How to Tag Products on Instagram

Turning your Instagram feed into a clickable storefront is one of the most direct ways to generate sales from social media. It bridges the gap between discovery and purchase, letting your audience shop for the products they see without ever leaving the app. This guide gives you the complete process for setting up and using Instagram Shopping, showing you how to tag your products in posts, Reels, Stories, and more to start driving sales today.

What Exactly is Instagram Shopping and Why Does it Matter?

In short, Instagram Shopping is a set of features that lets you create a digital, shoppable catalog for your products directly on the platform. Once your catalog is set up, you can tag items in your content, just like you’d tag a person. When a user taps a product tag, they see details like the item’s name, price, description, and a direct link to purchase it from your website.

This isn't just about adding links, it’s about making the buying process feel seamless and native to the platform. Here’s why it’s so effective:

• It eliminates friction. A customer sees a sweater they love in a post, taps the product tag, and is taken directly to the product page on your site to check out. The alternative is leaving the app, opening a browser, searching for your brand, finding the item... most people just give up. Product tags remove all those extra steps.
• It increases product discoverability. Your tagged content isn’t just visible to your followers. These posts can show up on the Instagram Explore page and in the platform's dedicated Shop tab, putting your products in front of thousands of potential customers who are already in a shopping mindset.
• It turns content into assets. Every photo, Reel, or Story becomes an opportunity to drive sales. That lifestyle shot of your product in use is no longer just brand awareness content, it's a direct sales tool that works around the clock.

Getting Started: Your 5-Step Setup for Instagram Shopping

Before you can start tagging, you need to get your account set up for Instagram Shopping. This part involves a few technical steps and an approval process, but it’s a one-time setup. Follow these steps carefully to get it right the first time.

Step 1: Get the Basics Right (And Check Your Eligibility)

First, make sure your business ticks the right boxes. Instagram has a few ground rules to qualify for its shopping features:

• Your business must be located in a supported market.
• You must sell eligible physical products, not services.
• Your account must comply with Meta's Commerce Policies and Merchant Agreement.
• You must own the website domain you sell from.

Step 2: Have a Professional Account

You can’t use shopping features with a personal Instagram profile. You’ll need either an Instagram Business or Creator account. If you're still using a personal account, making the switch is straightforward:

1. Go to your profile and tap the three lines in the top-right corner.
2. Go to Settings and privacy >, Account type and tools.
3. Tap Switch to professional account and follow the on-screen prompts to select your business category.

Step 3: Connect Your Facebook Page

Instagram is a part of Meta, which means your backend commerce tools are managed through Facebook’s ecosystem. To use Instagram Shopping, your Instagram professional account must be connected to a Facebook Business Page.

If you haven't done this already, go to your Instagram profile, tap Edit Profile, and under "Public business information," tap Page. From there, you can either connect an existing Facebook Page or create a new one.

Step 4: Set Up Your Product Catalog

Your catalog is the foundation of Instagram Shopping. It's the collection of all your products, including their prices, photos, and descriptions. You have two main ways to create and manage one:

Option A: Use an E-commerce Platform Integration (The Easy Way)

If you use a popular e-commerce platform like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, or Adobe Commerce, this is the best and simplest method. These platforms have a direct integration with Facebook Commerce Manager, which handles your catalog.

By connecting your store through the integration, your products, inventory, and pricing will sync automatically. When you add a new product or change a price on your website, your Instagram catalog will update without you having to do anything manually.

Option B: Manually Set Up a Catalog in Commerce Manager

If you don't use an integrated platform, you can build your catalog manually using Meta's Commerce Manager. You’ll have to add each product's details yourself, including:

• Product Title
• Description
• At least one high-quality image
• A direct URL to the product on your website
• Price and currency
• Item SKU or other unique identifier

This method requires more upkeep, as you'll have to manually update your catalog whenever you add products or change prices.

Step 5: Submit Your Account for Review

Once your catalog is connected and full of products, it's time to submit your account for approval.

