How To Sell On Instagram With Shoppable Posts

Instagram holds a world of infinite interest. You can scroll past picture-perfect destinations, see curated fashion trends, and ogle delicious confections, all with the touch of your fingertips. But there’s one thing you can’t do. You can’t click on just any Instagram post and be redirected towards an outside site like you can on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. For most Instagram accounts, there’s only one measly way to explore a particular business, person, or organization more on Instagram — by clicking the link in the bio (if they’ve supplied one).  Sure, some larger channels with thousands of followers can add a link to swipe up within Instagram Stories, but not everyone can attain those levels of popularity immediately — or ever!

What’s more, I’d be willing to bet that many of you who are reading this post have never even actually clicked the bio links of your favorite Instagrammers.  And all that is by design. Instagram is structured to keep you engaged and interested by scrolling—and staying—within the app itself. Historically, Instagram has kept a tight leash on outgoing links, and the reason for that is now becoming clear; by limiting outside link clicks, Instagram has created an ideal scenario to introduce shopping right on its own platform.

Shoppable Instagram posts are an entire ecosystem just ready to flourish. But will they? What do shoppable Insta posts mean for small businesses in general, and how can you make them work for your business? In this post, we’ll explore what you need to do to sell on Instagram and show you some options for getting started. Let’s get going!

Ready to sell on Instagram? Shopify makes it easy.

Mobile	POS	Online	Social Media
Mobile App + Free Card Reader	Point of Sale	Online Store	Social Media Selling
Get Started	Get Started	Get Started	Get Started
Low-cost POS for iOS and Android with free hardware	All-purpose POS integrated with all sales channels	Build a store or integrate with your current website	Sell on Facebook and other platforms
Starts at $9/month	Starts at $29/month	Starts at $29/month	Starts at $9/month
Free Trial	Free Trial	Free Trial	Free Trial

Read on to learn more about how this works.

What Are Instagram’s Shoppable Posts?

Unlike the typical Instagram post where you can look but not “touch,” a shoppable Instagram post is one that is connected to a seller’s inventory and available for purchase. A shoppable post may keep you entirely within Instagram for in-app payment, or you may be redirected to that particular product on the seller’s outside website. We are going to take a look at both of these scenarios by examining both Square and Shopify — two platforms that take different approaches to reaching customers on Instagram.

Want to see some examples of shops that sell directly within Instagram? Start by going to Search, which on Instagram is the magnifying glass icon located at the bottom of  the screen. Once you are in the search function, you’ll find general categories lining the top, as well as a random conglomeration of posts like those below. Since we’re only interested in shoppable posts right now, we would click Shop at the top.

Once you select Shop, you’ll find shoppable categories along the top of your feed. In the screenshot below, category buttons (such as Beauty and Clothing & Accessories) line the top of the screen. Note: If you’re just scrolling around on Instagram and happen to see a post with a little purse icon at the bottom right, you can be sure it’s shoppable. Every post shown below is shoppable because I’m within the Shop section on Instagram.

In the example below, you can see that each item for sale is also tagged with a price. Moving your attention to the bottom left, you’ll see the little purse. You can pull up even more available items from that seller by selecting the View Products button.

Before we go too much further, I want to point out that there are two different types of shoppable Instagram options: One confines the purchase entirely on Instagram, and the other involves a tagged post that’s shoppable by a link that takes your shoppers directly to your online storefront. Let’s first take a look at the in-app purchase flow.

For the customer who is ready to make a purchase, the checkout flow within Instagram’s app is short and sweet. After supplying my name in one screen and shipping information in the next, I am now ready to give my payment details. When I do this, Instagram saves my information so that I don’t have to ever enter it again in any other Instagram shop. Instagram Checkout accepts all the major credit cards, plus PayPal.

Screen capture of Instagram checkout 2019

Selling on Instagram with a completely in-app payment flow requires integrating with an existing eCommerce platform such as Shopify, 3dcard, Big Commerce, or Magento. We are going to take a close look at connecting Shopify with Instagram in just a minute. With this option, you actually don’t even need a separate website to start selling on Instagram, but if you do, everything syncs automatically for you.

As mentioned a moment ago, your other option to sell on Instagram is by creating a tagged post that goes directly to your site. The shop below is an example of what that looks like. Customers can check out the items you’ve connected to Instagram by clicking on View Products, or they can click on a tagged product and go directly to that product’s page on your own site. What we are looking at below is inventory that this particular seller created and added to their Product Catalog. We’ll talk more about this catalog in a moment, as it’s the gateway to selling all things on Instagram.

Shoppable Catalog

But first, let’s see what happens if we like an item in this seller’s catalog. I like the look of this art print, so I click on it. The button below tells me I’ll be redirected to the seller’s outside site.

Now that you have an idea of how customers may find and interact with shoppable posts, you probably are getting excited to sell your own items on Instagram. Let’s keep going and find out how to do it!

