Social commerce channels compared: which channel suits your store?

Not every social commerce channel works for every store. The choice of platform depends on your target group, your product range and your available content budget. The following table gives you a quick overview:

TikTok Shop currently achieves the highest conversion rates because the checkout process takes place entirely in the app and the entertaining commerce effect greatly increases the impulse purchase factor. Pinterest, on the other hand, delivers high ROAS in the long term with low ongoing expenditure, as pins can generate traffic for years.

More on the overarching social commerce strategy: Social media e-commerce: strategy and sales

TikTok Shop for your online store: How to set it up

TikTok Shop is currently the fastest growing social commerce channel in Germany. The principle: products are linked directly in the video or livestream, the checkout takes place in the TikTok app. For stores, this means no media discontinuity and no shopping cart abandonment due to switching apps.

Setup requirements:

• TikTok Business Account (from 18 years of age, DE company or DE residence)
• TikTok Seller Center: seller-en.tiktok.com
• Product catalog in CSV or XML format (or Shopify/WooCommerce plugin)
• Bank details for withdrawals
• At least 1 linked Creator account (can be your own)

Content strategy for TikTok Shop: The key mistake is to treat TikTok Shop like a classic store feed. TikTok users don’t buy because they are searching – they buy because they feel entertained and then act on impulse. Your content must therefore first and foremost entertain and only secondarily sell.

Successful formats include product demos in everyday situations, before-and-after videos, haul videos and livestreams with exclusive discount codes. The product link in the video (sticker) should not be the first thing the user sees – three to five seconds of entertainment first, then the link.

To the complete TikTok Shop strategy: TikTok Shop for companies: Setup and social commerce

Instagram Shopping: using the product catalog strategically

Instagram Shopping is more sophisticated than TikTok Shop and reaches a more affluent target group. The setup runs via the Facebook Commerce Manager because Meta combines both platforms under one roof.

Setup in five steps:

1. Create Facebook Business Manager and link Instagram account
2. Open Commerce Manager and create store
3. Upload product catalog (Shopify plugin or manual CSV upload)
4. Request Instagram Shopping for your account (verification by Meta, 1-5 days)
5. Tag products in posts, stories and reels

Instagram Shopping works particularly well for industries with high aesthetic standards: fashion, cosmetics, home, jewelry, food. The shopping tab is visible directly in the profile and attracts organic traffic to your catalog. Product stickers in stories and reels have a significantly higher click rate than external links in the bio.

Agency tip: Combine Instagram Shopping with retargeting. People who have seen your product in the feed but not bought it are the most valuable audience segment for Instagram Ads. ROAS values of 4 to 8 are realistic for well-constructed retargeting funnels – significantly better than cold acquisition campaigns.

To the complete Instagram shopping strategy: Instagram shopping for businesses: Setup and strategy

Performance marketing: ROAS and retargeting for your store

In most cases, organic social commerce traffic is not enough to scale a store profitably. Paid social is the extension of your organic strategy – and the lever with which you can control reach and conversions.

The three most important paid social levers for stores:

1. prospecting (cold traffic): Address new target groups via lookalike audiences (based on your existing buyers) or interest targeting. The goal is not immediate conversion, but attention. CPM optimization instead of conversion optimization in this phase.

2. retargeting (warm traffic): Re-activate website visitors, Instagram profile interactions and video views. This audience segment already knows your product – discount codes, social proof and urgency elements work particularly well here.

3. dynamic product ads (DPA): Automatically generated ads that show users the exact product they were looking at in your store. The highest ROAS in e-commerce paid social is almost always with DPA campaigns.

Realistic ROAS by phase: Cold traffic is often 1.5 to 3x – this is not profitable at first, but builds up your warm traffic pool. Retargeting delivers 4 to 10x ROAS. DPA campaigns with a well-stocked catalog and active pixel: 5 to 12x ROAS are achievable.

