"In fact more than 84% of smartphone users in the US browse research or compare products via a web browser or mobile app."

Instagram

Shopify and Instagram will soon give Shopify Online Stores another sales channel for their products with Instagram Shopping. Select Shopify accounts have already begun the testing process and the feature expected to be rolled out to all accounts soon.

Selling on Instagram gives eCommerce businesses the ability to make any Instagram Post shoppable. Your Social Media posts will now do more than just promote products they will sell them seamlessly in-app. From discovery to checkout the full sales process happens on the Instagram App for your customer’s convenience.

We have the details on how Selling on Instagram works and what you need to do to get your Shopify Store ready!

What Is Instagram Shopping

The popular Social Media Platform Instagram is primarily known mainly as a mobile photo sharing app with a reported 500 million daily active users. As the app has skyrocketed in popularity it has become a popular marketing channel for brands especially in the beauty Fashion and luxury segments. In late 2016 and early 2017 Instagram began allowing certain brands to add a tag to posts that gave users the ability to purchase products from a seller’s online store without leaving the app.

Instagram has now partnered with the eCommerce solution Shopify to allow Shopping on Instagram. The new integration feature will allow Shopify online store owners to create shoppable posts with product tags. From promotion to checkout everything happens seamlessly in the Instagram app. Users do not have to follow a link to the store to make the purchase eliminating additional steps that could result in lost sales.

Shopify has been testing the Shopping on Instagram feature throughout 2017 with select Online Stores and plans to make it available to all stores in 2018.

How does Selling on Instagram Work

Most likely you already promote your business and products to your Instagram followers but promotion where the post stops. When a user is interested in your product they need to follow a link to your online store. Currently the only way to put a link to your store is in the Bio section of your Instagram Profile. Generally this link would take shoppers to your site where they would then have to search for the product they were interested in. This adds multiple steps across platforms for your customers. With the introduction of Shoppable Posts this process is streamlined.

Instagram Shopping allows businesses to create a shoppable post by tagging products that are available for purchase. Once posted users will see a “Tap to View Products” button on the lower left of the picture. When tapped tags for up to five products featured in the post will come up. The product tags pop up similar to when a user is tagged in a picture.

When a user taps a product tag more information about the item is displayed. This all happens right in their Instagram feed. Users can scroll through all the products that are tagged in the post to get information on each.

In the product information screen there is an option to “Shop Now”. The product is then displayed in your store for purchase. This screen is still within the Instagram App itself. Keeping the entire process within one app produces a much faster shopping experience for the user. There is no wait time while an additional browser is opened and loaded.

The ultimate result is a user experience that includes becoming aware of the product getting more information and purchasing it without leaving the app. The less steps that a customer must take leads to a higher conversion percentage.

Benefits of Instagram Shopping for Shopify Businesses

The ability to create shoppable posts greatly benefits Shopify Online Stores. As mentioned above it streamlines the promotion and selling process to Instagram Users.

There is also a more direct way to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of your Instagram Marketing investment. When a customer makes a purchase through the Instagram App you can set it to be recorded as a referring page. This allows you to track what sales resulted directly from your Instagram Account.

Potentially one of the greatest benefits of Instagram Shopping is there are no additional costs for Shopify Stores with at least a Basic Shopify Plan. As reported by TechCrunch the Instagram plans to monetize the feature by offering the ability to promote shoppable posts to users that do not follow your account.

"Instagram won’t take a cut of purchases and instead plans to monetize the product by later allowing brands to pay to show their shoppable photos to people who don’t follow them."

James Quarles Instagram VP of Monetization

NEED HELP GETTING YOUR STORE READY FOR INSTAGRAM SHOPPING? WE CAN HELP!

What Are the Requirements for Selling on Instagram

According to Shopify there are requirements that need to be met in order to use the product tagging once it is available.

1. Established Facebook Business Profile with Online Store Sales Chanel Product Catalog
2. Instagram Business Profile
3. Product Requirements
4. Product Categories

Established Facebook Business Profile with Online Store Sales Chanel Product Catalog

Instagram is owned by Facebook. In order to use the Selling on Instagram you must first make sure that you have a Facebook Business Profile. Once your business profile is established you then need to set up the Facebook Sales Channel. This feature creates a Shop tab on your Facebook page that displays your Shopify products. This feature is included in all paid Shopify Plans.

