Like2Buy on Instagram
Curalate, a Philadelphia start-up specializing in visual marketing and analytics, has launched Like2Buy, a platform that makes it easier for people to shop on Instagram, as well as marketers to know what resonates with consumers.
Like2Buy places a link in a brand’s profile that when clicked, takes customers to a gallery identical to the company’s Instagram feed.
“Some of the retail brands we work with could tell Instagram was driving revenue,” says Brendan Lowry, Curalate’s marketing director. “They’d post a product and see a slight increase in sales. But without a direct tie to Instagram, it was difficult for marketing to know exactly what was happening.”
Curalate’s main goal is to bridge this gap between Instagram and marketing, and allow marketers to gain true transparency into what is driving traffic and revenue. “They spent all this time and money to build the community but they’ve only been able to report on likes and follower growth,” Lowry comments.
Another goal, Lowry notes, is to make it as simple as possible for customers to get to the brands’ checkout pages – which they already trust, he points out – without them having to register for anything or even provide an email address.
Scott Houchin, managing principal of digital at knowledge process outsourcer eClerx, thinks Like2Buy shows the purchase power of Instagram’s younger audience.
“Their whole lives are consumed in these social ecosystems, so as they enter the workforce and start making money, we’re going to see a very accelerated curve of social commerce adoption,” he says.
Like2Buy isn’t the only platform to make Instagram shoppable, and others have attempted it in the past.