Details on the performance marketing strategy: Performance marketing: ROAS and conversion strategy

Content strategy: what really triggers sales

Social commerce content is not a glossy product catalog. The biggest mistake is to transfer advertising images from the print sector to social media. What triggers sales is authentic, product-related content that shows the benefits – not the product in a studio shot.

Content formats with a proven conversion effect:

• Unboxing videos: More authentic than any advertisement. Customers see exactly what they are getting. Use real order videos from your customers (with permission).
• Product demos in everyday situations: Show how your product solves a specific problem. No-frills, no studio, natural lighting.
• User-generated content (UGC): Content from real customers has on average 28% higher engagement rates than brand content. Actively build a UGC pipeline.
• Livestream shopping: Especially on TikTok. Discount codes exclusively for the livestream, limited quantities, live Q&A on product questions.
• Comparison reels: Your product vs. alternative (fair and objective). Works particularly well in saturated markets.

Posting frequency by platform: TikTok: daily to 3× daily (the algorithm rewards frequency). Instagram: 3-5 times per week (feed + stories + 1-2 reels). Pinterest: 5-10 pins daily (the effort is low because pins are static). Facebook: 1-2 times a day is enough for organic reach in the store context.

Analysis and optimization: Which metrics really count

Many store operators measure the wrong metrics. Likes and followers are vanity metrics – they say nothing about the sales contribution. The metrics that count for your store:

Primary metrics (directly relevant to sales):

• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Sales ÷ advertising spend. Minimum benchmark: 2x to break-even, target 4x+ depending on margin.
• Conversion rate (CVR): Purchases ÷ clicks on your offer. On TikTok Shop: 3-7% is realistic. With external store link: 1-3 %.
• Cost per purchase (CPP): What does a purchase cost you? Compare with your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).
• Add-to-cart rate: Indicates whether the product page traffic is ready to buy. Low add-to-cart rate with high traffic = problem with the product or the page, not with social media.

Secondary metrics (for optimization):

• Video completion rate: crucial on TikTok and Reels. Below 20 % → Revise entry.
• Link CTR: For external traffic (link in bio, story link): How many click on your store link?
• Share rate: Shared content is the most favorable form of paid reach.

Tool stack for store analysis: Meta Business Suite (Facebook + Instagram), TikTok Ads Manager, Google Analytics 4 with UTM tracking for all social traffic sources, heatmap-based tool for the store pages (Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity free of charge).

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

After hundreds of e-commerce projects, the same mistakes can always be observed that burn up social commerce budgets without generating sales.

Mistake 1: Too many channels at the same time. TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube – everything at once is the surest recipe for mediocre performance on all channels. Start with a channel that suits your target group. Only scale up when this channel is profitable.

Error 2: No pixel, no tracking. If you don’t have the Meta Pixel and the TikTok Pixel on your website from day one, you will lose retargeting data that cannot be restored retroactively. Installing a pixel takes five minutes and is the foundation for all subsequent paid campaigns.

Mistake 3: Content without a hook. The first three seconds of a video decide whether to skip or watch. Without a clear hook (visual surprise, direct question to the user, before-and-after teaser), your potential customer will scroll on.

Mistake 4: Not linking organic and paid. Your organic content should convey the same products and messages as your paid campaigns. If you see the same content on both channels, you will convert faster.

Mistake 5: No social proof. Integrate reviews, UGC videos and testimonials directly into product content. A “4.8 stars out of 2,300 reviews” in the video overlay noticeably lowers the barrier to purchase.

Your contact for a customized social commerce strategy: Social Media One Agency

Which social commerce channel has the highest conversion rate for online stores?

TikTok Shop currently delivers the highest conversion rates in social commerce because the checkout takes place directly in the app and the entertaining commerce effect encourages impulse purchases. Guide values: 3-7 %, depending on the product category. Instagram Shopping is often the better channel with a more stable ROAS for more affluent target groups aged 30 and over.

How much budget do I need to get started with social commerce advertising?

