Affiliates all over the world now have a new channel to leverage for driving more revenue, as Instagram expands its shoppable posts to additional international markets!
More Countries, Higher Reach
Following some extensive testing conducted in November 2016 and a soft launch across the United States last year, Instagram has expanded its shoppable posts to eight additional countries. As of now, Canada, Brazil, the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Australia will all be able to take advantage of the new channel and gain deeper penetration into Instagram’s demographic.
How Shoppable Posts Work
Advertisers who utilize this new ad format, which is an extension of Shopify, will give their posts the ability to have popups that display pricing details near the products. These prices will then link to a separate page within Instagram that provides more detailed information, including a “Shop Now” button that guides customers to an external brand landing page to complete the transaction.
Instagram has also stated that advertisers will be able to use this new ad-format to target users who don’t already follow their brand on Instagram. Additionally, advertisers that leverage nine or more shopping posts will also be able to include a “Shop” tab on their Instagram profile, allowing an additional library of all shoppable posts to display for users to browse and purchase.
Steady Market Growth
In recent years, Instagram has been one of the leading social apps in terms of growth. The platform has now surpassed over 500 million daily active users and that is showing no signs of slowing down. The company has been working hard to promote its business appeal, and this new expansion is just one of many steps the platform has made towards achieving that goal. As Jim Squires, Instagram’s head of business said in a recent statement, “People come to Instagram every day to discover and buy products from their favorite businesses. We want to be that seamless experience. Whether it’s a local artisan, florist or clothing store, shopping directly on Instagram has never been easier.”
The Ecommerce Opportunity
With Instagram opening its shoppable ad option up to new geos, affiliates who are running ecommerce campaigns in those markets now have an additional channel to test and leverage at literally every point of the customer journey. Brazil in particular should be reason enough to start getting excited, as it is Instagram’s second largest market (following the US). And if their growth over the last year and a half is any indication on what the future has in store for advertisers and affiliates looking to utilize the platform more, the signs are looking very positive!
Thinking about driving more social ecommerce traffic? Contact your affiliate manager today and learn about all the offers you can run!