Instagram’s testing out a new option that will help brands discover relevant UGC in the app that they can then share as examples to better promote their products in-stream.

As you can see in this example, shared by Yolande Haynes on LinkedIn, Instagram is now prompting some Shop managers to ‘Add user-generated content’ to their product listings to further encourage potential purchasers.

When you tap through on the prompt, Instagram’s system will then highlight Instagram posts that your business has been tagged in, which you can then associate with your product listings.

As per IG:

“When a user tags a brand in a post, that brand will have the ability to request permission to feature their products in that post. Users that tag your business will likely appreciate that your brand would like to feature its products in their content. It will also allow their content to surface on brand-owned spaces, such as the product’s PDP or your shop on Instagram.”

Businesses will be able to request direct tagging within any post where they’ve been mentioned, with the exceptions of private accounts, if there are multiple products tagged in a post, or if the user has turned off permission requests.

It could be an easy way to source more UGC, and expand your brand’s presence on the platform. And for businesses that see a lot of tags, that could be a significant factor in your promotion efforts.

UGC can have big impact on purchase behavior, as people are more likely to trust the experiences of other people, as opposed to polished marketing campaigns. And with the amount of scams and misleading ads online, it serves an even more valuable purpose, by fueling legitimacy and trust in another way.

It could be worth exploring – the new prompts are showing up to selected brand account managers on Instagram.

You can read more about the new product tagging update here.