Shoppable posts are a powerful way to connect followers to your WooCommerce store
Instagram has over 1 billion monthly users. Half of these people use it every day. Instagram now allows you to easily convert 500 million of these users with shoppable stories and posts.
A Facebook study found that 70% of Instagram users use the Instagram app to find new products and services. Additionally, more than 130 million people tap on shoppable posts every month.
Are you using Instagram to promote your products? It may be easier than you realize.
Are you familiar with the following tools?
- Account for Instagram business
- Facebook product catalogue and business account
- WooCommerce Store: Physical Products
If you answered yes, you have everything you need to market and sell products directly from the Instagram Mobile app. WooCommerce demonstrates how to set-up Shopping on Instagram.
Here are some basic questions and strategies that will help you grow your WooCommerce on Instagram.
What are Shoppable Posts?
Shoppable posts look just like regular Instagram posts but include a shopping bag icon and up to five product tags right on the image.
Shoppable posts first appeared in 2009. They listed the product description and price on the images. This made the photos look like advertisements and tarnished their quality. The subtle white shopping bag is similar to other tags your Instagram followers are familiar with such as video, Instagram TV and carousel posts.
Clicking on the shopping bag icon will allow users to view the description and pricing of the product, then they can click the link to the website to purchase the product.
75% Instagram users take some type of action (like viewing ads or visiting websites), so you want it to be as simple as possible for them make a purchase.
Let’s not forget that not all your posts need to be shoppable. Engaging with your audience is the first priority on social media. Also, you should be posting interesting content that shows people using your products.
A small number of shoppable post will make you stand out from all the other posts. Before you monetize it, build the relationship.
Optimize your Business Profile to Make Your Brand Stand out
Your Instagram Business Profile should reflect the culture of your company and encourage customers to follow you. Your profile picture and stories should be consistent with your brand. Visitors who are already familiar with your brand will be attracted to you by a recognized icon or color scheme.
An Instagram business profile can include a contact link. A personal profile will require you to include contact information and links. It is possible to specify the type of business you are in, such as retail, beauty or dining. This makes it easier for customers to find you.
Promoting or boosting posts increases brand awareness and helps you reach more customers who are interested in similar products.
Facebook reports that 70% of online shoppers visit Instagram to find new products, and 36% of Instagram users shop on Instagram.
Instagram’s new shopping channel allows your followers and visitors to view all your shoppable posts by simply clicking on the channel. You will need at least nine shoppable posts in order to trigger the shopping channel.
Learn more:
- Magento Pos
- Shopify Pos
- Bigcommerce Pos
- Woocommerce Pos
- Netsuite pos
- MSI
- Bigcommerce automation
- Shopify automation
- Backorder
Which Photographs are best for Shoppable Posts.
Photos should be appealing and captivating. These 10 tips will help you ensure that your stories and posts are engaging your customers with the best photographs.
1. Select a visual theme to use in your profile and posts
To increase your brand recognition and product appeal, it is a good idea to stick to the same theme if you already have a well-known brand. People will click on familiarity.
2. Different angles are possible for your products
Clicking on the carousel icon will allow you to add multiple photos to a single post. For new visitors, it is better to show your products from different angles than one single photo. The visitor will be more likely to buy if they spend longer interacting with your post.
3. Prioritize user-generated material
Engagement can be increased by user content. People love to see others wearing your products. You’ll be notified when a follower uploads a photo of themselves wearing your product and tags me. This post should be shared to your feed.
4. Your fan photos can be made shoppable by users
Customers trust their customers more than brands. Referrals and testimonials are powerful because of this. Trust in your brand will be increased faster if it is user-generated content.
To make your posts shoppable, use the shopping bag icon when you receive user-generated content.
5. Use Instagram Moving Pictures
These are similar to animated gifs. These are not videos, but they’re also not static photos. They are a collection of photos that look very similar and appear in order, much like stop motion animation. The movement draws attention to each image, much like a gif.
Let’s say you are selling a summer dress. You post a moving photo of the model walking while the skirt moves in the breeze. This is much more appealing than a static image of the dress. Customers will be able to visualize wearing your merchandise.
6. See behind-the scenes photos
Your products should not be featured in every photo. Your company is made up people. Customers like to get to know the human side of your company. Show your employees relaxing at home, or working remotely. Your customers can get a glimpse into the production process of a new product. Join the community.
