Are you striving to reach a large audience in your target demographic? For e-commerce businesses, there is no more valuable resource than social media. Over half of the world’s population uses social media, with most of us logging in at least once a day.
What is Social Commerce?
Social commerce (also known as social shopping) exists at the intersection of e-commerce and social media. Essentially, social commerce is when businesses, brands, and creators sell their products on sales channels that exist directly on their social media profiles or feeds for their followers.
What are the Benefits of Social Commerce?
By meeting the target audience on their own ground, social commerce offers many advantages over traditional e-commerce. If you are not already part of a social media marketing strategy, here’s why you should be:
1. Less Friction in the Checkout Process
In traditional e-commerce, social media is used to drive traffic to an e-commerce site where users can purchase. While this model can work, the biggest barrier is the friction it creates in the purchasing process.
Completing a purchase requires users to stop what they are doing on social media, navigate to an external site, then return to where they left off. This process may not seem cumbersome, but the effort involved is enough for many users to avoid it.
These additional steps required to complete a purchase are what we refer to when we mention friction in the checkout process. Each step makes the purchase a little more complicated, and with each step, users have the opportunity to decide that the process is no longer worth the effort.
However, when using social commerce tools within the social media platform, you can significantly reduce this friction. Users who find your content already have everything they need right in front of them to complete the purchase. Buying from you is almost as simple as clicking a like or follow button.
2. Increased Engagement on Social Media While Selling
A good social media marketing plan needs to perform simultaneous functions to find new audiences and maintain strong relationships with existing ones. When using social commerce, you can engage these two audiences at the same time.
Posts aimed at increasing brand awareness can also include purchasing options for those who are in the consideration stage. This dynamic can also help users who have just discovered your brand to get all the information they need to make a purchase decision for your product.
3. The Social Commerce Market is Huge
Social media gathers users by their follows, likes, and interests, making it easy to find the target market. But if you are doing this without social commerce features, you are likely missing out on many potential sales.
The number of people reporting that they have made a purchase through social commerce has risen since 2019. This trend is expected to continue as social shopping becomes more accepted. By 2025, approximately 37% of Americans are expected to have purchased a product via social media.
As more businesses adopt social commerce, the ability to buy directly on social media will become less of a luxury and more of an expectation. Embracing social commerce now will put you in a favorable position to stay ahead of this trend and avoid missing out on sales.
4. Generating Social Proof While Selling
Social proof is a psychological phenomenon that describes our tendency to trust the opinions of others when making purchasing decisions. In e-commerce, social proof can take the form of product reviews, customer testimonials, case studies, public praise, or even the popularity of the product. If you’ve watched a movie or TV show just because everyone seems to be talking about it, you’ve experienced the power of social proof.
Social media…
social media is the first point of contact for many users, making social proof a valuable asset for attracting followers and building an audience. When selling through social commerce, this social proof becomes an invaluable tool for boosting sales.
5. Easily Meet the Growing Needs of Mobile Shoppers
E-commerce sales via mobile phones reached $359 billion in 2021, an increase of 15.2% from 2020. Industry experts estimate that by 2025, mobile e-commerce sales will account for 44.2% of total retail e-commerce sales in the U.S., totaling $728.28 billion.
As online shoppers increasingly embrace the idea of shopping on their mobile devices, and social media networks adopt more tools to facilitate this, having a mobile-ready storefront will become increasingly important for the success of any online seller.
You might think: what’s the big deal? I have a responsive Shopify theme that makes checkout easy. While that may be true, most sales don’t occur in browsers. They happen within social media apps.
Research firm eMarketer found that about 88% of the time users spend browsing the internet on mobile phones is done within social media apps, rather than mobile browsers. You may have a great e-commerce site, but without social commerce, you’re still missing out on sales from users who may ultimately never see it.
Social commerce features are built by social media developers and are designed algorithmically to identify users who are likely to be interested in your product.
What Are the Best Social Commerce Platforms for Sellers?
