Are Instagram Shoppable Tags Really Effective?

Are Instagram Shoppable Tags Really Effective?

January 08, 2018

Are Instagram Shoppable Tags Really Effective?

With over 500 million daily active users, there’s no debate over Instagram’s popularity. What also comes as no surprise is that with its experience that revolves around anyone being able to take expert-level photo and video, it has adapted to bring a selling capability to businesses and brands that have Instagram as part of their marketing strategy. These “shoppable tags” are designed to integrate shopping seamlessly into the Instagram experience as users scroll through their feeds. With Instagram claiming that there are over 800,000 users that use Instagram to find and purchase products every month, and another study they conducted that concluded that 60% of people discover new products on the platform, you can’t help but wonder how effective the shoppable tags really are.


That’s why you’re friends and marketing experts here at Adwizar are here to help. Today we’ll look into how Instagram shopping posts work and what their keys to success are. Follow along with us and see if shoppable tags could provide some extra value to your business.


How Do Shopping Posts Work On Instagram?

Imagine that you follow your favorite fashion brand on Instagram, and you’re browsing through your feed when you come across a simple image with a model showing off some of the latest pieces of clothing like a pair of jeans or a stylish jacket. On the Instagram of old, it would just be a normal picture with a description and maybe some hashtags if they were smart. If you liked the clothing and wanted to buy it, you could leave the app, and go online to find and buy the products.


With shoppable tags, you’ll see the same post but with a small shopping bag icon in the corner. When you see this, you can tap on the image to bring up product details and pricing then and there. There can even be multiple products on the same post, so you can get info for those jeans and the jacket at the same time. Tap on those product details again and right in the Instagram app, you’re taken to a big image of the product with more information. As a final step, you can click a “Shop Now” button to go directly to the online store of that brand and buy what you want.


Staying Within The Instagram Experience

The biggest advantage to the new Instagram shoppable tags is that it keeps users within the Instagram experience, but what do we mean by that exactly? The easiest way to explain it is simply that people don’t like interruptions during the activity they’ve chosen to pursue. Just as you wouldn’t like someone to bother you when talking on the phone or start talking during a movie, when people are browsing on social media, they are engrossed in that experience. You log on to Instagram to view the content of the people and brands that you follow, and having that experience interrupted is a sudden shock to your brain and leaves you with a negative feeling more often. If you have to stop browsing your Instagram to go shopping for a product that you want, you’re more likely to say to yourself “I’ll check that out later” instead of buying it at that moment.   


Now, when something like shoppable tags allows users to say within the app and integrates the shopping experience into the normal Instagram experience of browsing pictures, things become more fluid. The lines between you scrolling through your feed and shopping is now blurred, which makes the likelihood of you buying something you like a bit higher.


Effectiveness Depends On Execution

So now that you know how shoppable tags work and how they affect user experience, let’s get to what we’ve all been waiting for and answer the question, “are they effective?”.


It really depends. We wish we had a better answer for you, but it’s the truth. Slapping a shoppable tag on a post won’t magically gain your followers if you haven’t put in the effort to building an audience, and it won’t help if you’re not hitting your target audience.  The same goes for having pictures that aren’t high quality, or having your product landing pages and checkout process be overly complicated. Instagram shoppable tags aren’t the answer to your sales woes, but they are an amazing tool for those who are looking to get a bit more return on their Instagram efforts if you put in the work, while enhancing the user experience of your audience when interacting with you online.


Learn More Instagram Tips With Adwizar!

When you need help improving your Instagram presence and getting the most out of your social media marketing, just contact the experts here at Adwizar! From consulting and training to management and creating strategies, we have everything you need for your social media needs all in one place. Just give us a call or fill out our quick questionnaire to see if we would be a good fit for your business. We look forward to partnering with you to help take your brand to new heights!