If your business is present on social media, you may consider taking the next step toward social commerce. In this day and age, you cannot run a business online without a social media commerce plan. This strategy involves social media shopping, as it pertains to sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Read on to find out more about what social commerce is and how to construct a social shopping plan for your business.
What is Social Commerce?
Social commerce is a form of online shopping that allows customers to purchase goods or services online directly through social media. If you’re wondering what social shopping or social media shopping is, it’s the same as the social commerce definition. However, social commerce is not the same as eCommerce, as it involves the use of social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram to drive sales. Yet, it plays an important role in building an online reputation as a store or service provider. Using social shopping to track revenue enables your business to get a better grasp of your customers’ likes and preferences.
Remember this important distinction: Social shopping or social commerce involves the sales of products directly through social media, such as Facebook and Instagram. It is not the same as social media marketing, as you are not redirecting your visitors to your online site. Instead, you are giving them the ability to shop directly through the social media platform.
When did businesses define social commerce?
The social commerce definition took form on Yahoo in 2005. Since then, social media commerce has developed, helping us define social shopping activities through several channels. In the beginning, the activity focused on the responses of social media users in terms of likes, shares, and or retweets. This ultimately determined what a company will receive in sales and revenues.
Then, social commerce evolved further to include embedded shopping carts on featured social media sites. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram developed their own cart systems to allow companies and brands to sell directly through their socials. Now, millions of users shop on Instagram every week.
Social commerce vs eCommerce
Before we define social commerce vs eCommerce, you need to define eCommerce, as the former is an offshoot of eCommerce selling. When customers visit a store online, they are taking part in eCommerce. In this situation, eCommerce, or online retail, represents a business-to-customer (B2C) experience.
Social commerce, by comparison, involves selling products directly on social media sites. This produces a frictionless shopping experience, from the discovery of a product to checkout.
Furthermore, if you’re wondering what social shopping is, it’s a practice that takes place on social media channels, yet backs eCommerce activities. In turn, social commerce enables visitors to explore, engage, and purchase products without having to leave a social media site. It is fast and convenient, if not immediate.
Why Should You Consider Social Shopping Tactics?
There are several reasons your business should consider social shopping tactics. Social commerce strategies can take you from generating a moderate stream of income to one that exceeds expectations. This is because the benefits of social media commerce make it easier to engage with customers while receiving quick returns.
Money to be made online
Why wait for customers to drift to your website when you can get your followers and others to buy directly on sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? Since social media channels are some of the most prominent communication platforms, using them makes it easier to generate revenue.
Higher engagement
Using social media channels gives you a chance to find out what your customers like or don’t like about your products. This gives you the ability to better serve their needs. Because of this higher engagement, you can also drive more sales and meet customer expectations more easily.
Quick returns
Because sales on social commerce platforms, such as Facebook or Instagram, are direct, you get paid instantly. Instead of sending a customer an invoice or hoping they’ll click on your site, they can make purchases through the app they’re already on.
Taps into the existing experience
A customer you engage on social media is less likely to exit the site or change their mind before they purchase. Instead of trying to engage the customer on another platform and hoping it translates from social media, you can take advantage of the fact that you already have their attention.
Which Platforms Work Best for Social Media Shopping?
You can easily find examples of social commerce examples on sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. These platforms are the best social shopping sites for engaging customers.
You can use Facebook Shops on Facebook where you can customize your shopping interface to enhance your line-up’s brand. Customers can conveniently use an in-app checkout, which makes shopping quick and easy.
By having a Facebook account and store, you can:
- Upload products and product details
- Customize your store’s product catalog
- Manage social commerce orders
- Run ads to promote products
- Receive key selling insights
- Sell directly from your FB page
You can also use Messenger to answer questions before and after the sale. In addition, you can connect your Shopify site to sell directly from Facebook.
Instagram has an in-app shopping feature, which lets users explore the feed and shop. Users are directed to a product detail page where they can check out instantly. You can also integrate your FB sales with Instagram on Facebook Shops.
TikTok
Signing up for a TikTok for Business account allows you to access the site’s Ad Manager so you can create ad campaigns. This lets you set goals based on brand awareness, sales, or website traffic. The service is similar to Facebook Ads, where you can choose who you wish to target with your ad. Filters screen by age, location, interests, and gender.
Snapchat
Snapchat and Shopify have teamed up to allow brands to produce filters for highlighting products. As a retailer, you can also post images in a Snapchat story and add a link to your website.
Pinterest rolled out buyable pins in June 2015. According to Shopify, the average sales order on Pinterest is about $50. This is higher than the average on other social shopping sites.
By using Twitter for social selling, you can:
- Track company mentions
- Tailor sales pitches to your audience
- Listen and reply to sales opportunities
- Reply to leads and customers
- Work toward moving the conversation outside of Twitter
- Increase your presence by using shares and comments to promote your brand
YouTube
YouTube allows shoppers to explore products and purchase them while watching a video. Gone are the days when people watched commercial TV and had to wait to go to a brick-and-mortar location the next day to respond to sales or buy products.
4 Tips to Increase Your Customers’ Social Shopping
You can’t stay in the loop if you don’t optimize your customers’ social shopping experience. Doing so will give you the opportunity to see who buys your products so you can communicate with your audience more effectively. By using this information, you can customize ads and find out, in more detail, what does and does not work.
1. Pinpoint your target audience
When it comes to generating leads, social commerce is crucial. By using social selling, a buyer can interact with the brands they love. Not only that but as a retailer, you can also review shopper comments. These interactions create a forum that enhances brand awareness and increases customer loyalty. When you can pinpoint your target audience, you can more easily generate sales and meet customer expectations.
2. Listen and engage with users
Social commerce allows for frank and honest communications between customers and retailers. By using social media channels, you can find out what customers like and do not like about your products. You will also build trust if you make it a habit to comment, answer requests, and offer support through personal messaging.
3. Personalize ads
By tracking customers’ comments and sales, you can more easily personalize ads and reach your niche audience. Depending on users’ cookies preferences, you may be able to directly target past viewers with customized ads.
4. Test what works
Social commerce gives you a chance to see what does and does not work, as you always have access to sales statistics, comments, shares, likes, and retweets. Consider A/B testing for advertisements or simply a new posting schedule. Social media strategy is constantly evolving so don’t be afraid to put your business out there.
Final Thoughts
The use of social commerce promotes products and allows for direct sales on social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. By taking part in social media commerce, you can engage online shoppers and more easily offer expert customer support and advice. Therefore, now is the time to discover all of the benefits social commerce has for your business.
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