To get started, 500-1,000 euros per month is enough to collect reliable data. With less than 500 euros per month, the learning phases of the algorithms are too slow to make meaningful optimizations. The budget should flow 70% into retargeting and 30% into prospecting as soon as the pixel has collected sufficient data (approx. 50 conversions per week as a minimum for stable playout).

What is the difference between social commerce and traditional e-commerce marketing?

Traditional e-commerce marketing (SEA, SEO, display) focuses on users who are already searching. Social commerce generates demand where users are not actively searching. The customer journey is shorter: discover product → buy in feed. This reduces the abandonment rate because there is no change of platform. Social commerce complements traditional marketing, but does not replace it – the two channels intertwine.

Do I need TikTok Shop and Instagram Shopping or is one enough?

For most stores, one is enough to start with. TikTok Shop is suitable for products under 80 euros with high impulse potential (beauty, gadgets, fashion, food). Instagram Shopping is better suited to higher-quality products with explanatory benefits. If you use both channels, you need separate content strategies – don’t just cross-post the same content.

How do I measure the ROI of my social media measures for the store?

The primary KPI is ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Revenue through advertising costs. In addition, you measure cost per purchase, conversion rate and the share of social traffic in total sales in Google Analytics 4. UTM tracking on all social links is mandatory so that you can distinguish which channel generates which sales. Organic social commerce influence can be made visible via Assisted Conversions in GA4.

More on the topic: Setting up a TikTok store – Instagram Shopping

Instagram Shopping: What the Platform Offers Today

Instagram has consistently expanded its shopping section in recent years and developed it into a full-fledged e-commerce ecosystem. The integration between content, community, and purchasing decisions is now so seamless that traditional conversion funnel models are largely ineffective. Instead, spontaneous, contextual purchasing impulses arise—right in the feed, in Stories, in Reels, and in the Explore section.

An Overview of the Key Features

Instagram Shop Tab

Users can search for and browse products directly through the dedicated Shop tab—without having to actively visit a brand’s profile.

Product Tags in All Formats

Products can be tagged in feed posts, Reels, Stories, and live videos—with a direct link to the product detail page or to in-app checkout.

In-App Checkout (U.S. & select markets)

Users can complete purchases without leaving Instagram—according to internal Meta data, conversion rates are up to 30% higher than with external redirects.

This infographic summarizes the key factors for successful Instagram marketing—from content strategy to growth strategies.

Shopping on Reels

Short, entertaining product videos with embedded tags achieve up to 67% higher engagement rates than static product-related posts.

Collaboration Posts with Creator Shopping

Brands can partner with creators who sell products directly from their posts—on a commission basis through Meta’s affiliate program.

Live Shopping

Real-time product presentations with a direct purchase option create a particularly strong sense of urgency and engage target audiences prone to impulse buying.

Instagram Shopping is no longer just another channel—it’s the direct path from inspiration to purchase, and anyone who doesn’t optimize this path is throwing money away.

Setup and Optimization: How Companies Get Off to the Right Start

Setting up an Instagram Shop from a technical standpoint is straightforward, but strategic optimization is what determines success or failure. Many brands fail not because of technical issues, but because they treat their shop like a traditional online catalog—rather than as a social commerce touchpoint. The key difference lies in the quality of the product content and the frequency with which shopping features are integrated into organic content.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Optimizing Your Instagram Shopping Presence

Set Up Commerce Manager

The product catalog is uploaded via Meta Commerce Manager and linked to the Instagram profile—a prerequisite for all other shopping features.

Product Images That Meet Instagram Standards

Square or portrait-oriented images with a minimum resolution of 1080 × 1080 pixels; white or neutral backgrounds for catalog views; lifestyle-oriented images for posts.

Optimize product descriptions for the platform

Short, emotional product descriptions instead of technical lists—Instagram users make decisions in seconds, not minutes.

Create Collections

Thematic product collections (e.g., by occasion, season, or style) increase the average cart value and extend the time customers spend in the store.

Schedule shopping content on a regular basis

We recommend posting at least 3–4 shopping posts per week to be classified as an active shop by the algorithm.

