If your e-commerce store is in the business of selling physical products, then it might be time to check out one of Instagram’s recently introduced features, Shoppable Instagram feeds.
A Shoppable Instagram feed provides the perfect online location to showcase your merchandise because you can load up each image with up to 5 links leading back to your e-commerce store. It’s a much more versatile system than previous offerings. For example, an outfit displayed on Shoppable can have up to 5 links to separate items in the image. If the potential customer loves the shirt, but the shoes not so much, they can visit the shirt listing directly.
Before Shoppable, visitors arriving from Instagram would have had to navigate to the correct category page and use a keyword search to find what they were after. The new feature is sure to be appreciated by e-commerce store owners and customers alike because of its convenience. It’s a fantastic resource to incorporate visual marketing into your digital strategy.
Instagram Carousel Posts
Carousel posts provide another way for you to engage with your customers. A carousel post allows you to display up to 20 separate images with a unique link to each one. It’s a simple way to introduce a new collection or promote a sale on various products. Each post that you tag will appear in a shopping feed on your profile, and this works for single image Shoppable posts as well. All a visitor has to do to access your Shoppable posts is click on the shopping bag icon displayed at the bottom of the image, which is an added level of convenience. Discover how to use Instagram post templates to generate sales.
Instagram E-commerce Reels
With all the trouble brewing around TikTok in the U.S. right now, retailers looking for an alternative social platform to show off their products would do well to turn their attention to Instagram’s new feature, Instagram Reels.
Instagram has been focusing a lot on providing marketing solutions to e-commerce retailers lately. Justin Osofsky, Instagram’s Chief Operating Officer, said in an interview that they are “making it easy for sellers to share their story, reach customers, and make a living.”
According to Mr. Osofsky, the Reels strategy is a response to other e-commerce channels on Instagram getting crowded out. The popular social media platform has also expanded its Commerce Eligibility Requirements. As a result, they aim to entice more e-commerce businesses and influencers to come into their fold. Noticed Reels’ similarity with how TikTok does things? Some would say that Facebook offers a stable alternative to that troubled platform.
How Reels Works
Instagram Reels are bite-sized videos up to 15 seconds long. These can be layered with special effects, separate audio tracks, and filters. It sounds a lot like Instagram Stories, but there are key differences that make it stand out. You get access to more editing tools, which includes AR effects. You can speed up and slow down audio and align multiple clips for smoother transitions. Reels will also appear in Instagram’s Explore feed as long as your account is public. It’s a fantastic opportunity to reach people who may have never heard of you.
As the pandemic continues to shutter businesses across the country, Facebook is capitalizing on retailers’ transition to online trade. Facebook isn’t the only big brand investing and developing infrastructure to attract online commercial operations. So it seems that e-commerce will be a trend that continues to rise even in a post-pandemic world.
All photos shot by Yulia Grigoryeva on 123RF.