8 Essential Instagram Tools You Need In 2020

Friday Jul 17th, 2020

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This year, Instagram is making it easier than ever for people to shop within its platform. With a broad audience and new features, marketing on this photo-centric platform is a no-brainer. Check out these eight tools to take advantage of from Instagram.

 

1.  Instagram Shop 

Instagram Shop is a brand new feature. It allows businesses to showcase individual products and collections on Instagram. If you are a clothing retailer, you can group products by occasions, such as workout or business casual. While product photos are great, utilizing lifestyle photography is even better. Integrating influencer images into your digital boutique will help show off your products in action.  

Currently, Instagram Shop is only available in select markets. However, over the next few weeks, they do intend on expanding the number of businesses that can use it. Once rolled out to retailers, shoppers can click on the button “View Shop” and browse your products from anywhere. 

 Once it's available in your market, all you'll need is an Instagram Business account and a connected Facebook page to get started.

 

2.  Checkout on Instagram

Convert a curious customer to a buyer on Instagram using influencer lifestyle images and the platform’s Checkout feature. Customers can browse and buy your products and track their shipment all within Instagram. 

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Consider these three easy ways to use influencer images to create the ultimate shopping experience:

  1. Tag up to five products your influencers are using in their photos
  2. Post a carousel with up to 20 shoppable photos for customers to swipe through.
  3. Integrate images into stories and tag one product per story.  

Major brands, such as Adidas, MAC Cosmetics, and Warby Parker to name a few, have been beta testing Checkout. Instagram stated this feature would be made available to more businesses over the next several months. 

 

 3.  Instagram Insights

While Insights are not new, the analytics will help you adjust to the new algorithm. Instagram hid the number of post likes from users for accounts in several countries. They are testing this in the United States, too. Instead, the algorithm prioritizes engagement such as comments, direct messages, and reshares.  

To keep a finger on the pulse of your product line and brand, track how your content is performing with Instagram Insights. The analytics of your posts can help marketers understand the audience and content performance. With this information, you can make quick adjustments during an influencer marketing campaign.

Insights provide analytics such as:

  • Profile visits
  • Likes
  • Reach 
  • Impressions
  • Comments
  • Shares
  • Saves

You can also compare your customer base to your followers. Instagram collects data on your followers’ gender, age range, and location. All of this data is accessible through the Instagram Creator Studio. 

 

4.  Creator Studio

Schedule and manage posts through the Creator Studio. Third-party scheduling services helped streamline social media scheduling. Now, Instagram has its own tool to schedule influencer photos, product images, or branded content. You can also view your content for videos, images, IGTV, and stories. Additionally, you can organize your content within the Studio using filters. 

From the Creator Studio, you can also view your Insights to see post performance and learn more about your audience. Through this Facebook/Instagram dashboard, you can also see:

  • actions taken from your page
  • emails sent
  • calls made
  • text messages sent
  • click-throughs to your website

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5.  Shopping from Creators

This tool is specifically for influencers to tag their favorite products in their posts. Shopping from Creators helps influencer followers get more information about the product immediately. Previously, users had to search the comments or captions for the information. 

From the business aspect, you can approve professional and creator accounts to tag your products. You’ll also have access to the insights of the influencer’s posts and see the number of product views and product button clicks. 

 

6.  Story Stickers

This feature enhances the user experience with added story stickers. New to the mix are:

  • Donation
  • Mention
  • Location
  • Challenge
  • Stay Home
  • Food Orders
  • Gift Cards
  • Small Business
  • DM Me

 

The “DM Me” sticker is one to pay attention to. If your brand is available to have one-to-ones with potential customers, direct messages can be a powerful tool.

 

7.  Instagram Ads

You can turn any influencer photo into an ad on Instagram. Integrate ads into your feed in: 

  • Stories
  • Carousels
  • Photo
  • Video
  • Collection
  • Explore

Of the ways you can advertise on Instagram, Explore may be the least familiar. An Explore ad appears in the search feature of Instagram. Users will see it when they look for new accounts or hashtags to follow. The Explore ad helps you reach new followers. 

 

8.  Spark AR Studio

Influencers can sport your different looks from the comfort of their own home, thanks to this augmented reality tool. Spark AR Studio allows people to “try before they buy” when it comes to products such as lipstick and sunglasses. 

Other platforms like Google, Youtube, and Snapchat already use augmented reality for shopping. This feature is still in beta testing, so keep an eye out for use in the future. 

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Now You Need Content

Now that you know what a powerhouse Instagram can be, you need content. If your brand is running out of creative imagery, reach out to ApexDrop for premier lifestyle images. We have an extensive, vetted network of professional content creators who are ready to work with you.