Instagram Is About To Level Up Its E-Commerce In A Major Way - Here's What You Need To Know

In the wake of COVID-19, much of our lives have moved online, from work meetings to get-togethers with friends. As we get used to our web-based way of life, brands have had to dramatically change their operation models to compensate for the loss of brick and mortar business. In order to quickly accommodate this change, a focus on diversified and dynamic e-commerce has no doubt taken center-stage during your weekly Zoom meetings. 

No matter what that means for you as a brand - whether you manage an international CPG brand, a small lifestyle brand, are an influencer, etc., you’ll want to read up on the following features that will allow you to turn Instagram into a viable platform for focused e-commerce expansion. 

Instagram (and Facebook!) Shops

Most notably, and perhaps most important, a feature that is available right now on Instagram (and, by ownership, Facebook) allows brands to create an online Shop within their platform. This digital catalog serves as a sort of online storefront which app users can browse at their leisure without ever leaving Instagram or Facebook. Instagram has partnered with third party hosts to make it easy for marketers to manage these storefronts, and potentially even manage features like loyalty programs. 

After forming an Instagram Shop, social media managers can tag products in a post, which, when tapped, will bring customers directly to the Shop. From there, they can also see similar products that are listed in a brand’s catalog. This storefront can also be accessed easily from a brands profile page, under the shopping bag icon, making a seamless transition from browsing your feed to browsing your storefront.  

You’ve probably also noticed in the Instagram Discovery tab that there is now a Shop category. This feed consists exclusively of posts which have products in them that link to a brand’s Instagram Shop. In the upper corner of this feed, app users can see a “marketplace” of brands they follow. Clicking on a brand will take you directly to their Instagram Shop. Users can also use the bookmark tab on these posts to save them to a private “wishlist.” 

Although it is still in relatively exclusive testing stages, brands should also anticipate the roll-out of Instagram Checkout on a widespread scale. This feature will allow customers to purchase items from your Shop while staying within the app. That’s right - customers won’t even have to make the critical jump to your site to complete a purchase anymore! The best way to be ready to take full advantage of this feature when it becomes more widespread is to have a solid foundation in your Instagram Shop. 

 Note that you must have a business profile in order to take advantage of the Shops feature!

IG Live Shopping 

So, your brand’s Instagram Shop is up and running. You are getting some conversion from your tagged posts on your feed. That’s great! But how can you make a meaningful connection with your followers while pointing them in the right direction? That’s where Instagram’s Live Shopping feature will come into play. 

Instagram Live has experienced a massive surge in popularity since coronavirus lockdown measures meant brands could no longer host in-person events. Brands have hosted anything from DJ sets and tutorials to meditations and interviews over Instagram Live in the past few months, with huge attendance and engagement rates. With the introduction of Live Shopping, a brand now has the ability to use live tags which show products being used or mentioned in an IG Live video in real time. Later Blog editor Nikki Canning likened this feature to the new QVC, but, critically, it has the added bonus of meaningful live direct interaction with consumers in the form of live comments.

Brands should keep an eye out for the rollout of this feature very soon. In the meantime, spend some time brainstorming and perfecting an appropriate Instagram Live schedule of content that will appeal to your target audience.    

IG Live Badges

Another great form of revenue for creators and hosts of Instagram Live events is the future roll-out of Live Badges. Perhaps taking inspiration from the increasingly popular platforms like Patreon, where consumers pay for exclusive content, this feature allows people to pay for different levels of “sponsorship” for individual Live videos on Instagram. Once they contribute a small amount of money (between $0.99 - $4.99) they will get a badge next to their name that indicates their contribution and what level they contributed at. These badges make it easy for consumers' comments to stand out to Live hosts, for a shoutout or thank you and also to drive revenue to brands for hosting a Live event on Instagram. 

IGTV Advertisements 

Like IG Live, IGTV has steadily risen in popularity since its launch in 2018, however it is hard for content creators to justify dedicating a lot of time to these edited, longer format videos because they don’t have the ability to generate revenue like, say, a YouTube video would. To remedy this reluctance, Instagram has decided to take the leap into introducing ads into IGTV, giving creators the opportunity to make money from the content they post on IGTV. It is still in the testing stages right now, but brands, especially influencers, should keep their eyes out for this exciting new feature that will surely usher in a new push for IGTV creativity and popularity!

More Fun Features

In addition to the e-commerce growing features outlined above, Instagram has also put some focus on rolling out features which will make content creation and community building easier for not only brands, but also regular users. 

To start, they plan to enable some AR filters to be added to content which may have been created outside the app. That means that users can now add effects and filters to pre-existing pictures and videos within the app in order to maintain a cohesive aesthetic for their online presence. This will definitely come as a relief to anyone who has ever regretted filming content that they intend to post to Instagram without a filter. 

Additionally, Instagram has followed the example of popular video platform TikTok, to create a “greenscreen” effect for video. This form of AR makes it easier than ever for content creators to customize their videos.  

Another exciting feature is the ability to create Facetime-like chat rooms which can host up to 50 people at one time, called Messenger Rooms. They are part of a new feature from the  Facebook app called “Messenger” but can be used within Instagram as well. Critically, these conference call-like Rooms have no upper time limit, can be dropped in and out of at will, and don’t require invitees to have a Facebook or Instagram account. It’s a great way to host a digital party, or even just send an open invite to connect with a large group of friends, where you can drop in and out as they dial in to the Room. 

You may be overwhelmed with all of these new features and possibilities, but the good news is that not all of them are coming at once. Take some time in the coming weeks to evaluate your brand’s needs and then create a plan to set up the critical foundation needed to make the transition into these features as smooth as possible as they become available to you. Then, drop by our social media channels to let us know how you’re getting on with your new e-commerce focused Instagram platform!

Need assistance with your social media strategy? Contact us!