Social Commerce is the next frontier of ecommerce and no platform presents a better intersection of social, mobile and ecommerce than Instagram. Already, nearly 90 million Americans log on to Instagram at least once a month. That's about 34% of mobile users in the US. And because it's particularly popular among millenials, Instagram is expected to reach 50% of all social media users by 2017. And by 2019, nearly 2/3 of all millennial smartphone users will tune into Instagram.
So the question isn't should you advertise your products on Instagram, it's how. Instagram doesn't have its own Ad Manager, so getting your products into Instagram has to be done through Facebook.
Even before you get to the first step below, you'll have to activate a Facebook Business Manager and Facebook Ads account. You may also want to talk to your GoDataFeed account manager about setting up your Facebook product feed, which can even be included as one of your two free feed setups when you start your GoDataFeed trial account. Once your Facebook Business/Ads accounts are set up and your Facebook product feed is ready, follow the steps below to get your products into Instagram.
1. Connect Instagram to Facebook
From your Facebook Business Manager account's navigation, select Business Settings.
Once in Business Settings, click on Instagram Accounts on the left pane, then click the Add button.
Sign in to your Instagram account, then select the ad accounts you want to associate to Instagram.
2. Add a Product Feed to Facebook Catalog
To add a Product Feed to your Catalog, go back to business.facebook.com Home and scroll down to the Catalog section, then click Add Product Feed. This will bring you to the Product Feeds section of your Catalog. Now click the +Add Product Feed.
3. Name and Schedule Your Product Feed
Name your Product Feed and set it for Scheduled Recurring Uploads. This will allow you to add a Feed Pull URL so GoDataFeed can automatically update your Catalog daily.
4. Add Your Product Feed Pull URL
Select the frequency for your Product Feed uploads and add your Product Feed Pull URL. You can find the Feed Pull URL in Step 5 of your Facebook feed setup in your GoDataFeed account.
5. Create Ads and Select Instagram in Placements
Go to the create new ad section of your Ads Manager. Select Promote a Product Catalog. In the dropdown, select the catalog you created in Steps 2-4 and name your campaign.
In the Ad Set section, select the product feed you created for your catalog and select the audience you'd like to target.
In the Placements section, select Instagram. Set your budget and schedule, then continue to the Ad section.
Select your desired ad style. Choose the Pages & Links you want associated with your add and click Add an Account to connect your ads to the Instagram account you added in Step 1. Use the Ad Preview to review how your ad will appear on Instagram.
If you're satisfied with the ad, click Place Order at the bottom right of the interface.
Once you've completed the setup, your ads will go into a review process by Facebook's Ad team. Once approved, your products will begin showing on Instagram.
