Have you ever had an amazing product
that you wanted to sell on Instagram,
but you had no idea how to get people to shop from your post?
I'm Sue B. Zimmerman, and today, I'm
going to share with you how to do exactly just that.
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When it comes to shopping, Instagram shoppable posts
create an experience that's less transactional and more
seamless.
Now, in just a few taps, people can
go from inspirational to information
and make a purchase.
And the best part?
Selling products can be done in a way that's
completely organic to the Instagram experience.
Ready to create shoppable posts for your business?
This has been one of the most commonly asked questions
that I've been getting.
Sue, how can I sell my products on Instagram?
And today, I'm finally telling you
everything you need to know.
But first, let's talk about what shoppable posts are.
When you see an icon of a shopping bag on a post,
you can tap it and check out instantly.
And this is why it's so important
to merchandise your products on Instagram
as if you would see them in a store.
You want the experience to be very similar to a shopping
experience.
You want that emotional pull.
But remember, you always want to keep in mind that you don't
want to be overly sales-y.
It still should be organic to an Instagram experience.
Before I teach you the steps for setting this up for yourself,
I want you to know what's required
for this to work for you.
Number one, you have to have a Facebook business page.
Number two, you have to have a Facebook business
page that's connected to your Instagram account.
And number three, you have to sell physical products
through a shop.
How to create shoppable posts.
OK, now I'm going to show you how
you can create shoppable posts with a Facebook
catalog and Facebook Messenger so that you can sell more
products directly on Instagram.
Full disclosure, I do not sell physical products.
This is not a do-and-done process.
It actually takes time to be approved
and to understand the step-by-step process.
So it takes a little effort up front,
but once you get the hang of it, it's a quick process to update.
First, go to your Facebook business page.
This should be the account linked to your Instagram
account.
Then, click on the arrow drop-down
right here on the top-right corner.
Make sure you have your business page set up.
Once that's done, you need to create a catalog
to add to the page.
Go to business.facebook.com/products.
Click on Create Catalog.
You have to give your product catalog a name
and select the type of products you're adding to your catalog
before adding your product [? feed. ?] Finally,
once you've done this, you're ready to connect your product
catalog to your Instagram account.
Remember when I said, plan ahead, earlier in the video?
Because now your account has to be reviewed by Instagram
before you can access the shoppable Instagram post
feature.
Once that's done, go ahead and tap on the icon
of the person on your profile.
Tap the Get Started alert at the top of your profile.
If you don't see the alert in the image above,
tap on the gear, and then tap on Shopping.
Tap Continue.
Select a product catalog to connect to your business
profile.
Tap Done.
And when you're ready to tag a product,
you'll do it on the share screen just
like you would another post.
Just select Product and start typing the name of the product
that you're selling.
And then you just select it, and it
will be tagged in your photo.
If you're ready to be a boss on Instagram
with the shoppable post, go ahead
and give me a thumbs-up right here in the comments below.
What are the benefits to sharing shoppable links?
With so many businesses already on Instagram,
it's important that you're not only capturing
people's attention, but you're making it really easy
for them to buy from you.
You want to make sure that your posts stand out
for all the right reasons.
And that's not being overly sales-y.
People are drawn to you because of your amazing images first.
They already have an emotional connection with you
before they purchase from you, so buying from you
should be very seamless.
Pro tip-- don't make every post shoppable.
If you look at the big brands, a lot of them
frequently feature shoppable posts.
Some might even make every post shoppable.
But for many medium and smaller businesses like you,
this can feel overly sales-y and somewhat desperate,
and you could potentially lose a customer who might not
necessarily be ready to shop when they first see
the shoppable posts, but might want to buy in the future.
That's why it's important that you share a variety of content
that your potential customers could really be interested in.
One brand that does this very well
is Herschel Supply Company.
They offer amazing products such as computer cases
and backpacks, but they are also very intentional about sharing
non-sales-related content that reflects their brand's mission
and values, like this mountain view in Australia,
or a kick-off to one of their far-out brand campaigns.
Herschel knows that their customers are loyal not just
because of the products that they sell,
but what the adventure and fun that the brand represents.
If you are an entrepreneur or a service who
sells physical products, you absolutely
need to be using this feature because it's
great for your business, and it's totally free.
But remember, your feed should not
feel like a giant sales pitch.
Share intentional content and your followers
will eventually become paying customers.
If you've purchased something from Instagram.
Let me know in the comments below.
Who knows?
Maybe I'll want to buy it too.
Did you like this video?
Go ahead and hit thumbs-up, press that Subscribe button,
and let me know in the comments below,
what do you wish that you could be buying on Instagram?
I love shopping on Instagram, and I
want to know what you would like to be buying.
And if you haven't downloaded my free Instagram strategy
guide yet, that link is waiting for you right below this video.
And I'll see you in the next video.
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