The Agency Strategy: What Professional Instagram Shopping Looks Like

From our experience as a social media agency, we know that the greatest impact doesn’t come from setting up the shop, but from strategically integrating organic content, paid reach, and creator collaborations. Brands that take a holistic approach to Instagram marketing don’t use their shop as a static catalog, but as a dynamic touchpoint that’s specifically fueled by Meta Ads. Shopping Ads—that is, ads that lead directly to product pages in the Instagram Shop—consistently achieve lower cost-per-purchase figures in e-commerce than traditional link ads, because users don’t have to leave the platform.

When complemented by a well-thought-out social media strategy that aligns posting frequency, target audience targeting, and product presentation, a self-reinforcing cycle of reach, engagement, and conversions is created. It’s especially important to note that Instagram Shopping doesn’t work in isolation. Those who utilize parallel channels such as TikTok marketing should coordinate product campaigns across platforms to ensure consistent brand messaging and leverage synergies between target audiences.

• Strategic integration trumps isolated store setup
• Shopping Ads significantly reduce cost per purchase
• Combine organic content with paid reach
• Leverage creator collaborations as a key success factor
• Cross-platform coordination is necessary for consistency
• A self-reinforcing loop of reach and conversions
• Use TikTok and Instagram synergistically

What Brands Should Do Differently, Specifically

Product Seeding with Micro-Creators

Nano- andmicro-influencers (1,000–50,000 followers) often achieve higher click-through rates in a shopping context than macro-influencers because their community is more engaged and more likely to make a purchase.

Retargeting Audiences from the Store

Users who have viewed products in the Instagram Shop but haven’t purchased them can be re-engaged through Meta Ads using dynamic product ads.

Strategically Planning Seasonal Collections

Christmas, Black Friday, Valentine’s Day—if you create collections 4–6 weeks in advance and back them up with content, you’ll benefit from early algorithm momentum.

Actively Incorporate UGC into Shopping Content

User-generated content with product tags significantly boosts potential buyers’ trust—and is more cost-effective than professional product photography.

Consistently Analyze Store Analytics

Instagram provides detailed data on product impressions, product tap rates, and saves—these metrics should be reviewed weekly to continuously optimize the catalog.

Conclusion

Instagram Shopping isn’t just a passing trend—it’s the infrastructure on which social commerce will scale in the coming years. For marketing professionals, this means that those who invest now in a professional shop setup, high-quality shopping content, and the smart integration of organic and paid channels will secure a structural competitive advantage. The technical barriers to entry are low, but the strategic requirements are high—and this is precisely where the difference lies between brands that take Instagram Shopping seriously as a revenue channel and those that treat it as a side project. Our clear advice: Get started now, test consistently, and scale what works—before your competitors do.

• Instagram Shopping Is Becoming a Social Commerce Infrastructure
• Professional Shops Secure a Competitive Advantage
• High strategic demands despite low barriers to entry
• Integration of organic and paid content
• Get started, test, and scale now
• The Difference Between a Serious Project and a Side Project

Why Instagram Shopping is indispensable for companies

The modern purchasing process is no longer linear. Users discover products in the feed, save them in their wish list, compare them in the browser and buy them directly in the app store the next day. Instagram has consistently shortened this path: it takes less than two minutes from product tag to checkout. For companies, this means that those who are visible on the platform but have not set up a shopping experience are missing out on sales every day.

The decisive advantage over traditional advertising formats: Purchase intention and discovery phase coincide. Users scrolling through the feed are often not actively searching – but an appealing post with a visible price tag can arouse interest and trigger a purchase in seconds. This is the reason why Instagram Shopping works exceptionally well for visually strong products – fashion, beauty, home decor, food, sports.

Agency tip: Don’t just set up Instagram Shopping when your content is already perfect. Start with a clean catalog and five strong product photos – and optimize in parallel. If you wait until everything is perfect, you give your competitors valuable months.

