2 Brands that have Mastered Shoppable Posts – and How They Did It

Once upon a time, social media was a place to connect with friends, post a few photos and…well, that was pretty much it. Fast forward a decade, and this medium plays a far more important role in our lives: not only a space to connect with friends and our wider community, but a source of entertainment, information and – perhaps most notably – business.

In 2016, shoppable posts emerged on Instagram as a new way to buy things online. Instagram gave business owners the ability to link their posts to product web pages, effectively turning their account into an online shop. This was an instant hit with business owners and customers alike: a streamlined experience leveraging the power of Instagram’s visual appeal in order to boost sales. In 2020, Facebook followed suit by creating its Shops feature.

Shoppable posts have been shown to boost brand traffic by over 2,600% – so if you haven’t tried it yet, it’s fair to say that you’re missing out.

With different types of shoppable content out there, marketers now have the option to choose the features and platforms that best suit their brand. In this article, we’ve rounded up two brands that have successfully used shoppable posts in very different ways.

Arket: The Slick Instagram Feed

Meanwhile, trendy clothing retailer Arket have proven to be a stand-out example of how to use shoppable posts on Instagram.

Their brand is perfect for the platform: minimalist designs, with a timeless Scandinavian feel, lend themselves well to a photo-centric app, and Arket have taken full advantage of this. By adding shoppable tags to eye-catching posts, users are immediately drawn in.

As soon as a potential customer sees a look that they like, they’re instantly presented with the links to buy the items they were admiring. This strategy plays on spontaneity and impulse, while showcasing the products in their most alluring light.

Arket’s biggest marketing strength is in its storytelling. Their posts are grouped together by theme – often inspired by seasons or changing colour palettes – and their photos are paired with captions that capture the essence of daily life. Their brand mission of sustainable fashion is woven into these posts, but rarely stated explicitly.

This shows how well Arket understands how to use social media. They’re not just using shoppable features to sell their product – they’re marrying it with appealing content and astute brand awareness in order to make a meaningful connection with their audience.

This storytelling is further showcased on their Instagram stories. Arket uses this feature to advertise time-relevant stories such as sales and restocks of high-demand items, while also featuring a selection of photos submitted by their real-life customers wearing Arket clothes. Importantly, both of these types of stories are made shoppable.

By adding shoppable tags to photos of their own customers, Arket have succeeded in marrying User-Generated Content and shoppable posts: two of the most powerful marketing tools out there today.

Ted Baker: The Future of Shoppable Posts 

Video content is booming, but luxury retailer Ted Baker got ahead of the curve by being an early adopter of interactive videos.

Since 2016, the brand has been embracing the latest video technologies to create shoppable content.

One of the more recent examples made use of a feature called the sticky hotspot. These are clickable areas on the screen that move alongside people or objects in the video. In the case of this campaign, all the clothing worn by the actors was available to purchase – instantly. Once a sticky hotspot was clicked upon, an overlay would appear on screen and the viewer would have the opportunity to buy the item then and there.

Another popular campaign was their ‘Keeping Up With The Bakers’ video. Originally teased on Instagram stories, this video-game style experience allowed the user to explore the home of the Baker family, explore hidden areas and purchase their clothes.

By using cinematic visuals and seamlessly integrating the clickable features, this content takes shoppable posts to the next level. Users are fully immersed in the experience, becoming active participants in the marketing campaign. As the lines between entertainment, marketing and gaming become increasingly blurred, this may be a peek into the future of shoppable posts.

So there you have it: three brands that creatively used shoppable content to gain more customers and increase their sales.

This article was created by Mediareach Advertising, a leading London-based digital and social media marketing agency.