How to Set Up Product Tags on Instagram (So You Can Sell Directly from Your Post)

Whoo Hooo!!!

Okay maybe the rest of the world doesn't get as excited about platform updates as I do, but regardless this is very cool.

Let's get right to it. You can now sell products, directly from your Instagram account. I'm not talking about your IG profile. I mean if someone is scrolling through Instagram and they see a picture you posted (could be a shirt or a hat or whatever) they can now buy that product directly from the picture on their feed.

The update is called Instagram product tagging, and I am going to teach you how to set it up.

First and foremost, this is still a test feature. Instagram is reviewing accounts to be allowed to use product tagging. This will continue until October 16, 2017.

How Does Product Tagging Work?

Once your product tagging is set up, you will be able to tag products that appear on Instagram posts. If a customer finds your post, they can tap on the image and the "tag" will appear. The tag will display the price of the item. If the customer chooses, they can tap on the link and be brought to a new section where they can purchase the product directly from their phone. Product tagging will only be visible to Instagram users who reside within the United States.

Also, keep in mind that these instructions are assuming that you are using Shopify as your online store. Shopify is an online web platform that comes with much of the e-commerce functionality built in. However, product tagging is compatible with Woo Commerce, Etsy and even Magento. These exat instruction swill apply if you are using a platform other than Shopify.

Finally, the product must be a physical product. It can not be a digital product.

See the shop now button below...

Okay Now for the Nitty Gritty. How to Set Up Your Instagram Product Tagging

Before we even get started on Instagram, we have to set up your Facebook business account and you have to add products through your Facebook catalog. Your business account will allow you to sell products directly from your Facebook page.

How do we do this?

First, go to your Facebook business page and click on the shop button.

Follow the appropriate steps and then you will be able to sell your products directly through your Facebook page.

Again, if you have Shopify, there will be prompts that bring you through the process to do this. No matter what platform you are using, follow the directions below.

Building your Facebook catalog has a lot of value within itself.

However, through personal experience, you will find that the real benefits of your Facebook catalog is that it allows you to set up your Instagram product tagging. Your sales and conversions will be much higher through Instagram than through Facebook. For whatever reason, people just aren't committed to purchasing products on Facebook quite yet.

Okay, now that we have our preliminary work done, let's get these product tags set up!

Step 1 - Create a business profile on Instagram.

If you only have a personal profile, that's okay. You can convert a personal Instagram account into a business profile. If you don't know how to do this, watch this quick video. It's very easy.

Step 2 - Open up your Instagram profile and then go to your settings.

Step 3 - Scroll down a bit and tap Products to enable product tagging. Make sure you review the feature.

Step 4 - Authenticate your Facebook Business account to connect your Instagram business profile to your Facebook product catalog.

Step 5 - Select the Facebook catalog that is connected to the Instagram business account.

Step 6 - Tap Next and then tap Done.

From this point on, every time you post on that account, you will see the option to tag products. See below.

What Happens Next?

At this point you are all set to go. Now, every time you upload a picture on Instagram, you will have the option to add a product tag so that potential customers can buy a product directly from the post. However, there still are some lose ends to clear up.

Let me answer some quick questions that I know you have.

Editing the product description on your Instagram posts - The way it is set up, the product descriptions get pulled directly from your store. So in order to change the product description on your tags, you will need to first change it on the actual product page.

How can you track your sales from Instagram? - Currently, Shopify has built in a functionality that can track your sales from Instagram product tags. However, if you want to get more details you can always calculate your referral traffic from Instagram using Google analytics and then create a custom report or even a report filter.

Do You Need More?

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