Technical setup: Step by step to the shopping profile

Before shopping tags can appear in posts, a few requirements must be met. The good news is that the set-up process can be completed in one to two days with proper preparation.

Check requirements

You need a business or creator profile on Instagram, a Facebook page that is linked to the Instagram account and a Facebook Commerce Manager account. Your product catalog must either be maintained manually in the Commerce Manager or synchronized via a store partner (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento). Instagram Shopping is fully available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – for Checkout (native purchase in the app), however, the market is limited to the USA.

Connect catalog

In the Facebook Commerce Manager under Catalogs → Products, you can either upload a data feed (CSV, XML, Google Sheets) or connect your online store directly. Shopify users benefit from the official Facebook & Instagram channel, which automatically synchronizes the catalog. WooCommerce stores use the Pixel & Conversions API plugin. Make sure you have complete product data: Title, description, price, availability, image links and the product URL are mandatory fields. Incomplete entries lead to rejections during the review.

Activate shopping in Instagram

In the Instagram settings under Company → Shopping, select the linked catalog and send the profile for verification. Meta checks whether the guidelines are adhered to – this usually takes 24-72 hours. After approval, the store tab appears on your profile and you can set tags in new posts.

Optimize your product catalog: What really determines conversion

An activated shopping profile is the basis – but a poorly maintained catalog costs sales. The most common mistakes: generic product titles, missing variants, outdated prices and inferior product images.

Product titles and descriptions

Titles should be precise and search engine friendly because Instagram users also find products via native search. Instead of “Shirt blue”, it’s better to use “Women’s T-shirt organic cotton blue – sizes XS to XL”. Descriptions can be detailed: Material, care, special features, suitable combinations. Users who land on a product tag want to be able to decide – give them all the information directly.

Images in the catalog vs. images in the post

The catalog data record contains the standard product images (white background, frontal view). In the post, on the other hand, you show the product in a lifestyle context. Both levels are important: the catalog image provides orientation when the user taps on the tag and switches to the product page. The post image creates the emotional connection. Make sure that both levels are of high quality – blurred or poorly exposed catalog images break trust.

Prices, discounts and availability

You should store promotional prices as sale_price in the feed, not just label them in the post. This way, Instagram automatically displays the crossed-out original price next to the promotional price – a strong impulse to buy. Products that are sold out should be quickly removed from the catalog or marked as “out of stock” to avoid disappointment.

Using shopping tags correctly in posts, stories and reels

Shopping tags are the actual link between your content and your catalog. Where and how you place them has a significant impact on click-through rates and conversions.

Shopping Posts

In the feed post, tap on “Tag products” when creating and select from your catalog. You can tag up to five products per single image – for carousels even 20 (max. 5 per image). Place tags sensibly: The tag should be on the actual product in the image, not somewhere next to it. Users who tap on the tag will see the name and price – and will be redirected to the product detail page if they are interested.

Stories Shopping

You can use the product link sticker in Stories. Stories are ideal for time-critical campaigns: Countdown stickers combined with a shopping tag create real urgency. Also use Stories for “last stock” notices or exclusive discount codes that only Story viewers receive.

Reels Shopping

Reels offer the greatest organic reach potentialand are also the most flexible shopping format: you can tag up to 30 products. For companies, this means that a well-produced product video can reach thousands of users as an organic reel who don’t even follow your account yet. Use reels for tutorials, unboxings, styling videos or “how it’s made” content. You can find out more in our guide to Instagram reel production for companies.

Design your Instagram store: Collections, highlights and store tab

The store tab on your profile is your digital shop window – and many companies neglect it in favor of individual posts. The design of the store is a decisive factor for recurring purchases.

Create collections

In the Commerce Manager, you can group products into collections: “Summer looks”, “Bestsellers”, “New arrivals”, “Sale”. These collections appear in the store tab and allow users to browse in a targeted manner. Plan collections like shop windows: What should catch the eye first? Which products generate cross-selling effects?

Featured Collections in the profile

You can highlight up to four collections in your profile as featured areas. Place your strongest products here and change the selection regularly – for example for the new season, major sales or the launch of a new line.

