Instagram’s livestream commerce ambitions are not to be overlooked.

The company is upgrading its Shopping experience with a game-changing tool that aims at helping brands handpick the best UGC. 

UGC gives businesses a unique opportunity at showcasing their products and offering a sense of authenticity through hands-on consumer experiences.

According to user reports, Instagram has been prompting select Shop managers to “Add user-generated content” to their product listings on the app (not available for desktop). 

Pressing the pop-up notification sends you to a collection of Instagram posts that tag your brand.

For the next step, you’ll have to contact the content creator and request permission to feature your products in their posts.

If the creator declines, you cannot send another “Request to Feature in Shop” for the same post. 

Also, certain eligibility exceptions apply: if a post already has shopping tags or if multiple businesses are featured.

Moreover, only brands that have been tagged in at least 20 eligible pieces of UGC within the past 28 days can benefit from this upgrade.

In a nutshell, this looks like a very promising feature that’s worth exploring, especially amidst the surge in misleading ads and rampant industry scams.