IG Shops Features - Practical Tips on Selling and Functions for Beginners
Reading time: approx. 3 mins
Open an Instagram ("IG") account for your shop and start selling on IG? It could be a critical step to expanding your online market. However, as of 2 July, 2024, Instagram does not support "IG Shops" and any relevant functions and features in Hong Kong. How does this affect budding business owners? Apart from "IG Shops", what other practical IG features should novice entrepreneurs pay attention to? Here are some of the indispensable tips for running your Instagram account all shop owners need to know.
Feature Changes to IG Shops
Instagram Shopping ("IG Shop") is a set of features offered to Instagram Business Accounts, which allows shop owners to directly tag product prices, information and checkout functions on posts or stories1. However, since 10 August, 2023, Meta has paused the IG Shop function in Hong Kong.
As the IG Shops features are unavailable in Hong Kong, sellers would need to set up shops on other e-commerce platforms to carry out the checkout procedures. Despite this, you can still set up an "Instagram Business Account" for your brand and leverage other practical IG features to promote your products and engage with your customers directly.
Switch to Other IG Features for Product Promotion
To kickstart your promotion on Instagram, you need a basic understanding of "Instagram Business Account" and "Instagram Ads".
Instagram Business Accounts are different from personal accounts. Personal account users can go into account settings and switch to a professional account under "Account type and tools", thereby unlocking features such as a professional dashboard (to see interaction trends with your audience), resources and inspiration hub, Instagram ads, etc2.
Instagram ads refer to paid posts that can come in many formats. Have you ever tried posting an unsponsored post and received little to no customer responses, or seen a competitor’s account attracting more comments and likes with the same type of content? That could be the promotional impact of paid advertisement posts. Although the “IG Shopping” feature is yet to be available in Hong Kong, shop owners can still leverage “Instagram Ads” to increase exposure3.
Practical IG Features for Businesses
How can shop owners in Hong Kong leverage other IG features to attract business after the “IG Shopping” function has been paused? How can you boost the effectiveness of IG promotions? What are the most popular paid ad functions? What are some of the practical IG functions and features that can attract business? Read on to find out!
Practical IG Feature Tip #1: “IG Notes” (short posts) for Limited-Time Discounts4
- Cost: Free
- Pros and uses: increase exposure and identify a loyal customer base
“IG Notes” are 60-character, text-or-emoji-only posts, that are displayed at the top of your followers’ profile icon for up to 24 hours4. Although IG Notes can be considered a subtle promotional means, they can reach your most loyal customer base as only those who are interested in the brand will notice and reply to IG Notes messages. You may share time-limited discount information here, and when customers respond, their inquiry will be delivered to your inbox as a private message4, allowing direct communication with the customers.
Practical IG Feature Tip #2: IG Live (Live Broadcast)5
- Cost: Free
- Pros and uses: increase exposure and demonstrate products
The benefit of “IG Live” is the ability to receive instant feedback from the audience5; many shop owners would make use of the opportunity to demonstrate outfits live, showcase their products or answer questions. “IG Live” can run for up to an hour5, and when shop owners start “IG Live”, it will be displayed at the top of their fans’ feeds to increase exposure.
Practical IG Feature Tip #3: Reels6
- Cost: Free or with Paid Ads
- Pros and uses: grab the attention of younger consumers6
Instagram offers different templates to help users build "Reels" quickly7. "Reels" generally refer to sequences of short videos8. Meta said on their official channels that "Reels" can significantly attract the attention of audiences aged 18 to 246. Among these, vertical videos tend to generate better results9. The use of sound effects, voice-over and simple subtitles can make "Reels" easier to understand and more "digestible"10.
Practical IG Feature Tip #4: Encourage Customers to Tag Your Shop for Increased Exposure11
- Cost: Free
- Pros and uses: increase exposure and gather testimonials11
You could encourage other users to tag your shop’s account in their posts and add a shop location tag to encourage real customer feedback and positive reviews to appear on your account page11. You may manually approve what content is tagged to your account to avoid being attacked by false and negative reviews12.
Practical IG Feature Tip #5: Time-limited Polls on Stories13
- Cost: Free
- Pros and uses: high interactivity and it helps to understand your audience preference13
Stories are one of the most interactive features, with content that disappears after 24 hours14. Launching a poll in time-limited Stories allows shop owners to get instant feedback, enabling brands to personally understand the audience's preferences first-hand at the product development or even earlier stages. Polling in time-limited Stories is also one way for small shops to conduct simple market research on what content to create, product design, and how to shape a more attractive brand image.
Practical IG Feature Tip #6: Instagram Direct Automated Responses15
- Cost: Free
- Pros and uses: effectively manage inquiry to enhance the shopping experience15
Instagram can suggest some preset questions based on your account type (e.g., shopping and retail), allowing customers to receive instant replies without much waiting, and providing initial triage for manual customer service. You could also add, delete or edit FAQs and automated responses in Instagram Direct at any time16.
Practical IG Feature Tip #7: Branded Content Ads on Instagram17
- Cost: Paid Ads
- Pros and uses: elevate the brand's reach and explore new consumer groups17
Branded content refers to posts or videos jointly posted by more than one brand, or with KOLs or content creators, that aim to amplify the impact of the brand. Through collaborated content, brands can gain access to different consumer groups. This is one of the most effective strategies to expand your customer base17.
Separating shopping and promotions on e-commerce platforms and Instagram can have several benefits. Shop owners can break free from Instagram's constraints and set up shops on e-commerce platforms outside of Instagram, which allows for a tailor-made shop outlook that fits the branding and a focus on relationship building and interaction with customers on Instagram. Are you planning to set up your first online shop? DBS SME Banking offers extensive financial assistance and startup support you may need. Click here now to open a business account.
^Terms and conditions apply.
*** Account opening can be completed in as fast as 1 working day for Hong Kong-incorporated entities with all shareholder/director/sole proprietor/partner holding a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card. For Hong Kong-incorporated entities with at least 1 shareholder/ director/ sole proprietor/ partner holding the People’s Republic of China Resident Identity Card, account opening can be completed in as fast as 5 working days. Subject to eligibility and conditions.
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