September 3, 2015
Soldsie Kicks Social Selling Up Another Notch With New Platform for Instagram
Last week, social-selling platform Soldsie launched Have2Have.It, a new product that generates traffic and revenue to eCommerce sites in ways previously not possible.
Have2Have.It shortens the path from Instagram to a brand’s website, making it easier for people surfing Instagram to get to websites and access content; whether it is news and blogs from content creators or physical products from eCommerce companies.
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“It’s pretty exciting,†says Chris Bennett, co-founder of Soldsie, the social-selling platform that broke unchartered territory three years ago when the San Francisco-based tech firm created a way for people to purchase items directly from Facebook by typing the word “sold” in the comments.
“We got the inspiration for Have2Have.It because our customers were asking for it. Comment Selling on Facebook and Instagram is great for people who are selling without a website, but a lot of people with websites told us that they wanted something that sends people to their websites. We decided to start testing different solutions. Our newest product Have2Have.it does exactly that.â€
In fact, brands that are using Have2Have.It are seeing on average an 87% click-through rate, and 50% more time on site from Have2Have.It referrals relative to those coming directly from Instagram, according to Bennett.
Here is an example of how it works: Normally, you can’t link from photos on Instagram. The only way to link on Instagram is in the bio at the top of the profile page. The New York Times is currently testing Have2Have.It. If someone wanted to read an article associated with a photo on the New York Times Instagram site, for example, they would need to exit Instagram and go to NYTimes.com and figure out how to find the article. Adding a Have2Have.It link to the NYTimes Bio on Instagram allows readers to easily find the article in question and purchase it. If they are already subscribed to the publisher, Have2Have.It provides a click though impression that the New York Times can convert to ad dollars.
Brands also get access to a dashboard that provides analytics, which track when someone is coming from Instagram and what photo in particular brought the customer to their site, so you can make more informed decisions about how to use it. Affiliate linking will prove to be an influential aspect of the product. Since Have2Have.It generates a referral code explaining where conversions are coming from, some brands can send traffic to other stores, says Bennett, who is also a co-founder of Black Founders;Â an organization committed to providing legal and accounting resources, among other support, for minority tech CEO’s.
So far, Have2Have.It has landed at least three high-profile customers, including TechCrunch, Nylon Magazine, and the sneaker company Emerica.
In the three years since Soldsie launched comment selling on Facebook, they accrued eight full-time employees, 1,000 customers from small to mid-sized companies, and raised $5.6 million from venture capital companies like 500 Startups, First Round, SoftTech VC, and Lerer Hippeau. The company is hoping to launch additional products to make it easier for people to generate revenue from social media.
Have2Have.It is available for a 14-day free trial, after which cost increases to $49/month.