Instagram & The Rise of Social Commerce

“What we are seeing now globally is a huge adoption in our users using the [new] tagging feature to find out more about these products. Over 130 million people around the world have already tapped on shopping tags since they launched around two years ago – making it easier for businesses [to sell products online].”

– Priya Patel, Product Growth Lead at Instagram and Facebook MENA

On Instagram’s 10th anniversary, Rohma Theunissen sat down with Priya Patel, Product Growth Lead for Instagram and Facebook across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, to understand the evolution of social media as a result of the pandemic, the rise of social commerce on Instagram and how brands can leverage the platform to elevate their social media strategies.

Resources mentioned within the episode:

Facebook Blueprint

Facebook Blueprint for Instagram

Instagram Business

About Priya Patel

Priya Patel is the Product Growth Lead for Instagram and Facebook across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa. She has more than 18 years of experience in media and advertising including print (Financial Times), TV (BBC), agency and digital in the UK, Australia and Asia. Prior to joining Facebook, Priya spent five years at multinational company Google, where she was an instrumental part of YouTube’s commercial rollout across South East Asia. Priya relocated to the Middle East with Google in 2014 where she managed the Food and Beverage sector and led advertising strategy across MENA. It was in 2015 that she was appointed as Business Development Lead at Instagram where she works closely with brands and agencies to help them achieve their business objectives on the platform.  In her spare time, Priya takes inspiration from Instagram to pursue her interests in cooking, travel and scuba diving.

Follow her on Instagram.