Selling on Instagram offers businesses of all sizes incredible opportunities to reach their target audience and drive revenue. With more than 800 million active users and the potential to reach 1 billion in 2018, Instagram has the highest engagement rate among social networks.
Why you should sell on Instagram
More and more consumers are using Instagram and not Google to search for brands. This means you should be spending as much time and effort creating a beautiful Instagram feed as you would creating your website. According to the recent report, 80% of users follow a business on Instagram and at least 30% of them have purchased a product they first discovered on Instagram.
You can sell products in your Online Store on Instagram by creating tags on your Instagram posts that showcase your products. When people tap your product tags, they can view the item’s details and a price and get a link to this product in the Online Store.
Note: You can only tag your products if your store is registered in one of these 44 countries, your Instagram app has been updated to the latest version, and you have switched your Instagram account to Business.
Before you begin
Create a product catalog on your Facebook business page. This would allow Instagram to pull your Facebook Shop product feed. To connect your Online Store with the Facebook Shop, follow this guide.
Here are the steps that help you to sell on Instagram.
Connect your Facebook Store to Instagram
- On your Facebook Shop page, locate the link to Settings.
- Navigate to Instagram on the left-hand side menu.
- Find the option Add Your Instagram to get started and click Log in.
- You will see the Instagram application login screen inviting you to enter your login details.
- If you are creating a brand-new Instagram account for your business, enter your email, the desired password, and a phone number. Write these details down and keep them safe.
- Review Instagram's new Data Policy and return to Instagram.
How to switch to Instagram's business account
To sell on Instagram, you must switch to a Business Profile. Before you proceed, make sure your profile is set to Public. Private accounts cannot switch to Business Accounts. To manage this, navigate to Edit Profile in your desktop Instagram application.
- Locate the option Privacy and Security in the left-hand Edit Profile menu and make sure that the option Private Account under Account Privacy is unchecked.
- Switch back to your Facebook Instagram management page, where there is now a window inviting you to set up a business account Set Up Your Business Profile will appear.
- Press Continue.
- With a business account, you will get access to new business features, as well as Insights analytics features to learn more about your followers and Instagram-only Promotions to drive revenue. Click Continue to add your contact email, a phone number (optional), and a physical store address (if applicable) and press Done. You can amend these details later.
How to convert a personal profile into a business one
You can also convert your personal Instagram account to a Business Profile:
- Go to your profile and tap Options(☀ if using an iPhone or ⋮ in Android) in the top-right corner.
- Tap Sign up for a Business Profile.
- Choose between Create New Account or Convert Existing Account.
- On the Set Up Your Business Profile page, review your business’s contact information, make any changes, and press Done.
Note: Currently, a Business Profile on Instagram can only be connected to one Facebook Page.
Managing your Instagram seller account
- With Facebook, you can manage your Instagram comments using the Pages Manager app, which you can download from Apple’s App Store or the Google Play store. Your Facebook Ads can also be used on Instagram.
- Use your mobile device to log in to your Instagram account. Start sharing photos and videos, as well as publishing customized content that supports your business goals.
Note: desktop and mobile versions of the Instagram application are not identical. The desktop application has limited functionality compared to the mobile app. For the best Instagram results, always use the mobile application to share content and view analytics.
- Before you can access the shoppable Instagram posts feature and product tagging feature, your account must be approved by Instagram. According to Instagram, the review process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. Make sure to review Facebook commerce policies to avoid promoting a product that goes against current regulation. This can delay the results of your review or even make them unsuccessful.
As soon as your account is approved, you will receive a notification that you can turn on the product tagging feature in your Instagram app.
- Once you see the shopping link in your Business Settings section of the Instagram app, you can start product tagging.
- To check if you have been approved to create shoppable posts, go to Edit Profile and tap the Get Started link. If you don't see the option, go to Settings, tap Shopping, and Continue. Select a Facebook Shop product catalog to connect to your business profile and tap Done.
- You can tag products in both new and existing posts from your Instagram business profile. To tag your products in your posts:
a) Select a photo for the post, add filters, hashtags, and a caption.
b) Tap the products in the photo that you want to tag.
c) Enter the names of the products you want to tag. Select them as they appear in the search box.
d) Tap Done and share your post.
Note: You can tag up to 5 products per a single-image post or 20 products per a carousel post.
You are done! Make sure to check out helpful Instagram tutorials which you can find in the mobile Instagram app. Click on Options (☀ if using an iPhone or ⋮ in Android) and then scroll down to Business Settings to locate Tutorials on community building, creating engaging content, and posting.
This feature is available on all Online Store plans.
This feature is available on Professional and Unlimited Online Store plans.