How Do You Become Eligible for Shoppable Posts?

Becoming eligible for shoppable Instagram posts starts with setting up a business account, but not just anyone can sell on Instagram. Instagram has an easy little checklist for those who are thinking about setting up shop.

• Is your business located in a supported market?
• Does your business sell physical goods?
• Does your business comply with commerce policies?
• Is your Instagram account a business account? (I’ll show you how to switch to a business account in the next section.)
• Is your account connected to a Facebook Page? (We’ll also show you this!)

If you haven’t noticed yet, Facebook (the parent company of Instagram) is the official gatekeeper to all Instagram selling. You can’t create an Instagram business account or sell on Instagram without having and connecting to a Facebook Business page. That also means you’ll need to create a business profile on Facebook for your business.  Within your business dashboard, you can easily connect Instagram and get into the nitty-gritty when it comes to setting up shopping.

For those who haven’t set up a Facebook Business Page, it’s simple to start. At the top of your Facebook page, you’ll see buttons labeled Home and Create right next to the search bar. Select Create and your business type as seen below, and you’ll be guided through the process.

Screen Capture of Facebook’s Create a Business Page Flow

Now that you have a Facebook business page, let’s keep the ball rolling so we can start selling on Instagram!

Set-Up Requirements For Selling On Instagram

To start selling on Instagram, make sure you also have an Instagram business account set up rather than a personal account. You can easily change an existing account to a business Instagram account by heading to your Instagram profile and tapping the “hamburger” icon (three horizontal lines).

From there, you’ll select settings (circular gear icon), and then tap Account where you can select Switch to Business Account. You can also add details about your account, such as contact information and your category here, too. Make sure you tap Done as that saves your updates!

The next thing you’ll need to do is create a Facebook Catalog because this houses all of your products and connects with Instagram. You have a few ways to create your catalog for syncing with Instagram. The next section shows you how to create your catalog manually so you can start enjoying shoppable posts. We’ll also explore some other options, like integrating apps or using a payment processor like Square to link directly to an existing Square site.

How To Create Shoppable Posts On Instagram

Selling on Instagram all starts with your catalog you create back within your Facebook Business Page. Here’s what a Facebook Catalog workspace looks like; it’s nice and simple to get started.

Screen Capture Instagram Catalog Creation

We are going to select Add Your Products underneath the Instagram Shopping section. If you haven’t yet, you can also connect your Instagram and Facebook Business account right back here, too! That’s another necessity to get everything set up correctly.

If your inventory is small, adding products manually here is probably the choice for you. However, you can also opt to upload data feeds or connect with Facebook Pixels by clicking those options. In upcoming sections, we are also going to explore how to use Facebook Partners—apps like Shopify—that can sync all of your inventory, so you don’t have to do anything manually. For now, let’s keep moving with manual uploading, however.

Manually creating products is actually easy, as long as you have manageable amounts of inventory. Simply fill in the form, add an image and you’ve got a product added to your catalog!

Screen Capture of Manual Product Creation

While it’s a straightforward process, this manual product entry option may not be for you. Perhaps you have an extensive inventory, or you want to integrate with a platform that gives you more control or better features. By choosing the Connect with an eCommerce Platform, you have options that may simplify your process considerably.

Regardless of whether you manually create your catalog in the back end or you have integrated an eCommerce platform (more on that soon), you’ll create your shoppable Instagram post the same way:

1. Upload your image to Instagram
2. Tap where you want a tag
3. Search and select for your product from your catalog that’s synced to Instagram
4. Tag up to five items for a single post, or up to twenty items for a multi-image post
5. Publish your post

Let’s not forget that before we go live with our Instagram post, we need to have Instagram approve our shop.

Getting Approved To Sell On Instagram

Once you’ve got your catalog created, you’ll need to head back into your Instagram profile’s setting and tap Business, and then select Shopping on Instagram. Here you will submit your account for review. You can’t start selling on Instagram until you get approved. Instagram may take a few business days or more to review your catalog, so don’t panic if it doesn’t happen as soon as you expect.

How To Simplify Your Instagram Sales

Screen capture of eCommerce Options

Choosing to connect to an eCommerce platform that’s partnered with Facebook (pictured above) means that you can automatically import products and save yourself a lot of time. It also means that your customers can search for and complete their purchase all without leaving Instagram.

Your inventory syncs across any platform that’s set up through one of these third-party apps. So whether they shop on your site directly, or on your Facebook shop, Instagram feed, or anywhere else, you know that your inventory stays seamlessly updated. We are going to take a closer look at Shopify as an option for selling on Instagram.