You can find the required steps in this process in the Shopify Help Center.

Instagram Business Profile

Once Selling on Instagram is made available you will need to have an Instagram Business Profile. You will need to have your Facebook Business Profile set up before you complete this step.

If you already have a basic Instagram account that you are using for your brand you can convert it to an Instagram Business Profile with just a few simple steps.

1. From the Instagram App open your profile and go to your settings
2. Tap the Switch to Business Profile
3. Follow the steps to connect you Instagram Profile to your Facebook Business Page

When you set this up make sure that you connect to the same Facebook page that you added to Shopify. You can find more about converting to an Instagram Business Profile on the Facebook Help Center.

Product Requirements

There are a few requirements that products must meet to use Instagram Product Tagging. These include:

1. Must be a Physical Product. It cannot be a be a digital product or a service.
2. Meets Product Category Requirements (See Below)
3. Available on the Online Store sales channel

Product Categories

To use Instagram Product Tagging the physical products must be from the following categories:

Review Settings and Instagram Approval

Now that you have all your business profiles setup and connected to each other you must wait for approval from Instagram before you can tag products. This will happen after Shopify has enabled Selling on Instagram. Once approved you will receive a notification in your Instagram Business Profile.

While you are waiting for approval review your settings and make sure that your Facebook and Instagram accounts are correctly connected to your Shopify account. Follow these steps to review your connection:

1. From your Shopify dashboard navigate to the Facebook Account page.
2. Confirm that the name of your Instagram account appears in the Instagram Account section
   1. If your Instagram account does not display after you have completed the setup confirm that the Facebook account that is connected to Shopify is the same account used to authenticate the Instagram account.
   2. If you need to connect or change a Facebook page on Shopify use the Facebook Page section through your Shopify account.

Managing Facebook Product Catalogs

If you have not started selling your products through your Facebook account while you are waiting to get approved for the shoppable Instagram posts is a wonderful time to start! The Shopify Help Center has details for Selling on Facebook with Shopify.

While Facebook allows your business to have multiple product catalogs available on your profile you can only have one connected to your Instagram Business Account. If you are currently selling products on Facebook in multiple product catalogs you will need to establish the best strategy for your business moving forward.

Once you begin using the Selling on Shopify you can change which product catalog is connected to your Instagram account. However when a catalog is changed all existing Instagram Product Tags will be removed.

Instagram Shopping Adds More to Your Shopify

Shopify has already established itself as one of the best eCommerce Solutions for your Online Business. With the addition of an additional sales channel the benefits continue to expand.

If you are interested in learning more about Instagram Shopping have questions about preparing your existing Shopify Store for Selling on Instagram or are considering launching a new Online Store contact our Shopify experts today!

Learn more about Social Media Marketing

The post Shopify and Instagram Shopping Make Selling Products on Social Media Easier appeared first on Capitol Tech Solutions.

Online shopping is growing at a rapid pace. Global online retail sales are estimated to reach 8.8% of total retail spending in 2018. In the US alone about a third of Millennials are making many of their purchases online. Their spending tops $600 billion annually accounting for 28% of all daily per-person consumer spending according to Forbes.

These trends make now the best time to start your online business. But the question is what eCommerce platform you should use? In our experience the Best eCommerce Solution is Shopify. Our Expert Web Designers got together to review the platform and lay out the Top 10 Benefits for your eCommerce business.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a Software as a Service (SaaS) hosted eCommerce solution that performs as an online store builder for your business. As a SaaS there is no software you need to install on your computer to get your online storefront up and running. They provide your business with a “one-stop-shop” for all your eCommerce needs. They handle web hosting for your online store payment processing shipping options inventory control customer management and more.