1. On Instagram, go to Settings and privacy >, Business tools and controls. (For some, this may appear as Creator tools and controls).
2. Select Set up Instagram Shopping.
3. Follow the on-screen prompts to make sure your website domain, catalog, and account details are correct, then submit for review.

The review process typically takes a few days. You'll receive a notification from Instagram once your account is approved and you're ready to start tagging!

How to Tag Products Across Instagram: A Quick Guide

With the setup work done, the fun part begins. You can now add product tags to virtually all types of Instagram content.

Tagging Products in Feed Posts (Photos, Videos, Carousels)

This is the most common use of product tags. It lets you turn standard grid content into a shoppable gallery.

1. Begin creating a feed post by uploading your photo, carousel, or video as usual.
2. On the final screen where you write your caption, select Tag Products.
3. For photos, tap on the image where you want the tag to appear. A search bar will pop up to find products from your catalog. Search and select the right one.
4. For videos, a list of all your products will appear. Simply select the ones featured in the video.
5. Finish writing your caption and share your post. You can tag up to 5 products in a single-image or video post, and up to 20 in a carousel post. A little shopping bag icon will appear on your content, signaling that it's shoppable.

Tagging Products in Instagram Reels

With the reach of Reels, this is a powerful place to drive sales. It’s perfect for showing a product in action, a tutorial, or fashion looks.

1. Record or upload your Reel content and move to the final share screen.
2. Tap Tag products from the menu.
3. Select the one or more products or collections that are featured.
4. Once you've shared the Reel, a "View Products" button will appear at the bottom, linking viewers directly to the tagged items.

Tagging Products in Instagram Stories

Because Stories are interactive and have a sense of urgency, they're perfect for announcing new arrivals or promoting limited-time offers.

1. Create your Story with a photo or video.
2. Tap the sticker icon at the top of the screen.
3. Select the Product sticker.
4. Search for and choose the product from your catalog that you want to feature.
5. You can customize the sticker’s appearance, including its name and color, before placing it wherever you want on your Story. Viewers can tap the sticker to see the product details.

Best Practices for Selling with Product Tags

Simply enabling product tags is only half the job. To actually drive sales, how you use them matters.

Show, Don't Just Tell

Instead of using standard e-commerce shots with white backgrounds, tag products in high-quality lifestyle content. Show people how your products look and feel in real life. If you sell home decor, show it in a beautifully styled room. If you sell apparel, style it in an outfit. This context is what inspires people to buy.

Mix Up Your Content Formats

Don't limit yourself to feed posts. Use every available format to your advantage:

• Reels: Create "Get Ready With Me" videos, style lookbooks, or tutorials showing your products in use.
• Stories: Use polls and Q&A stickers to get feedback on new products, then link them with a product sticker.
• Carousels: Create an entire outfit or product collection in one post, tagging each individual item. This is also great for showing details or different angles of a single product.

Use Clear Calls to Action

Don't assume your audience knows they can shop from your post. Add a simple call to action in your caption, like "Tap the shopping bag icon to shop this look!" or "Find all the details by tapping the link in our bio and the photo!"

Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)

Your customers create some of your best marketing material. When they post photos featuring your products, politely ask for permission to repost their content. When you do, add your own product tags. It acts as powerful social proof and shows your products in an authentic setting.

Final Thoughts

Setting up and using product tags on Instagram transforms your profile from a simple gallery into an active sales channel. By completing the setup process and strategically tagging items across different content types, you shorten the path from inspiration to checkout and make it incredibly easy for followers to buy the products they love.

Once you’re consistently creating shoppable content, managing your publishing schedule becomes the next puzzle. At Postbase, we built our tool around the visual, video-first reality of Instagram today. With our visual calendar, you can easily plan all your shoppable Reels, Stories, and posts in one central place. Since our scheduling platform was made specifically for short-form video, you can be confident that everything publishes exactly when - and how - it’s supposed to. That frees you up to worry less about logistics and focus more on creating content that connects and sells through Postbase.