Shopping came to Instagram quite a while ago, and now it’s finally expanding to creators. Starting from 9 July, all creators will be able to access Instagram Shopping and offer their products to buyers directly through the app.
Shopping is coming to Instagram
Facebook’s takeover of Instagram becomes more apparent by the day. We’ve seen ads, selective algorithm driven feeds, business pages and other features. Some good, some bad. Now, we get online shopping, too. We already have ads popping up in our feeds as we browse. Now we’ll start seeing them inside the posts themselves.
Facebook’s own “marketplace” seems to have completely taken control over the iOS app. I’m constantly being told about tat that people have for sale in various groups with no way to shut it off. Hopefully, Instagram’s new shopping implementation will be a little less annoying.
FTC to crack down on social media celebrity advertising posts
Bloomberg are reporting that the American Federal Trade Commission are cracking down on social media advertising. Users now must be very clear about paid product endorsements. Users are actually required to do this already, but few do. Many advertisers also request that the social media users not mention it.
It’s understandable why advertisers wouldn’t want the public to know. They want people to believe that somebody actually likes their product. That they love it enough to tell everybody how awesome it is. They also pay a lot more to those who don’t mention sponsorship. What I don’t see is how the FTC are going to be able to realistically enforce it.
FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!