Instagram Expands Product Tagging To All U.S. Users
Source: Instagram
Instagram announced its expanding product tagging to all U.S.-based users. Previously, product tagging was only available to users with professional accounts (e.g., business, creator).
Over the coming months, all users will be able to tag products from brands with Instagram Shopping set up. Users can do so by uploading a photo or video, adding a caption, tagging a brand, tapping Tag Products to search for the business, and selecting the relevant product(s).
Brands who have products tagged will receive a notification and be able to view all content where their products are tagged. As with the Branded Content Tool, brands can also control who can tag their products.
As Instagram reports that 1.6 million users tag at least one brand every week, there should be an influx of shoppable content as users get access to and use product tagging in addition to brand tagging.
This will primarily benefit brands since more content users share featuring their products will be shoppable, allowing for in-app purchasing. Creators will also benefit since product tags help demonstrate their ROI to the brands they work with. Tracking and affiliate links are standard ways for measuring lower-funnel activities like clicks and conversions, but product tags provide a more accurate view of how creator content impacts conversions.
Unfortunately today, users won't receive any portion of sales when someone makes a purchase using a product tag in their photo or video, but I think that will change down the road. Currently, Instagram is testing a native affiliate tool with select creators. I believe the tool will eventually be rolled out to all users, enabling anyone to leverage product tags and earn sales commission.
What does expanded product tagging mean for influencer marketers? If conversions are a KPI for a campaign, creators should be asked to include product tags in their content as part of campaign deliverables. Using product tags eliminates additional steps audiences typically need to take when they want to purchase a product from Instagram but have to do so outside the app.