Story highlights as a shopping guide

Many successful brands use story highlights as a permanent product guide: “Bestseller”, “New collection”, “Outfits under €50”. This transforms the fleeting nature of stories into permanent content – and each highlight story can be linked to a shopping day. This has a direct impact on organic Instagram reach, as highlights make the profile more attractive and increase the length of stay.

Optimize conversions: From tag to checkout

Technical setup and good content are necessary conditions – but conversion optimization determines how much revenue is actually generated in the end.

Optimize product pages

Instagram Shopping directs users to your website product page. This is where they decide whether to make a purchase. The most common reasons for abandonment: slow loading times, lack of reviews, unclear return conditions, overly complicated checkout. Use tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights and Hotjar to regularly check where users bounce.

Retargeting with Instagram Shopping Ads

Anyone who has tapped on a shopping tag but not made a purchase is your hottest lead. Using the Facebook Pixel and the Conversions API, you can precisely target these users with retargeting ads – and show them the exact product they have already viewed (Dynamic Product Ads). This is one of the most efficient levers in the Instagram Ads mix and often justifies significantly higher budgets than awareness campaigns. In combination with a strong social media e-commerce strategy, a complete funnel is created – from initial discovery to repurchase.

Price tags and discount signals

Test whether products with a visible price tag in the post achieve higher click rates than posts where only the name appears. Experience has shown that clearly legible prices – especially for promotional prices with the original price crossed out – significantly increase the click-through rate. With Instagram ads, you can A/B test this effect; in the organic area, regular monitoring of your insights helps.

Instagram shopping with the Instagram agency

Many companies fail not because of the setup, but because of the ongoing optimization: catalog maintenance, content production, retargeting structures and performance evaluation tie up resources. A specialized Instagram agency takes on these tasks systematically and brings best practices from hundreds of campaigns.

Measuring success: the most important KPIs for Instagram Shopping

What is not measured cannot be improved. Instagram Shopping already provides some relevant metrics in the native Insights – for deeper tracking you need the Facebook Pixel.

Native Instagram Insights

For each shopping post, you can see product button taps (how many users tapped on a tag) and product page views (how many of them were redirected to the product page). These metrics show you which products are well received in the content – and which are not clicked despite their visibility.

Pixel tracking and custom conversions

With the Facebook Pixel you can track the entire funnel: ViewContent → AddToCart → InitiateCheckout → Purchase. This allows you to see not just clicks, but actual purchases – and calculate the ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) for Shopping campaigns. Serious performance measurement is not possible without pixel data.

Important KPIs at a glance

• Product tag click-through rate: percentage of users who click on a tag (target: >3%)
• Store tab visits: How many users visit your store tab
• Product page conversion: Proportion of tag clicks that lead to the product page
• Add-to-cart rate: Proportion of product page visitors who add to the shopping cart
• Purchase conversion rate: proportion of add-to-carts that lead to a purchase
• ROAS for Shopping Ads: Revenue per invested advertising euro (target: >3x)

More on the topic: TikTok Shop Setup – Social Commerce

The first, real Social Shopping Network

As a social network, Instagram has over 1 billion active users every month. This makes Instagram the most engaged network, even ahead of Facebook itself. Approximately 70% of Instagram users are under 35 years old. This is an extremely strong target group, also with a view to the future and the strategic development of their own brand. Products have been linked to Instagram for about two years. That’s why the function has long been an insider tip from our e-commerce agency.

Until now you have to create a Facebook Shop for it. Accordingly, the effort was too high for many people. After all, the own store had to be connected to Facebook to mark products on Instagram. Now everything is much easier, much more present.

Create Instagram Shop in the app, done. Now you can create products and link them in your photos and videos

That is why we wanted to tell you about it directly! Today we will take a first, basic look at the feature together. Most of the time we get very basic questions about Insta Shopping. This article answers all questions step by step.

