It’s one thing to have an Instagram account for your business allowing your target audience to interact with your brand. It’s another thing to curate a list of shoppable products and services that are directly accessible for purchase through your profile. Instagram for business is more than relatable posts, it’s about using the app to make it easy to sell and be discovered by potential customers too! Are you looking to learn the basics of setting up an Instagram shop to drive sales? Here’s everything you need to know.

What’s Instagram Shop?

Instagram Shop is part of the Instagram for business setup, offering brands the ability to showcase their product and service catalog to reach customers on the platform. By allowing business owners to curate a list of shoppable products that are directly accessible through the “View Shop” button on their profile page, Instagram is making it easier for these brands to increase traffic and sales on their websites. 

Instagram Shop is also featured on the app’s Instagram Shop tab—a part of the main navigation menu that filters items based on user interest. As a streamlined way for users to discover shoppable products on Instagram, it’s a great tool for any sized business.

How to set up Instagram Shop

Setting up an Instagram Shop is quite easy, but here’s a step-by-step guide for reference:

Step #1: Make sure you’re eligible

Your business profile needs to meet the following eligibility requirements to set up with Instagram shop:

• Your business is located in a supported market
• Your business sells eligible products
• Your business complies with Instagram’s merchant agreement and commerce policies
• Your business owns a website domain in which you sell from

Step #2: Convert to a business account

Congrats! You’re eligible. Now you will need to switch to a business account to set up Instagram Shop. Follow these steps to convert your account. Once your account has made the switch, you can then add relevant business information, including a link to your website.

Step #3: Upload your product and/or service catalog 

Instagram Shop requires you to have a product/service catalog that consists of all your products, inventory, and descriptions. 

There are two ways to create this catalog:

• Catalog Manager: The “do it yourself” method that’s found with Meta Business Manager 
• E-commerce Platform Partner: An integration through a certified e-commerce platform such as Shopify 

Step #4: Account review

Once you’ve connected your product/service catalog to your Instagram, you will then need to submit your profile for review.

To do this:

• Go to your Instagram profile and tap the menu icon
• Select “Settings”
• Sign up for shopping
• Follow the steps to submit your account to be reviewed
• Visiting “shopping” in your settings to check on your status—account reviews typically take a few days to complete

Step #5: Turn on shopping

Once your account is approved, you can then turn on shopping features:

• Go to your profile and tap the menu icon
• Select “Settings”
• Tap “Business” and then tap “Shopping”
• Select the “product catalog” that you want to connect to the account
• Select “Done”

And just like that your Instagram Shop is live for all to see. If you need help with Instagram for business or you have more questions, please contact the Trek team!

Have you ever purchased anything off Instagram? Drop a comment below to let us know what it was!