Using shoppable Instagram Stories stickers to drive sales

Stories are a communal currency of humanity

- Tahir Shah, Arabian Nights

Instagram Stories has become a social media revolution of sorts and has transformed the way people and brands consume and share content. Although Snapchat was the first social media platform to introduce Stories as early as 2013, Instagram was the one that made the concept really popular.

Today, almost half a billion people consume and share Stories every day globally. If the sheer number of the users aren’t staggering enough, consider this:

All the social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, etc, featured Stories. Instagram Stories launched in 2016, witnessing massive growth in usage and content sharing. Then, Instagram came up with Shoppable Instagram Stories, adding another feather in the innovation cap. Now, it’s also possible for brands and businesses to drive sales and generate revenue through shoppable content.

Tagging products and driving traffic to your store is a piece of cake thanks to the new shopping stickers for Instagram Stories. This comes as a godsend for all retailers. What this means is that brands can now utilise the product stickers to tag the specific products in Instagram Stories. Every time your followers watch your story, they can tap on each sticker and get a fair idea about the product and decide whether they want to purchase the same. This is a cool organic way to cajole people to shop on Stories without making things too obvious or in your face.

With Instagram Stories becoming such a rage with social media users, it was only a matter of time before the Shopping option was unleashed. Earlier, only businesses with 10,000 followers or more could drive substantial traffic to their products through Instagram Stories. But thanks to this new feature, even businesses having less than ten thousand followers can do the same by availing of this unique service.

What are Shoppable Instagram Stories Stickers?

These are similar to the normal Instagram Shoppable Posts, enabling the brands to tag their products in a more visible manner. When you click on an item on Instagram, you get access to the name of the item, its description, and how much it costs.

The best part about Shoppable Instagram Stories Stickers is that they can be placed over both still images and videos. There are 4 different types of these stickers,

1. A shopping bag icon
2. A translucent text just like a hashtag and location sticker
3. Sticker with the product name in grey colour
4. Sticker with the product name in rainbow colour

How are the Stickers Used?

You can add the Shoppable Instagram Stories Stickers in the following way:

• Open Instagram Stories and click an image or video. You can also choose from Camera Roll.
• Then click on the “Stickers” icon to choose the “Product” sticker from there.
• The product catalogue will open from where you can choose the particular product that you want to tag.
• Drag the “Product” sticker to place it where you want.

That’s it! You’re done! Did you ever think that selling your products on Instagram Stories could be so simple without having to add swipe-up links? That’s what Shoppable Instagram Stories stickers can do. Brands and businesses can now generate interest, drive traffic, and generate sales and revenue quickly.

Eligibility checklist

For you to be eligible to use Shoppable Instagram Stories stickers, check out the checklist given below:

• You must be a resident of any of the 46 countries where the feature is currently available.
• Brands and businesses must meet the compliance requirements of Instagram’s merchant agreements and commerce policies.
• Having an Instagram Business account is a must.
• Your Instagram business account must be connected with your Facebook catalog.

After meeting all the above-mentioned requirements, feel free to add shopping stickers to your Instagram Stories to your heart’s content.

How to use product stickers for Instagram Stories?

This is a process that involves two stages

1. Create a Story
2. Add shopping/product stickers

But the key is to make your Stories Shoppable. Here’s how you do this.

• After you have created your Instagram story, open the Instagram app and Swipe left or click on ‘+’ to add a new story. Create a new story or select an available image/video from the camera roll.
• Add product/shopping stickers to make your Story Shoppable. Click on the sticker icon. Then, tap on the Product sticker. After the catalogue appears, choose a product from it.
• You can also edit your stickers by changing their colours and position according to your choice.
• All you need to do is share your Stories after that and you’re rolling. This will drive traffic and also enhance sales.  

FAQs

1. Can you promote Instagram stories with stickers?
   Yes! There are as many as 5 interactive stickers that you can use from location sticker, hashtag sticker, tappable text and @mention stickers. You can also use one countdown sticker. However, the polling sticker and the Swipe Up CTA can only be used on ads created without a pre-existing post.
2. How do you add custom stickers to Instagram stories?

• Open the Instagram App.
• Tap the camera icon (upper left corner).
• Add your photo.
• Tap the Sticker button, which is a square with a smiley face and open the sticker tray.
• Locate the sticker of your choice and tap it.
• Drag and drop the sticker using one finger to the location of your choice.

3. Can you save stickers on Instagram?
Yes, you can. Mail all the stickers you need to yourself. Then, save them to the Camera Roll of your phone one by one. You can create a separate folder in the Camera Roll for your stickers and copy them there to enable easy access.