Top 10 Benefits of Shopify for Your Online Business

Our Shopify Expert eCommerce Website Designers have created online stores for small businesses to large corporations using many of the popular eCommerce platforms. In our experience the best option especially for small to medium sized businesses (SMB) is Shopify. The ability to have most of the needed components for your online store in one place saves time and money. We have highlighted the Top 10 Benefits for your business:

1. Shopify Pricing
2. Shopify Grows with Your Business
3. Shopify Payments
4. Product Categories and Variants
5. Theme Store
6. Shopify App Store
7. Shopify Reports
8. Blogging
9. Mobile Store Management
10. Shopify Support

Shopify Pricing vs "Free" Platforms

There are platforms available that are promoted as a “free” option for eCommerce. However the reality like most of life is that nothing is truly free. While the platform the site is built on may be provided for free there are still costs associated with getting the online store operational. Examples of costs include Web Hosting ($5-$15/m) Payment Gateway ($30/m) Additional Third Party Plugins (if needed) and a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) for security ($5+/m). The free option has quickly ballooned to $40-$50 a month on the low side.

Shopify Pricing varies depending on the features and options they offer. Shopify’s plans are divided into three levels; Shopify Basic – $29/m Shopify – $79/m and Advanced Shopify – $299/m. For our purposes we will focus on the basic Shopify plan as it meets the needs of many of our clients. Included in the monthly cost is web hosting of your site (at speeds that often exceed the basic shared web hosting plans available from most services) a payment gateway and a SSL certificate.

The true benefit of Shopify here is the amount of time it saves you. Researching purchasing installing and testing payment gateways and SSL certificates can easily take you several days if you are unfamiliar with the technical aspects of setting up a website. Allowing Shopify to handle this part of your online setup can allow you to setup a basic eCommerce site in as little as a day.

The package also includes unlimited products Fraud Analysis Shipping Discounts and the ability to print shipping labels.

Shopify Grows with Your Business

As you grow your business online Shopify grows with you. With even the Basic Shopify Plan you can have unlimited products for sale on your store. Shopify also lets you grow your online presence by easily listing your products through other Sales Channels including Amazon Facebook Pinterest and adds a Buy Button to sell on Blogs.

Selling in person is easy with the POS app for iOS and Android. This allows you to take your online store with you wherever you are. Whether you sell at a market fair pop-up shop or trade shows the app allows you to have full access to your store POS system and inventory at any time.

Shopify offers the ability to integrate with a traditional store front with their Shopify Retail Package. The Retail Package allows you to incorporate the system in store. Some of the features for your business include:

• Connection to additional retail hardware: receipt printer cash drawer barcode scanner
• Swipe card readers
• Staff Accounts
• Register Shifts: Balance cash drawer to hold employees accountable
• Unlimited Staff Access Pins
• Saved Carts / Abandoned Cart Recovery
• Gift Cards

FIND OUT IF SHOPIFY IS RIGHT FOR YOUR ONLINE STORE

Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is the built-in payment system included in your package. Through the platform you can accept all major credit cards so long as your customers are located in their service areas (United States Puerto Rico Canada the United Kingdom Ireland and Australia).

Using Shopify Payments allows you to avoid any transaction fees and offers competitive credit card rates (2.44-2.9% + $.30). The credit card rates are based on the package you choose and can be changed at any time as your business grows.

You are not required to use the included payment processing. You can choose third party providers to accept payments from your customers. This includes PayPal Apple Pay Amazon Pay or choose from over 70 credit card payment providers that include both direct and external providers. If you choose a third party provider you will be charged a transaction fee. The fees vary depending on your store’s transaction volume any recurring app charges and the payment provider you choose.

Product Categories and Variants

When setting up your online store you can divide your products into specific collections. This makes your customer’s user experience better by grouping similar products together for easier searching. You can group items by type on sale color size seasonal or any way you see fit.

You have two options when setting up collections Automated and Manual Collections.

Automated Collections uses defined selection conditions to automatically include matching products. You can set as many selection conditions you want and specify if products must meet all or some of the conditions to be added to a collection.

Manual Collections include only products that you place into each collection. When you add or remove a product you must update the collections that you want it to be included in.

If you have different versions of a product (size color etc.) Shopify allows you to set up Product Variants. This makes it so you do not have to create individual products for each version of a product. Each product can have up to 100 variants.

Theme Store

Getting your eCommerce store up and running is made simple with Shopify Themes. You can choose between ten free template designs included in Basic Shopify Plan or upgrade to one of the 51 paid premium themes that range from $140-$180.

All the themes come optimized for mobile devices. This means that your store will look great when customer visit your store whether on a desktop tablet or mobile device.