7. Take DIY photos
Upload photos of customers using your products at home. Show your furniture to customers, not just a photo of the sofa.
8. Inspirational photos
Inspirational posts are a surefire way of increasing customer engagement. You don’t even need to tie it to your business. Images of high school graduates, athletic feats, or a first-time achievement type of image are shared, tagged, and commented on. These images draw attention to your company. There is no need to promote your business in every post.
9. Use seasonal or holiday posts
When used strategically, these can be extremely effective. These types of posts can be used to promote specials. You can display your products in seasonal displays and then sell them.
10. Upload helpful videos
Videos attract more attention than photos. However, don’t overwhelm your customers with videos that are of low value. As with shoppable posts: less is more. Post a video showing someone assembling the product and explaining what they did. You can also show your product in action.
Keep in mind that no matter which photos or videos you upload to Instagram, they should be consistent with your brand.
Run ads to attract new customers to your Instagram Store
Promoting posts that you have already shared is a great way to promote your products and business on Instagram. Click on the post you wish to promote and click “Promote”. Your post will be displayed to similar users to your followers. This will allow you to attract users more interested in your products.
You can set your budget, choose the days you want to run the advertisement and track your results with Insights. Your ad should contain a simple message telling the customer what you want them do. For example, “Shop Now.”
This is a great way for Instagram-Only promotions and traffic to increase.
You can increase your Instagram store’s visibility by offering Instagram-Only sweepstakes and Instagram Special coupons. You’ll also be visible when someone has similar interests clicks on the “explore” channel.
You can promote anything you can do with a blog post in an ad.
You can also advertise your promotion via email campaigns or on your website to drive existing customers to your Instagram shop.
Partner with an Influencer
Celebrities are known for selling products. Kim Kardashian West has more than 143M Instagram followers. Kim Kardashian West can post a picture of herself wearing your product and sharing it with her followers. That’s a lot of advertising exposure for your brand. Even if only 1% click on the image, that still leaves 1.43M potential customers.
If you don’t have the money to endorse a celebrity, consider a smaller influencer that might be willing to exchange your product for exposure among their 10,000 followers or 1000. These followers will have their own followers. An attractive, compelling photograph can quickly go viral on social media platforms like Instagram.
Don’t forget comment on the Instagram Story and share photos of your influencers or their followers wearing your product. Respond to comments from visitors. Do not sell in comments. Just engage with your audience.
If your brand is mentioned on an Instagram Story by someone, you will receive a notification. You can then add the story to your Story to show your appreciation. Social sharing is an excellent way to interact with your audience.
Use Hashtags To Gain New Followers
Hashtags can make your posts more searchable and can help you gain new followers if they are highly searched.
However, you want your hashtags relevant to your post. Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags in a single post. Overusing hashtags can make you appear unprofessional. You will still attract new followers if you use relevant hashtags that are relevant to your audience. Although there is an ideal number of hashtags, marketers may not agree. Each business is unique so you need to experiment to find the right number.
To see which hashtags were most popular, you can access your profile’s Insights.
Don’t forget to include your Instagram photos on your website. The WooCommerce Instagram Extension makes it easy to include your Instagram photos into your content.
Soon… Get in touch with Instagram
Instagram is currently in closed beta. Checkout with Instagram allows users to buy the product directly from the app, rather than getting a link to your site. Instagram stores all their information, including their credit card and PayPal details, so that they can make future purchases easier.
Currently, Checkout with Instagram is only available to 20 businesses. However, they will be adding more major brands over the next few weeks.
Instagram has not yet disclosed the fee for this service. Facebook offers an interest form for businesses interested in subscribing to the service when it becomes available.
Important: They will ask you which shopping platform you use. It is important to inform them that WooCommerce customers are interested so that they can roll it out for all users.
Your customers will find shopping easier with Checkout via Instagram. They’re also more likely to shop again because they can stay within the app.
Insta Shopping is the Future
Instagram has seen many improvements and is expected to continue to grow.
If you own a business with products to sell, this is the perfect time to start your Instagram store and get potential customers.
WooCommerce makes it easy to create your Instagram and Facebook business profiles, and link them to an online store.