Gone are the days when people used to actually get out there for Shopping. A new era of online shopping has pounced on the traditional markets and traditional ways of shopping. Earlier days there was a fear of buying without feeling and touching the product, the security of payments and the overall buying experience in the mind of consumers. But with the increasing number of technological advancements, the fear started fading away. Plus, there are way more secure options of buying products online and paying for that of those. It is welcoming new opportunities and bringing the world closer.
While there are many platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, etc. performing their best, there is an addition to the list which is one of the most trending social media platforms among the Millennials – Instagram. The platform which was only popular as a social media app for posting pictures, is now focusing on becoming a more business friendly platform. Selling on Instagram has got a lot easier with the launch of Instagram’s Shoppable Posts feature. Instagram has launched this feature, a native integration that makes it easy to tag and shop products directly from the organic Instagram Posts. The testing of the feature has been going on since 2016, which has officially launched for the users now.
All you need to do is create a Facebook catalog with Facebook Business Manager, create a Shop with the help of Shopify or BigCommerce and connect the online shop to your Business’ Instagram account. After which you can upload the photos you want to tag by setting up Post settings, Upload and you’re done! It’s that easy, quick and simple.
According to a research, 32% of Internet users are using Instagram. Which means that there are chances for a good amount of engagement on the platform. It’s also worth noting that Women typically spend more time on Instagram than Men. Also, 59% of the Instagram users are between the age 18 to 29 years. This data shows that there is a great opportunity to build brand awareness, which means there are greater opportunities to make Sales. With the advanced tools offered by Instagram, you can see detailed analytics of who is viewing your posts as a seller, customize your storefront, examine the engagement of viewers etc. Also, there are Hashtags which lets you search through content and discover new posts related to the topics you are interested in. You can directly Chat with buyers or partner with Influencers for indirect sales. With shoppable posts, customers can picture themselves with the product easily, see the relevant information they need to determine whether they are interested or not, without even leaving the app. What a powerful tool for businesses.
Shoppable posts are the best that can happen to any e-commerce business, small or big. Shoppers enjoy the convenience of this digital marketing trend, which helps them to receive relevant items directly to their Instagram feed and make purchases with ease. Shoppable posts help you gather data about shoppers to improve the effectiveness of your social media marketing. The more relevant data you have about your target audience, the more effective your marketing would be. By using images and videos, Shoppable posts leverage storytelling to help you sell your product visually. Storytelling manages to set an emotional response and improves the consumer’s memory of your products. The new feature shortens customer journeys. It only takes two clicks to go from Instagram to the desired product in the seller’s store. Shoppable posts create a direct transaction between your e-commerce brand and consumers. It’s all in the past when retailers seemed like they could never be reached or were too high for customers to reach. You can learn more about your customers by using Shoppable posts. You can have an idea about what they love and what they don’t, what they are obsessed with and makes them stick to their screens to scroll continuously.
Businesses have seen a significant rise in both traffic and sales since launching the shopping feature on Instagram. 75% of Instagram users take action after seeing an advertising post on Instagram. Instagram has become a search engine for consumer desires due to its strong interaction. If you look at Instagram as a search engine for your consumer’s interest, you can curate products that will sell better on Instagram compared to your e-commerce site. It’s a great time to be on Instagram, that’s for sure!
Nowadays a large chunk of internet users use Instagram daily. In this digital age, consumers are looking for easy and superior online experience. This feature helps your brand leverage the power of social media in increasing brand awareness, engagement and sales. Instagram is all about sharing stories and showcasing lifestyles. Eventually, you want to place your brand apart from the competition and make it the most appealing. You can generate tons of sales if you play your cards right!.
Vaishnavi Wagh
PGDM-Batch: 2020-2022
Vivekanand Business School