The concept of selling on the internet has entered a new phase known as social commerce. In this phase, businesses meet and engage consumers in the channels where they spend most of their time on social media platforms. 

Social commerce is now so significant that businesses of all sizes and types incorporate it into their sales and marketing strategies. 

Instagram has become a significant platform for social commerce as businesses now use most of its features to sell products directly to consumers. 

With 130 million Instagram users engaging in shopping posts every month, it is no wonder businesses have turned to Instagram to sell their products. 

The norm on Instagram was to market products with product videos, photos, and content. But with the advancements in technology, businesses now have the opportunity to sell and complete transactions on social media platforms like Instagram.

A payment link is a feature businesses can use to collect payments from Instagram and close transactions without redirecting customers to a website. 

Let us briefly talk about payment links.

A Payment link is a simple URL businesses use to collect online payments. The URL directs customers to a hosted payment page to make payments; it is that simple. 

With one click, your customers have moved from the platform where they discovered your product to the page where they will complete payment for your product. 

The quicker the payment process, the more likely a customer will buy what you sell. 

Getting customers to complete payment before they change their minds cannot be overstated.

The first step to getting the right payment link to sell on Instagram is to choose the right provider. 

The importance of this decision to sell on Instagram is choosing Fincra as your payment link provider.

With Fincra’s payment link, you can quickly receive payments from customers on Instagram and enable them to pay via cards, bank transfers and mobile money. 

This variety of payment options ensures that you serve customers with their preferred method, ensuring they have a great experience with your business and complete a purchase. 

Create a free account to get started.

After creating your free Fincra account and getting onboarded, follow these easy steps to create a payment link you can use to sell on Instagram.

• Firstly, you need to login to your Fincra dashboard and navigate to the menu bar on the left side of the dashboard; 
• Click on ‘Pay-ins’ and then on ‘payment links’ to go to the payment links page.
• Click the ‘Create a Payment Link’ button at the top right on the’ Payment links’ page. This will take you to the ‘Create Payment Link’ page.
• Now, it’s time to customise your payment link. Here, you can fill in your payment link name, description, default amount you want to collect from your customers, and the currency you choose. 
• The ‘Allow customers to change amount’ checkbox is selected as default; if you don’t want your customers to be able to change the amount, click on the checkbox and deselect it.
• Next, you choose your settlement location. You can select between your balance, which is your Fincra dashboard balance, or your bank account for settlement.
• You can also choose who bears the transaction fee for the payment, either your customers or your business.
• If you prefer a shorter link, select the ‘Generate short link’ checkbox.
• This is everything you need to create a payment link, but there are a couple of advanced options here for you to make your link more thorough. For that, you need to click on ‘show advanced options.’
• If you would like to collect the phone numbers of your paying customers, you can select the’ Collect phone numbers on this page’ checkbox. You can also curate a success message that your customers will see once they successfully make a payment.
• You can also use your custom link to make it more brand-centric. Lastly, you can add a link that your customers will be redirected to after making a payment.
• Now that you have created the link, copy it from your dashboard, go to Instagram, click on the ‘Edit profile’ button on your Instagram profile page, click on ‘links’, and then paste the payment link.

As it might be perceived, selling on Instagram is not just for a particular set of small business owners. 

Established enterprises and emerging businesses can start implementing social commerce strategies to get more sales. 

Businesses can use Instagram as a significant social commerce platform to widen their reach and make more sales. 

Fincra’s payment links will make it easier and a better experience for everyone in the transaction chain (your business and your customers). 

Create an account with Fincra to get started.