’s interest or imagination.
Make sure that your products look their best to entice your customers to tap to see the tags and shop. If your images aren’t on point consider taking a photography course or simply learning a few tricks of the trade. There’s a lot of free content out there that help you learn how to become a better photographer.
Use a Variety of Post Types
There are a lot of different kinds of posts that you can create and tag your products in them. You should be testing out a variety of these types of posts to see which ones work best for your brand. See what gets traction and experiment, you won’t know until you try.
Some of the different types of posts you can create are
- Instagram shopping feed posts
- Instagram shopping carousel posts
- Instagram stories with tagged products
- Instagram AR filters with tagged products
Max Out Your Tags
You can tag as many as 5 products in each post. If you have at least 5 products to tag in your image then do that. If your image doesn’t have the max amount of taggable products in it, that’s fine but don’t leave products untagged if you can help it. An unused tag is a missed opportunity!
Not every post needs to become a shopping post and that’s ok. In fact your followers might get frustrated if every post is pushing products and sales. Just make sure that when you do have images with your products in them to tag when possible.
The whole point of Checkout on Instagram is to make scrolling and shopping seamless, easy and convenient. Don’t deprive your customer the opportunity to buy a product they’re interested in.