Everything You Need to Know About Instagram + FB Shops

Hopefully, by now, you’re familiar with the Facebook family of apps branching into e-commerce; from Facebook’s Marketplace to shoppable ads and featured posts on Instagram. But as Facebook expands its presence in e-commerce with the release of ‘Shops’, it leaves us brainstorming how this can benefit businesses of all shapes and sizes and how you can use this to increase brand awareness and generate additional revenue for your business.

Overview + Integrating With Shopify

On Tuesday, May 19th, Shopify announced that they will be partnering with Facebook and Instagram to roll out “Shops” – which will allow small and big businesses alike, to turn their social media profiles into shoppable storefronts so users can make purchases without leaving the family of Facebook apps.

The Facebook family of apps’ previous efforts at e-commerce such as Facebook Marketplace and shoppable ads/featured posts on Instagram allowed limited customization to the ways in which businesses could promote their products, whether that was via a paid advertisement or an organic shoppable post. “Shops” will allow retailers and other businesses to upload their products to a pseudo-storefront, select which items they want to feature, and will include new features such as customizing their colors and cover image to align with their brand.

For brands already using Shopify for Merchants, the ability to manage inventory, products, orders, and fulfillment will be available directly through Shopify — allowing brands to streamline their marketing efforts. Shopify merchants will also have the opportunity to grow their businesses across Facebook’s family of apps, by connecting their Shopify business to Facebook, while making their customers’ shopping experience feel native to each individual app.

Note-Worthy Features 

At the moment, there is no way to drive ads to Shops, but with a closed alpha to drive paid distribution of Shops in testing, as well as a closed beta of native checkout, we are hopeful that there will be a widely available option in the near future. 

However, there will soon be additional ways to discover a Shop, including a “Swipe Up” in Stories and a new “View Shop” button on the respective Instagram and Facebook Page. 

With the addition of “Instagram Shop” this summer, this is also a great opportunity to prospect since the Shop will be available from the main navigation tab in the platform. Followers may also receive a notification when a new collection is published to your Shop, encouraging them to view the new collection and make a purchase. Loyalty points programs will also be incorporated into this new “Shops” feature, encouraging users to shop within the platforms while earning their points and rewards.

Live Shopping features will also be available later this year — perfect for brands who utilize the platform’s ‘Live’ feature for product releases, influencer campaigns, and more. Businesses will be able to link products mentioned prior to the video going live, allowing customers to easily shop throughout the duration of the live stream. And if you’re worried your customers will need help navigating this new feature, Facebook Shops will allow customers to message a business through WhatsApp, Messenger, or Instagram direct to ask questions, get support, track deliveries, and more.

Although this is a huge step in the right direction in regard to organically providing merchants with the ability to build an online business, it’s also important to note that for every purchase made within the new Shops feature, Facebook will be taking a percentage of those profits. Although the exact percentage has not been announced as of yet, it is expected to be extremely minimal. 

Implementing ‘Shops’ Into Your Marketing Strategy

As Facebook + Instagram Shops roll out in the coming months, there’s never been a better time to offer a more seamless experience and strengthen relationships with your customers. If you’re interested in learning more about Facebook + Instagram Shops and how AVX Digital can help you develop a strategy to expand your brand’s reach and revenue, contact us today!