Instagram Offers Tips on Readying Your Shop for Valentine’s Day

By Brittany Siminitz | January 31, 2022

Last week, you may have read the insight provided by Snapchat about Valentine’s Day shoppers. If you didn’t, the key takeaway is this: People seem to be excited to embrace the holiday this year.

And that’s great for sales, particularly for sales of jewelry, which is often associated with Valentine’s Day.

As such, Instagram’s business blog is sharing five helpful tips to readying your Shop for buyers, and there are only two weeks left (less, if they want their gifts on time) to grab their attention.

I’d like to point out my favorite paragraph from Instagram’s offering here, words that made me so happy to read (and that are so relevant to this Valentine’s Day feature from last week):

“The best part about Valentine’s Day? It’s no longer just a day to show love and gratitude to your romantic partner. From children and best friends to furry companions and even treats for yourself, the ‘significant other’ today represents many different types of customers.”

This is a key statement to keep in mind while promoting your products this year. It wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without capitalizing on the romantic vibe, but you don’t want to miss those customers who are celebrating differently. There’s a lot of opportunity.

To start, Instagram suggests creating a Valentine’s campaign around specific products—perhaps you choose a heart or zero in on your red gemstones. You could also seek to reach those other shoppers by promoting pieces to buy for one’s best friend, children, and so on. If you can, consider doing a couple of different campaigns to showcase your varied product offerings.

Instagram also advises making your products shoppable, which is vital to conducting in-app sales. Product tags can be used across your feed, stories, and reels, allowing users to click for more information and ultimately to purchase.

“Curate the shopping experience with collections,” is the platform’s third tip, a feature that allows sellers to organize their inventory into themes. You could create a gift guide based on who shoppers are buying for or what they want—gifts for your galentines or bold gold hearts, for example.

If you’re using some paid promotions this holiday, Instagram suggests looking to promote those top-performing posts, eliminating the need to start from scratch. Of course, it would make the most sense if those were related or on theme, so plan accordingly.

Instagram’s fifth and final tip is about product imagery, the importance of which can’t be stressed enough. For Instagram, you aren’t required to hire a professional photographer—though it would certainly help. Either way, playing with angles, backgrounds, and themes might spice things up for Valentine’s Day. If nothing else, try incorporating video to get some up-close, real-life action of the pieces you’re offering.

(Photo: Getty Images)