Selling On Instagram With Shopify

Although I just hyped you up with the fact that Shopify syncs with your site and a multitude of platforms, you can actually set up a Shopify account and start selling in person and online without having an eCommerce site at all! With the Shopify Lite option for only $9 a month, you can get your foot in the door selling on Instagram (and all over the web) without having a site. Of course, people who have a higher-tiered Shopify plan can enjoy selling on social channels as well, too! Check out our full Shopify review for all of your options, features, and pricing details.

Mobile	POS	Online	Social Media
Mobile App + Free Card Reader	Point of Sale	Online Store	Social Media Selling
Get Started	Get Started	Get Started	Get Started
Low-cost POS for iOS and Android with free hardware	All-purpose POS integrated with all sales channels	Build a store or integrate with your current website	Sell on Facebook and other platforms
Starts at $9/month	Starts at $29/month	Starts at $29/month	Starts at $9/month
Free Trial	Free Trial	Free Trial	Free Trial

If you go the Shopify (or any other Facebook partnered eCommerce) route, you don’t have to set up a catalog for Instagram manually. Once you’ve linked your Instagram and Facebook and have your eCommerce platform selected (push of a button as seen above), your audience can click any post you have tagged. They can make all of their purchases with you in-app right through Instagram, while your inventory all stays synced and up to date.

A few important things to remember about using Shopify and Instagram:

• As mentioned in the section above, you can’t start selling on Instagram until Instagram approves you. You won’t be able to start tagging Instagram posts with your Shopify inventory until you see the notification in your Instagram business profile that you’ve been approved. And keep in mind that can take a few days.
• Products need to be available in your Facebook Catalog and Shopify store. So make sure you sync them both, which you can do from your Facebook Business catalog page.
• Once you’re set up and you tag an item in your Instagram post, you’ll see your catalog products appear and you can make your selections. If you have more than one variant in Shopify, you’ll need to choose which variant for that product tag as well.
• In Instagram stories, you can tag products with a shopping sticker, but only on images, not videos at this time.

If a consistent, in-app experience within Instagram is something that appeals to you, the only way to do that is to link with one of the eCommerce platforms. If you would rather that people click directly to your site rather than finishing their sale on Instagram, you have options, too! You’ll need to manually create products and link to your site from your catalog unless you use Square, which just recently announced that you can now sell on Instagram easier while fully syncing the inventory from your Square site!

Selling On Instagram With Square

Setting up Shoppable Instagram posts with Square is a little bit different. You’ll start the process back on Square’s end rather than the other way around. Essentially, you’ll follow a very simple and easy-to-follow flow that clearly walks you through the connection process.

As with all of the other option, you still need to have:

• An Instagram Business Account (and be eligible to sell)
• Facebook Business Page
• Approval from Instagram

You’ll also need:

• A Square website
• At least one product in your inventory

Haven’t decided if Square is the right choice to help you sell online yet? Check out our full Square Online Store and eCommerce Review and find out everything you need to know about pricing, features, and all that awaits you as a Square merchant.

Back at your Square Website Dashboard, you’ll be ever-so-gently walked through the complete flow to set up your Instagram account through Facebook Business Extension. Don’t be intimidated, because you won’t need to know any code whatsoever. As you are guided through the relatively short steps, Square even automatically installs the Facebook Pixel, which tracks everything for you. That means you don’t have to even think about code to track any future ad campaigns you want to create to promote your Instagram or Facebook shop. You’ll also get insight into how much business your Instagram shoppable posts are bringing in. You’ll get all that information automatically and right from your dashboard. The image below is taken from Square to illustrate what I mean about the whole thing being very user-friendly.

Screen Capture of Square Online Set Up Shopping on Instagram

Remember, you need to make sure that you head back into Instagram and request approval before you can start selling. We cover how to do that in a previous section within this post. Also take note that with the Square option, your shoppers don’t pay within Instagram; instead, they’ll go to your site to finish their purchase after clicking on a tagged post.

Extra bonus: Businesses that offer appointments can now integrate Square Appointments with Instagram to book with followers. Just like creating shoppable posts, you need your Instagram profile set to a business account to reap the benefits of appointment booking. You’ll also want to turn on Square Appointments online back in your Square dashboard. When you link your Instagram to Square, the Book button will automatically show up in your profile!

Are Instagram’s Shoppable Posts Right For You?

If you have a physical product and even just a small loyal following, merging the two with shoppable Insta posts is probably the smartest business move you can make. Whether you go the manual route, integrate with an app, or sync with an existing Square site, the effort required to get everything going is very minimal. Once you choose an option, getting things connected at your dashboard really couldn’t be any easier. Every solution we explored today is for those who have very little technical expertise or who just don’t have time to fuss with a lot of details.

Selling on Instagram connects you to more people. By using hashtags and networking in similar circles, you can potentially tap into greater success for your business. And that’s the ultimate goal! If you’d like more information about setting up an eCommerce site to complement your social selling, check out How To Accept Online Payments With Square.