New to shoppable posts? Head over to our step-by-step guide here.

Month-over-month and year-over-year, more and more consumers are making purchases directly on social media. One digital marketing company found that in the last 12 months, there’s been a 38% increase in the number of users who placed high importance on being able to discover and purchase products directly through Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

When it comes to social shopping and visual content, here are a few stats you need to know:

• 91% of brands agree visual content creates more engaging shopping experiences

• 86% say their imagery enhances their discoverability

• 73% said visual content increases conversions

• 77% confirmed it deepened brand trust

Allowing users to buy directly on social media should be part of an integrated, multi-platform approach. When used in conjunction with good data, well-targeted ads, and great organic social content, you’re sure to have a winning strategy in place. 

One of the most important elements of that winning strategy is strong images. And, while the guidelines for each social platform are a little different, there’s one thing that’s true across every platform: high quality photography is a must. 

With that in mind, read below for details on how to tailor your images to each platform. 

Facebook

Regardless of what you’re selling, there are a couple of requirements your images must follow:

1. Each product must be supported by at least one image

2. The photo you use has to be of the product itself -- no creative interpretation allowed!

Once you’ve met those two guidelines, we also recommend you:

• Make sure your images are easy to understand and that they capture the whole of the product. That’s not to say you’ll be penalized if the corner of your wallet is cropped out of the picture, but clarity is key and consumers want to see exactly what they’ll be buying. 

• Use an image resolution of 1024px x 2024px or higher for a clear display resolution.

• If you’re worried your images don’t have a cohesive look, consider placing your photo on a white background. It’s a clean and simple approach that works well for almost every product.

• Take shots of your product in real-life scenarios. For example, someone wearing a handbag gives an idea of scale and also provides the opportunity to show off your brand aesthetic. It’s a win-win!

• Use the following image ratios to ensure your ad will display properly: 

  • Ad images on the computer: 470 x 246 pixels.

  • Images of ads for mobile: 560 x 292 pixels.

  • Images in ads with a vertical column: 254 x 113.

Instagram

Next up is Instagram – and whether you’re dabbling in shoppable posts or stories here’s what you need to know to ensure your images convert:

•  Consistency is key so make sure your photos reflect your brand’s personality. Users should instantly know it’s you when they scroll by! For example, here are two feeds that have a clear and recognizable look: 

Hubspot

Starbucks

•  Brush up on different composition techniques and experiment with them in your shoots. You’ll want to establish your own style over time, but if you’re just getting started there’s a few things that are usually a hit on social: 

  • Rule of thirds: Divide your photo into thirds (horizontally and vertically) and sit your product on the intersecting lines. More on that here. 

  • Rule of odds: Put five bracelets in the frame instead of four, it’s usually more appealing. 

  • Negative space: Ensure the space surrounding the product takes up more space than the product itself. 

  • Centered composition: Place your product in the middle of the frame. This will ensure your image crops well no matter where it’s being previewed. 

• Play with your exposure until your photos find the right balance. Or, play around with under and over exposure to give your images a signature style!

Photo source

Pinterest 

Need tips on creating a branded look? We can help with that – check out this post. 

On Pinterest, image quality reigns! Like Pinterest, Instagram is a visual platform – but Pinterest offers even less context than an Instagram post. Think of your picture as the preview for your whole webpage – even though you can create a long pin, you’ll want to get key text and a few grabby images up above the fold. 

• Pinterest recommends a 2:3 aspect ratio (ex: 1000 x 1500 pixels). Other ratios may cause your Pin to truncate and may negatively impact performance.

• Just like Instagram, you’ll want to bring consistency to your feed by establishing clear and consistent branding. 

• The images you pick should help people understand why your product or idea is the right fit for them. Pick images that show context and bring your topic to life. Clearly show how someone might use your product, try your project, etc.

• Text overlay can make your Pins stand out, adds context, and enhances your message. Keep text concise so it’s easy for people to read on their phones.

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Hue & Tone: Let’s Get Social Together

Need help overhauling the look of your social media? Whether it’s your creating custom images or finding the perfect photo, we’ve got the solution that fits your needs. Get in touch at (336) 365-8559 or hannah@hueandtonecreative.com to find out more.

Sales are down, and you’re looking for creative marketing strategies to help boost them. Enter shoppable posts.

As Instagram’s grown in influence, so has the sophistication of its sales funnel. Shoppable posts take Instagram’s selling cycle one step further, streamline the user’s journey, and boost your business’ odds of converting followers into customers. 

With around 90 million Instagram accounts tapping on a shoppable post every month, they might just be that sweet spot your business has been missing.

Not sure how or where to start? Not to worry. We’ve covered the A to Z of everything you need to know to get going.

What are shoppable posts?

In a nutshell, shoppable posts enable Instagram users to complete the entire purchase journey - from discovery all the way through to checkout - without ever leaving the app. The benefit to you? Less steps. Less chance of distraction. Less chance of losing customers.

On or off Instagram, your customer journey is crucial. For starters, almost three quarters (76%) of consumers cite it as an important pre-purchase factor. But did you also know, 86% of customers say they’re actually willing to pay more for a great user experience?