• What is Instagram Shopping?
• Is Instagram Shopping worth it?
• How does Instagram Shopping work?
• How can you sell stuff on Instagram?
• How much does Instagram Shopping cost?

What is Instagram Shopping?

When you start the app, 5 icons appear in the main menu. One of them is new, the Instagram Shopping function.

The icon is not only present at the start of the app, but also in all subpages. It doesn’t matter if it’s a news stream, your own profile or the search for content and channels. Instagram tries something completely new with it, it becomes a social shopping network. If you open the shopping area, you will find the start page for the area here. From here you can search or navigate by topics. There you will find products, stores and other inspiration marked by users (or brands).

For example, here you can mark Influencer your products (or yourself).

Tip! Product videos instead of photos

As you have already learned in the article Instagram Video Algorithm, Instagram focuses more and more on video content. TikTok is already competing with 800 million users. Dior, for example, uses video to make your products more vivid.

This is Instagram Shopping for users. Now let’s move on to the business area that is important for you as a marketing channel. Under the respective product or store you will of course find further articles from the store.

Key figures: Is Instagram Shopping worthwhile?

The question: “Is Instagram Shopping worthwhile?” we want to look at in a little more detail. Also in relation to social commerce in general, or its potential for the future. First of all, let’s take a look at the question: “Is Instagram worthwhile?

Instagram or… what do companies use?

As described in the introduction, Instagram has over 1 billion active users per month. This makes Instagram the most engaged network, even ahead of Facebook itself. Reach and interaction, you can find both on Instagram. But are companies taking advantage of the Instagram opportunity? 76% of companies worldwide use Instagram. Here you can see the exact percentage of companies using social media platforms worldwide in January 2020.

Social Media Marketing: Advertising expenditure until 2022

The next important question, how are companies’ investments in social marketing developing? After all, this is an indicator of whether companies and brands trust in social media marketing campaigns or rather rely on alternative advertising formats. Here you can see the investments in social media advertising worldwide from 2007 to 2018 and forecast 2022 (in millions of US dollars).

Facebook share: parent company in focus

Instagram has been part of the Facebook Group since the acquisition of Mark Zuckerberg. Looking at the company’s share price, the changed marketing world is reflected. The value of the company increases and increases. Here is a review of the past year (charts from Ariva.de):

In the context of the annual review of the Facebook share, here is a review of the share price development of the last years. Yes, an investment would have been worthwhile!

Direct sales instead of indirect advertising

A look at the advertising investments of companies shows that social media marketing continues to increase in its relevance. The marketing mix will therefore continue to diversify, and in addition to new networks such as TikTok as Instagram competition, there will also be expanded functions, such as the Insta Shopping function.

How does Instagram Shopping work?

To the question: How can you sell things on Instagram? Until now, influencer marketing has been the big topic on Instagram when it comes to marketing products. Now, products can be created directly and marketed in an adorable way. Users no longer have to leave Instagram to browse their own product catalog.

The golden 20’s bring with them completely new marketing opportunities for companies and brands. In social media marketing, this new, extremely present version of Instagram Shopping is of course also worth its weight in gold. But not only for established companies, also new and young brands can present themselves more elegantly. With one click on the icon you are in the world of Instagram Shopping

Over 80% mobile traffic

Proportion of Instagram.com desktop traffic by country of origin in September 2020

Setting up an Instagram Shopping Channel is free of charge. All you have to do is create your own Instagram Channel.

Create Instagram account

1. Download the Instagram app, either for Android or iOS
2. Tip on “Register”
3. Log in with your existing Facebook account, email or phone number and tap “Next”
4. Type in your full name
5. Select a password
6. Enter your date of birth and then tap “Next”

Voila! You have created an Instagram account. With this account you can now set up the shopping function.

TikTok vs Instagram

Currently there are many changes on the Instagram App. The extremely prominent Instagram Shopping feature, as well as a new aspect that we noticed today while recording the Marketing Podcast. The competitive pressure of TikTok is forcing Instagram to change. You should consider this in your social media marketing plan. More about the current competition between TikTok and Instagram, is available here as an update in the article.

