In 2016, Instagram came up with a better way to compete with Snapchat by introducing Instagram Stories. This new platform gave companies a better opportunity to market their brands by sharing important information without overpowering their customer's feed. Additionally, Instagram Stories provides a way for you to post customizable content by adding stickers and even interactive polls that allow your viewers to have a more engaging experience with your company.

Now, however, Instagram has once again revolutionized the way we view social media by allowing you to do your shopping on Instagram Stories. With shopping being made easier, companies are now able to take advantage of Instagram's over 500 million daily users to not only promote but now sell their merchandise with just a click of a button.

How it Works

Whenever your company posts a story, you will now have the option to place shoppable stickers within that post. This allows your viewers to click on a picture of your merchandise and find out more information about it. They will be able to view a description of the product, the price, and will also be able to purchase the product directly from the app. This new way of shopping will be more convenient and beneficial to businesses and consumers alike.

Benefitting Companies of All Sizes

Companies that utilize the interactive shopping stickers on Instagram Stories are expected to see a major increase in sales. This is largely due to the fact that these products will now be easier to access because consumers will not have to search the platform for a certain product. Companies will now be able to take advantage of the 84% of Americans that have admitted to impulse buying at some point in their lives.

The feature to have a Call To Action by adding a product's URL has been available to business accounts, but only if that account had 10,000 followers or more. With this new feature, however, a business account will not have to have that amount of followers in order to use the shopping stickers withing their post. This will allow smaller companies to increase their sales and customer base just by using Instagram.

Requirements for Companies to Use Instagram Stories Shopping

If you are wanting to utilize the shopping stickers for your own Instagram Stories, there are a few requirements that you must meet, such as:

• You must have a business account on Instagram
• You have to live one of the designated countries that are approved by Instagram
• Make sure you update to the latest version of the Instagram app on either iOS or Android devices
• Must have a product catalogue that is connected to a shop account on Facebook
• Your business must sell physical merchandise and also agree with Instagram's merchant agreement and its commerce policy.

Once you have complied with the above requirements, you will be able to utilize the shoppable stickers and start increasing your sales soon.

How to Use Instagram's Shopping Stickers

Placing shopping stickers in your Stories is not as hard as you may think. In fact, it only takes a few steps to have these interactive tags placed in your stories.

1. Open Instagram's Storie's camera from the app
2. Take a picture or video, or choose an existing picture that you already have saved
3. Click on the stickers button and select " new product."
4. Pick a product from your catalogue
5. Place the sticker anywhere you want on your picture or video.

With this new, innovative feature that Instagram is rolling out, companies of all sizes will be able to take advantage and watch their business grow at a much faster rate.

Contact us today if you have any questions about this new shopping feature or if you would like to see how else we can help your business grow.