Lessons Learned from Building Instagram Catalogs
Why some stores get 40 items in three minutes while others get five, and how to write posts that automatically build your catalog.
We ran dozens of accounts through the catalog builder: workshops, clothing showrooms, confectioners, nail salons, electronics repair shops. The results vary more than expected. From one profile with 50 posts, we get 40 product cards with prices and sizes. From another, only five, and those without prices.
The model isn't the problem. It's about what's written under the photo.
Three Things That Make All the Difference#
Price in the Post Text. “Price in DM” means one less product card. The model honestly marks it as “price on request”. The buyer sees this and leaves to ask. Shops that state the price directly get a catalog where customers can compare and add items to their cart.
Item Name, Not Mood. A post like “Finally ☺️ new arrival of the week” gives the model nothing to latch onto. A post like “Laundry basket, rattan, 45×35 cm, 320 zł” becomes a product card with dimensions in a single attempt.
Separate Post Per Item. A carousel of ten different items with a general caption like “all for 90” is poorly processed: one photo means one card, but the caption applies to all.
Videos Are Worth Including#
For accounts where half the content is in Reels, the difference between quick and deep analysis is twofold. In quick mode, only the caption is read, and Reels yield almost zero. In deep mode, Gemini listens to speech and reads on-screen text. People often say aloud what they never write: what it's made of, how long it takes to dry, who it's not suitable for.
Deep analysis consumes more limits, so we recommend a simple approach: the first 50 posts with deep analysis, then new arrivals with quick analysis.
Fifty Posts Are Enough#
The temptation to immediately pull a hundred posts seems logical, but the first fifty usually cover the entire assortment. After that, you start getting repetitions, reviews, and announcements, which result in junk product cards. These then have to be deleted manually.
It's better to do this: 50 posts, review the catalog, delete unnecessary items, and then use the “Continue Older” button to retrieve more from the archive if it genuinely contains products.
What to Do Right Now#
If you manage a profile and plan to connect an agent, three changes in your upcoming posts will yield more than any settings:
- Write the price as a number.
- Start the caption with the item's name.
- In Reels, state the composition, dimensions, and lead times.
The catalog will build itself, and the buyer will get an answer in a second instead of “I'll check and get back to you.”
For questions and detailed breakdowns, refer to the knowledge base or Telegram: @GuruAppSheet.