All the themes are customizable to better allowing you to change the look and feel as well as how it behaves. While the design templates can be used “as-is” it is important to customize it to match the style and aesthetic feel of your unique brand.

While opting for a theme is a simple solution to easily setup your online store hiring a Shopify Expert Design Partner has many advantages. An eCommerce website design company can customize and setup your website allowing you to focus on what you do best – running your business. A seasoned website builder has the experience to design and setup stores in any industry; which will ultimately save time so you can work on selling your products and generating profits.

CONTACT OUR SHOPIFY EXPERT DESIGNERS NOW TO GET YOUR STORE STARTED TODAY

Shopify App Store

While the platform comes with many features built-in there are even more ways to customize your online store. The Shopify App Store offers over 2000 third party free and paid apps that can be added to your store. The app store is one of the greatest benefits for users. They can add functionality to your store or integrate it with other programs. Some of the categories to choose from include:

• Marketing
• Shipping
• Product Sourcing
• Accounting
• Inventory

• Customer Service
• Social Media
• Advanced Reporting
• CMS Integration

Shopify Reports

Shopify generates analytics and reports for every plan that you choose. These analytics and reports allow you to review your store’s recent activity gain insights into your visitors and their shopping habits and analyze your store’s transactions.

The number and depth of reports will vary depending on the plan that you choose. You can also find additional apps in the App Store that offer more specific reports.

Blogging

You can design an amazing online store offer the greatest products ever created and never get a single customer. Why? Because no one knows about your store. Of course the answer to this problem is to market your new store. But how should you do that? The best place to start is Creating Content that online shoppers will find useful. The best way that we have found to do this is by starting a Blog.

Shopify comes with a built-in blogging engine. Blogging about relevant topics around your store is a great way to drive traffic to your store by improving your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Creating quality content by writing blog posts that answer your potential customers questions begins to establish your brand as an expert in your industry and improves your online reputation.

Shopify has many ways to help optimize your Blog Posts to improve your Search Engine Result Page (SERP) Rankings. They also offer tutorials on how to format your Blog and suggestions on how to get started.

Mobile Store Management

Running a business can require you to always be available no matter where you happen to be. Thankfully there is an app that goes wherever you go. The Shopify App puts managing most aspects of your online store in the palm of your hand.

With the mobile app you can manage your orders and inventory view your sales and traffic and even add new products to store right from your phone. This makes running your business more convenient to your lifestyle and schedule. You no longer need to worry about what’s happening with your online store when you leave your computer.

Shopify Support

Another area that Shopify surpasses many of its competitors is their Customer Service. To start the Support Team is available 24/7 by email live chat and even phone. No jumping through hoops to talk to a real person on their schedule. They understand that running a business means always working so they are there no matter when you need them.

In addition to their personal support they have a wealth of knowledge available through their online community video tutorials webinars eCommerce University as well as extensive documentation in the help center.

Final Thoughts

There are many eCommerce Solutions available for your online business. Many of these solutions have notable features and benefits to help you meet your business goals. After years of experience our developers agree that the Shopify eCommerce solution offers the greatest amount of benefits for our clients.

The powerful platform offers a user-friendly interface that is easily navigated requires a short learning curve presents your online store in a professional and secure platform and offers an extensive range of useful features.

Capitol Tech Solutions is proud to be a Shopify Expert Design Partner. If you are considering starting an online business or are looking for a better eCommerce Solution for your existing online store contact CTS today to learn how Shopify can start benefiting you today.

The post Shopify: Review of Benefits for Your eCommerce Store appeared first on Capitol Tech Solutions.

Shopify has officially named Capitol Tech Solutions as their only Shopify eCommerce Partner in the Sacramento region

After four years of designing successful eCommerce website for clients utilizing the Shopify platform we are excited to announce that Shopify has officially named CTS as their only expert partner service provider in the Sacramento region.

“We are very excited and honored that Shopify has named CTS their only Expert Partner Service Provider in the Sacramento region. The ability to create the custom eCommerce sites that our clients envision and partner them with such a powerful platform is a great way to set them up for future success.”
~ Bobby Reed CEO Capitol Tech Solutions

The post Capitol Tech Solutions is Shopify’s Only Expert Partner Service Provider in Sacramento CA appeared first on Capitol Tech Solutions.