Looking at Instagram alone, here are some successful case studies from brands who use shoppable posts as part of there social strategy:

• Spearmint LOVE witnessed a 25% increase in traffic and 8% uplift in revenue

• Tyme saw their web traffic rise by 44%

• Lulus attributes more than 100,000 site visits and 1,200 product orders to shoppers who started on Instagram

Here’s what it looks like in practice:

Image via business.instagram.com

With more than 200 million Instagram accounts viewing at least one business profile per day, shoppable posts unlock the door to a whole load of opportunities.

A few quick-fire facts:

• You can tag up to five products per image or video

• A maximum of 20 products can be tagged per carousel

• When you tag products in Instagram, they’re shared on the explore section (where 200 million accounts visit daily) as well as with your immediate audience

• Products can be tagged within stories too, by using what’s called a ‘product sticker’. We’ll delve into the detail of how this differs a little later on, but below’s a snapshot of how product stickers vary from shoppable posts

Image via instagram-press.com

A step-by-step guide

So, let’s get started with the details of how to actually create your own shoppable Instagram posts. 

1.  Account requirements 

To be able to make the most of shoppable posts, there are a few boxes you need to tick:

• Your business must be located in certain countries (if you’re in the US, don’t worry, you’re covered). For a full list of countries that are and aren’t included, head here

• Your Instagram account must primarily sell physical goods

• You must convert your account to a business profile

• You must comply with Instagram’s commerce policies

• Your Instagram business profile must be hooked up to a Facebook catalog

• Your Facebook profile (which must also be a business page) can’t have any country or age restrictions attached to it

2. Facebook catalogs

As we just touched on, to enable shoppable posts, your Instagram account must be associated with a Facebook catalog. In its simplest form, a Facebook catalog is a hub containing information on each of the items you want to sell - like their name, price, condition and category, and looks like this:

Image via facebook.com

Now, there are one of two ways you can go about setting your Facebook catalog up:

• Option A: Add a shop to your Facebook page. Find out how to do this in five simple steps here.

• Option B: Use a catalog on Business Manager. This guide will walk you through the set-up process.

3. Account review

Once you’ve hooked your Instagram profile up to a Facebook catalog it’s a bit of a waiting game because, before you can start exploring Instagram’s shopping feature, your account has to be reviewed - this’ll happen automatically. Typically, it takes a few days for the review to complete, however, it may take longer if your account needs to be reviewed in more detail.

It’s worth noting that if you’re creating your very first Facebook catalog, the catalog itself will need to be reviewed before your automatic review can commence.

4. Start adding tags and/or stickers

The penultimate step revolves around actually adding your product tags and/or stickers on Instagram. Before you get going, here are a couple of points to bear in mind:

• Before you can add tags or stickers, your Instagram account must be approved for shopping. If it’s not, you’ll hit a dead end; and

• Make sure you’re using the latest version of Instagram’s app to ensure you’re utilizing all its latest updates.

If you’re up to speed with everything you ought to be at this point, then you’re ready to turn on your product tags. To do this, just work your way through these easy-to-follow steps:

1.  Head to your Instagram business profile

2. At the top right of your screen, you should see an ellipsis (…) - click on it

3. Look out for the ‘Shopping’ option under the ‘Business settings’ tab and tap into it

4. Hit ‘Continue’

5. See which product catalog you want to use within your shoppable posts and select it

6. Voila. You’re set-up and ready to start tagging products in your posts and/or stories.

5. Creating the actual post

So, you’ve got all the ingredients you need to create a shoppable post or story, now it’s time to pull the final concoction together. 

Shoppable posts 

As we touched on earlier, you can tag up to a maximum of five products per single picture and 20 products per carousel (i.e. a series of images within one post). 

Each tag will show the name and price of the item in question, and if you want, you have the option to go back and add tags into old posts, too.

Shoppable stories

Instagram stories work slightly differently. For starters, you use what’s called a ‘product sticker’ which showcases the product’s name - but not the price. You are, however, given a bit more personalization flexibility with stickers, in that you can edit their color and text. 

Unlike with shoppable posts, you can’tadd product stickers to already published stories. If you want to add a sticker to an already-published story, you’ll have to delete and re-publish it with the product sticker.

The creation process: 

1.   Create your Instagram post or story as you normally would.

2a. If you’re pulling a post together, click ‘Tag products’ on the ‘Share’ screen.

2b. If you’re making a story, tap the sticker icon and then hit the product sticker option.

3. Whether you’re following the instructions for a post or a story, you’ll be presented with your product catalog - choose which one you want to tag and drop it on or close to the item you want to promote.

4. Share your post or story and prepare to monitor the traction you get from your product tags or stickers - you can do this by heading to the ‘Insights’ section of the app (for posts, tap ‘View Insights’ on your chosen shopping post, and for stories just swipe up once you’re in the story).

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Hue & Tone: Your Social Media Partners

Overwhelmed just reading this guide? Ready to see your business' Instagram sales shoot up? See how we can help amplify your efforts today by getting in touch with the team at (336) 365-8559.