Podcast episode on Spotify: Lean Canvas (1/3) Special

Back to overview: Marketing Podcast.

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Lean Canvas for your business idea: find & review

You want to start your own business? You want to found your own company, your own start-up? Then you need a good business idea! Several times a year we have a very special workshop, with over 200 participants. Briefly explained, similar to Höhle der Löwen that you know from TV. Only, with the extra of a day of coaching with our experts and mentors, then comes the big day and day pitches. 200 people, 40 groups, 40 ideas, but what’s the best way to start?

What is the Lean Canvas?

What is the Lean Canvas? The Lean Canvas is a variation of the Business Canvas. It helps you to find business ideas in new simple steps and to validate them. Validation means to check and prove that a business idea is or will be profitable. In this special of our Marketing Podcast, we’re going to look at the Lean Canvas in three episodes. In each case, 3 of 9 steps.

In part 1, you’ll learn about problem, solution, and your USP. In the second part(Lean Canvas #2) we talk about metrics, target groups and the unfair advantage. Part 3(Lean Canvas #3) then deals with the big topic of marketing and the resulting costs and revenue sources.

Banks, investors… Find employees (Recruiting)

In the Marketing Podcast and this special you learn so, free of charge the first step, the design of your business idea! You need this to develop your pitch and your business plan. Both you need to convince e.g. investors and banks of you. Finally, you need both concepts in everyday life, e.g. when you want to convince customers of your product or when recruiting new employees. These steps will be discussed in detail in future episodes. Learn marketing for your own business, step by step.

A solid, well thought-out idea, demonstrably profitable is what employees, banks but also investors expect from you as a founder. That’s why we wanted to take a close look at each individual step in this Lean Canvas Special, with practical examples so that you understand how such a Lean Canvas is built up. What depth you need to go into so that your pitch is ultimately convincing.

More in the Marketing Podcast

You want more episodes from our marketing podcast? Small video snippets on the individual topics, from social media marketing to print to setting up a company, with tips and best practices from international projects. Here you can find the overview

• Marketing Podcast

Marketing Shorty: Lean Canvas

More Marketing Snippets? Follow us on Youtube, too. Topic of the week:

1. Lean Canvas Part 1: Problem, Solution & USP<

As a speaker, we show up to 200 participants in our workshop how to build a business. One part of this is the Lean Canvas. A simple way to develop business ideas and test them. On the second day, 40 groups then present their business ideas. A bit like “Höhle der Löwen”, you probably know the TV series. However, before it comes to the pitch, a solid business idea has to be in place. In this podcast episode we talk about that among other things.

Lean Canvas Part 1: Problem, Solution & USP

Lean Canvas Special: All Parts

Here you can find all parts of the Lean Canvas Special at a glance:

Part: Key figures, unfair advantage and target group

Part 2: Key figures, unfair advantage and target group

Part: Marketing and Finances

Part 3: Marketing and finance

Products & Shop on Facebook and Instagram

Social selling is becoming more and more important. In online marketing, the aim is to have as few barriers as possible, since the cap concludes the desired action. On a website, for example, this is the number of clicks until the purchase has been made or until a specific product has been found. Each additional barrier, which means each additional step, makes the purchase more difficult and thus lowers the conversion rate. The shorter, simpler and more understandable the paths are, the better. That’s why it makes sense sooner or later not to lure people out of the social media network into your own online shop, but to sell products directly via social media networks. The so-called social selling.

Some platforms now make it possible to create your own online shops. The online shops are then linked to the real platform. The big advantage is that the users have the possibility to browse the products directly in the social network. On the other hand you have the possibility to link products directly in your media, for example if you post a photo. If users are then more interested in the posted product, you can find out which product it is by clicking on the medium. In addition, they get all price information directly and can click directly to the product in their real online shop. Social selling, with its own online shop in the social network, lowers the hurdles for sales from social media networks accordingly.