Have you seen Instagram posts with shoppable tags?

These nifty posts are a great way to convert customers or provide more details about your products without taking the user off Instagram.

Not sure what we’re talking about?

Never fear, Eboost is here!

Shoppable product posts on Instagram are posts that feature information about your products right in the picture using something called a product tag. In the same way that you can tag a person in an image on Instagram, you can tag products too.

These types of posts aren’t new to Instagram and are relatively straightforward to create. To get started, you first have to make sure that you’re approved for Instagram Shopping and that your product catalog is connected to your Instagram business account.

We’ll walk you through it!

Step 1: Get Approved for Instagram Shoppable Tags

First things first: your account has to be approved for Instagram Shopping in order to tag your products on Instagram

The requirements to use Instagram Shopping are incredibly straightforward:

1. You need to comply with the merchant agreement and commerce policies.
   • You can review the merchant agreement here.
   • You can review the commerce policies here.
2. You’ll need to have an Instagram Business account.
   • If you’ve been using a personal Instagram account to run your brand’s Instagram, then you’ve been missing out on many features! Switch to a business account by following these steps.
3. You’ll also need a Facebook Page and your Instagram Business profile must be connected to it.
   • Note from Facebook: Facebook Pages with the “Message to Buy” payment option will need to delete and create a new Shop with another payment option before they can use Instagram Shopping. Please note that country or age restrictions on your Facebook Page will not carry over to your Instagram account.
4. You need to sell physical goods.
   • This, unfortunately, leaves many businesses, especially those that sell services, out in the cold. However, Facebook has shared that they are working on additional Instagram Shopping integrations, “We are continuing to test this feature and hope to expand availability to more accounts in the near future.”
5. Last, but certainly not least, you need to have your Facebook Page connected to a product catalog. 
   • Facebook notes that this product catalog can be, “…created and managed on Catalog Manager or Business Manager on Facebook, or through Shopify or BigCommerce platforms.”
     • We’ve got straightforward instructions for you if you’re using Shopify or BigCommerce. Follow these and you’ll be set up with a Product Catalog in no time!
       1. Facebook Product Feed Setup – Shopify
       2. How to Set Up a Facebook Product Feed in BigCommerce
     • If you’re not on Shopify or BigCommerce, you can follow Facebook’s instructions on how to set up a product catalog in Business Manager here.

If you fulfill the above requirements, you’ll need to submit your account for review to access Instagram Shopping features. There are two ways to do this: either in your Instagram Business account via the Instagram app or in the Catalog Manager section of your Business Manager account.

We’ll show you how to do both:

1. Submit Your Account for Review in the Instagram App

First, go to your Instagram profile’s settings. Next, tap “Business.”

Then tap “Sign Up for Shopping.”

Next, you’ll be guided through some final steps to connect your Instagram Business account with your product catalog.

On the next screen, tap “Continue.”

Then, you’ll be prompted to complete the sign-up process by connecting your product catalog and completing some final checks.

Finally, you’ll submit your Instagram Shopping account for review. 

2. Submit Your Account for Review in Business Manager

First, make sure you’re logged into the correct Business Manager account.

Then, find your Product Catalog. If you’re already logged in, you can hop right to your Product Catalog by clicking here.

After you’ve found your Product Catalog, select “Set up Instagram Shopping.”

You’ll then be directed to another window that looks like this: 

If your Instagram Business Account and your Facebook Page aren’t yet connected, tap “Connect Profile” in the “Instagram Shopping” section. Then follow the prompts and steps and….bam! You’re that much closer to creating Instagram ads with shoppable tags.

Did you want to start tagging products in your Instagram images and stories right away? Hold it right there! The account review process usually takes a few days (but can sometimes take longer) so be sure to plan accordingly. If Instagram does approve your account for Instagram Shopping, you’ll receive a notification from Instagram, which will require you to complete the set-up process. 

Pro tip: you can also check your review status by tapping on  “Shopping” in the “Settings” section in the Instagram app.

Step 2: Post an Organic, Single-Image Post featuring an Instagram Shopping Shoppable Tag

So your Instagram Business account has been approved for shoppable tags and your catalog is connected.

Cue the celebrations!

Now what?

Well first things first: you need to post an organic post, AKA a standard feed post, on your Instagram feed with a shoppable tag.

Note: at this time you can only turn a single, static image post with a shoppable tag into ads. 

To do this, go through the normal process of posting a single image post to your Instagram business account. After you have your photo and caption ready, tap “Tag Products” in the share screen (this is the final screen you see fore publishing your Instagram post). 

Search for and tag the product in your image and then publish your post. 

Note: If you’re one of our wonderful clients, you can stop here. We’ll take care of the rest!

Step 3: Pull In Your Single Image Instagram Post (with an Instagram Shopping Tag) as an Ad

So you’ve published a static image with a shoppable tag to your Instagram feed and you’re ready to go! The final step is to pull in the Instagram post in Business Manager, or your third party social media advertising tool (we love Smartly!), as an ad. 

As you’re creating your ad, be sure to select the Instagram Feed as your only placement.

Next, in the “Create Ad” bar, select “Use Existing Post.”

In the “Identity” section, make sure your brand’s Instagram Business account is selected.

You’re so close!

Now, you can select the Instagram post that you’d like to turn into an ad. 

Tap “Select Post.”

Next, a pop-up window will display on your screen. Select “Instagram” in the top center of the bar, under the “Select Post” heading, and find the Instagram post that you’d like to use for an ad.

Tap “Continue” and you’re almost done! Before launching your ad, make sure that everything is set and ready to go. Then you can launch your ad!

Note: you won’t be able to edit the ad before launching since the ad is pulling from an existing, organic post. If you need to edit the content of the post, do this directly on the organic post.

Now you’re ready to publish your first Instagram ad featuring a shoppable tag.

Have you published Instagram ads with shoppable product tags? Tell us about your experience in the comments!