Is Instagram Shop Feature the Savior of Online Businesses?
Written by Noyonika Sircar
Instagram has led the pack of trends and shopping much before online shopping warmed up to the world. With the future of shopping relying more on the digital stores, Instagram found the perfect opportunity to fit in their latest shop feature and to bring customers closer to the products. By deepening the curve of e-commerce, Instagram has turned to a catalogue for shoppers, giving them access directly to the product after one on the picture.
After announcing their shopping feature last March 2020, Instagram took a step ahead by incorporating a shopping icon, right in the same line with the home icon swapping the activity icon. This is a major pump for the online businesses thriving on Instagram.
In this article, we will tell you how to enrich the shopping experience on Instagram.
This feature is a recent update on Instagram, hence your Instagram needs to be totally up to date for this icon. As soon as the update is done, the shop icon appears next to the reels icon, on the menu bar. Previously, you can tag the items in your photo for the buyers to purchase the item as they are directed to the website immediately.
However, this time, merging with Facebook shopping features, Instagram allows the buyers to shop without leaving Instagram.
First check if you meet the following requirements:
you are based out of a country where Instagram shop feature is available
make sure your Facebook page is connected to your Instagram account
you have to have a business profile activated on Instagram
Keep up to date with the collections
The buyers already get the filtered version on their shopping page from the accounts they have been following, the best way to engage them will be, by putting the best foot forward. Make sure that your store’s shop catalogue is up to date online. While doing this, it is highly recommended to have a pleasing feed with significant aesthetics, that will make you outshine. The latest feature also allows businesses to customize templates for shopping. Make sure you have a strikingly identifiable aesthetic game here.
Shopping tags: Promote, Promote and Promote
The sole way to garner all the attention will be through extensive promotion. Instagram is a place for the youth and the trendsetters. Promotion will not only get you maximum traffic on Instagram but also will make your website more visible, since shoppers on Instagram are redirected to your website as soon as they click ‘shop now’. Don’t forget to hashtag and add quality content to your instagram business.
Live shopping
With more than a million users tapping on Instagram stories everyday, Instagram live is the best way for the merchants to connect to more and more customers. The live shopping feature on Instagram, allows buyers to go to the website and shop instantly. This is the best place for the brands to incorporate more action, tutorial, styling videos to show viewers a full proof testimony of the product.
Reel your way to shop
Since Instagram is pushing the reels feature lately, this gives the brands an added advantage of gearing up on the aesthetics, creating a signature style and also bringing in more products encapsulated in a small video. Hence, the reels section should not be treated lightly instead utilized for stirring visuals, interactive content initiating conversations or maybe a Q&A before the launch of any new product.
Always be authentic
Instagram will always be your frenemy. As long as you leave a portion of your identity with your brand, it reaches to the heart of people. Extra bonus will be by continuously sharing user feedback and building your own community, for a meaningful real time engagement.
These were a few tips to help your business flourish on Instagram. BMG caters particularly to such gaps, between the brand and the audience. With a loyal and active community, BMG makes sure your brand resonates with your identity in the digital space without much noise. Instagram gives you creative autonomy and BMG, the direction. Together, we can make your community grow bigger.
So now, let's put them to use!
