Shoppable Instagram stories or Shopping Stories – A social media phenomenon that has immensely changed the content consumption and content-sharing behavior of social media users and brands.
Half a billion people globally consume and share stories every day. Instagram was the first social platform to introduce this” Disappearing” content in 2016.
Nowadays, all social media platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, etc., have stories. Stories have evolved hugely, and now they have become mainstream. What’s new is Shoppable Instagram Stories.
What Are Shoppable Instagram Stories?
The Shoppable Instagram stories are simply the Instagram stories with tagged products that allow users to shop the featured product directly from the stories.
These shoppable stories majorly (when opened) have a Swipe Up link that users can visit to buy the featured products.
Since the launch of Shoppable Instagram, brands have made their Instagram feeds shoppable, and now with shopping stories, this vanishing content has become shoppable too!
Rise of Instagram Stories & Its Evolution To Shopping Stories
Although Snapchat was the first social media platform to launch the stories, feature back in 2013 (almost a decade, too long. Isn’t it?) but the real popularity of stories came through Instagram.
Since its launch in 2016, Instagram stories have seen tremendous growth in usage and content sharing.
Now, it has come to a stage where stories have become the first preference. People tend to share short-lasting content that is customizable and engaging and then disappears.
Brands have leveraged Instagram stories to drive promotions, run ad campaigns, attract users to profiles, build awareness, etc. Now with shoppable Instagram stories, brands and businesses are driving sales and generating revenue through shoppable content.
These shopping stories turn users’ inspiration into action, i.e., shopping for the products. Shoppable TikTok is a prime example of how quick 15-second videos can become shopping venues.
How To Setup Shoppable Instagram Stories?
There are 2 main steps to setting up your Shoppable stories. Once you complete these steps, you will be able to leverage the shopping stories.
Meeting The Shoppable Stories Instagram Criteria
You must meet certain criteria to leverage the Instagram stories shopping tags for your business/brand.
- You must have an Instagram business account, which can quickly be done through account settings.
- Also, You must have the latest version of the Instagram app on your device
- Your Instagram business account must be connected to your Facebook catalog
- Your business must have physical good that complies with Instagram merchant agreement & commerce policies
- The Shopping stories feature must be available in the country you are managing your account from
Once you fulfill the criteria, you can then move on to using shoppable Instagram story stickers.
Note: Shopping stories are made through the shoppable Instagram stories stickers that act as a CTA for the tagged products.
Adding Shoppable Instagram Stories Stickers
The product tagging on Instagram shoppable posts is different from Shoppable stories.
- Open Instagram stories and click an image or video or choose from the camera roll
- Click on the “Stickers” icon and choose the “Product” sticker from there
- Your product catalog will appear; select the product you want to tag
- Drag the “Product” sticker where you want to place it.
- Customize the color of the Shoppable Stories sticker by tapping on it
- Finally, publish your Shoppable stories on Instagram
Why Use Shoppable Stories On Instagram?
Shopping stories have a lot of benefits, be it increasing conversion to driving traffic and many more just the Instagram shoppable feed.
There are over 400 million users globally who actively use Instagram stories.
Stories provide a massive amount of engagement for brands and their content. Instagram has highlighted the stories on top so that users can easily engage with them and explore them.
The engagement rate on Instagram stories is much higher than the usual feed. People love to consume this perishable content.
These stories help brands to reach a massive audience, attract them, promote their products, engage with consumers, and more. But the challenge is that the buyer journey isn’t complete if users are converting, i.e., buy the products.
Now, with Shoppable stories, brands can turn user inspiration into conversions. This helps drive more sales and generate huge revenue.
Shoppable Instagram stories also allow users to find new products and get instant gratification by shopping the products directly.
How To Perfectly Use Instagram Stories Shopping Tags?
Here are a few ways to successfully and most perfectly leverage the Instagram stories shopping tags.
1. Storytelling Gives Engagement
Storytelling is the best way to engage users in brand campaigns. People intently consume content that intrigues them, tells a story, and delivers value. So, create content that entails storytelling to gain more meaningful sales.
2. Shoppable UGC With Social Proof
User-generated content is the supreme content for brand marketing in this social media age. Users do not trust branded content; they look for authentic, trustworthy, and inspiring brand content.
Therefore, incorporating shoppable UGC stories will provide necessary social proof to help consumers make buying decisions and shop the products from stories.
3. Keep It Crisp & Creative
Stories are short-form and short-duration content that disappears with a few seconds. So it is essential to get your message across and convince the consumers instantly.
Therefore, make sure you showcase content that is crisp, and creative and can convince the users to shop the products within seconds.
4. Highlight Your Shoppable Sticker
The Call To Action button plays a huge role in driving action from the consumer. So, it would be best if you placed the Shoppable stickers CTA on your stories.
Properly highlighting shoppable stories stickers will help consumers to identify where the products are tagged. These tags act as Hotspot for the brand products.
Shoppable Stories On Website
What if we tell you that publishing shoppable stories on your website is way easier than on Instagram?
Tagshop is a shoppable social commerce platform that allows brands to curate social content into a gallery, tag products to collected content, and publish shoppable galleries on websites.
Similarly, you can curate your Instagram stories, tag multiple products, and publish Shoppable Instagram stories on-brand websites and even other marketing channels.
Sharing shoppable stories on your brand’s online store can easily result in more conversions, inspired purchases, reduced cart abandonment, and maximized profits.
Conclusion
Stories are an excellent social media solution that boosts brands’ promotional and engagement campaigns.
Shopping stories can take it to the next level by providing direct product selling opportunities to consumers. Given social media’s role in driving shopping, these Instagram shoppable stories can successfully turn content into conversions.
