Did you open Instagram in the last hour? You might have scrolled through your feed, watched a number of stories and likely clicked on an image with shoppable items.You may or may not have purchased anything but at the very least, you clicked something that caught your eye.

With close to one billion daily active users (omnicoreagency.com), Instagram is every marketer’s dream. Based on audiences and behaviours on the platform, users are continuously viewing and engaging with content.

Swiping and scrolling at such a rapid pace means content is always being consumed. It also means users are ready to engage and learn more about a product or service. Enter shoppable content.

This is where any content (videos, photos, etc.) viewed online can in an instant, direct consumers to a shopping cart or new browser where they have a direct purchase opportunity; basically every marketer and brand’s dream.

Giving your viewers a chance to shop your feed is one thing; it’s even better if you can convert the ‘want’ to shop into an actual purchase.

Here’s how you can keep your audience engaged and get them to the checkout point:

1: Make your content interactive

According to a report by DemandGen, 91% of buyers prefer interactive, visual content that can be accessed as and when they need it. In today’s social media landscape, people expect brands and influencers to tell them where they shop and what they purchase.

This means gifs, videos, cinema-graphs and clickable content will improve the engagement rate on your platforms and as a result, effectively lead your customer to the shopping cart on your site.

2: Don’t shop ‘til you drop

It’s easy to make all of your content shoppable, especially once you see the results of one successful shoppable post. That said, stay away from making each and every post about purchasing your products.

To keep your audience a part of your brand journey and experience, you’ll want to stay engaging and continue telling your brand story, without being too heavy on the sales front.

3: Analytics are everything

You may think your audience is in love with one of your products when in reality, they’re eyeballing a completely different item.

Pay attention to the insights on your channels and take note of which images and products are actually getting the engagement rate you want.

You might see a certain type of product does extremely well – or you may notice that gifs are the type of content that drives your audience to the point of purchase. Either way, use the insights on your platform to inform how you create your content and which content is shoppable through your platforms.

Whether you’re approaching social media from a brand or consumer perspective, shoppable content is the present and future. It’s where brands can establish a direct relationship with their audiences and where consumers can hear, learn and shop a brand, straight from the source.