With every major social media platform investing in social commerce features, there are numerous options when it comes to choosing the tools they want to use for online selling.
1. Facebook
With nearly three billion active users, Facebook is a great option for businesses looking to expand into a larger global audience.
Using social commerce as part of a Facebook advertising strategy can be a great way to generate spontaneous sales from users who might not buy your product otherwise.
With Facebook Shops, businesses can create a customized store on their Facebook page. Users can browse products from the “Shop” tab, which displays products tailored to their previous purchases, search history, and likes, creating a personalized customer experience designed to match your products with the users most likely to buy them.
You will also have the ability to communicate directly with customers via Facebook Messenger, giving you a unique opportunity to provide personalized customer support and sell directly through instant messaging.
2. Instagram
Shopping features on Instagram include dedicated shops, product tags that allow you to highlight items from your catalog within your posts or ads, and a “Shop” tab to enhance product discovery for users who may be interested.
As with Facebook Shops, users on Instagram can browse and purchase products from a variety of shops directly from the “Shop” tab located in the app’s bottom navigation bar. From there, they can access shops and product pages from a wide range of brands.
Brands and products are presented to users based on their interests, follows, likes, and previous purchases, meaning your products have a good chance of being shown to users who are actually interested in buying them.
3. Pinterest
If your marketing strategy on Pinterest doesn’t include a social commerce element, you’re likely missing out on a lot of sales. Social commerce may be a nice extra on other social media platforms, but on Pinterest, it’s a necessity.
The differences
Pinterest stands out from other social media platforms in that a large number of users log in to shop. In a survey conducted by eMarketer, 48% of respondents stated that their top activity on social media on Pinterest was shopping, which far exceeds the percentages reported on other social media platforms.
This means that Pinterest has a very large user base that is willing to discover and purchase new products. Fashion and home decor products, in particular, are popular on Pinterest, so if you are in these industries, a solid Pinterest sales plan is essential.
4. TikTok
TikTok is home to 732 million users worldwide and is heavily targeted toward younger audiences, with 62% of its audience falling within the age group of 10 to 29 years. Creators on TikTok can sell their products directly to their followers by adding a “Shop” tag to their TikTok profiles.
Currently, shopping on TikTok is limited to Shopify, so you will need to set up your store before you can use TikTok’s shopping features. When you sign up and install the TikTok Shopify app, products are pulled directly from your Shopify store for easy setup.
Shopping on TikTok allows you to tag products within organic content and paid ads on TikTok, making it easier for interested customers to go from seeing your product to purchasing it.
How to Sell Using Social Commerce: Tips and Best Practices
Social commerce trends are constantly evolving, but there are some best practices you can leverage to maximize your sales on social commerce platforms.
1. Choose the Right Social Commerce Channel for Your Product
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all social media platform that suits every seller, but if you want to know which one is best for your business, consider the demographic makeup of your brand’s audience and start with the platform that aligns best with it.
For example, if you’re primarily targeting Generation Z, you might consider using sales channels on TikTok. If you’re selling to Millennials, it may be better to start on Instagram.
If you are already using social media to promote your products, consider the social channels that are currently generating the most engagement. Social commerce can increase sales volume thanks to a smoother checkout process, but the same instincts that drive more users to engage with your content will also apply to driving sales of your product.
While it is possible to find audiences across multiple platforms, don’t fall into the trap of trying to do everything at once and scattering your efforts. Start by focusing on the most valuable social network, and plan to expand in the future.
2. Utilize Live Streaming on Your Platform
Live streaming can be a fantastic way to showcase your product and discuss the unique offerings your brand has compared to competitors. For creators, live streaming can be a great way to showcase your personality and build a deeper connection with your followers.
During live streams, viewers can join in and see your product in action, ask questions in real-time, and get all the information they need to complete a purchase. On Facebook, you can even enable live shopping, allowing viewers the option to buy the product directly from the stream while they are watching.
In a survey conducted by Statista, 70% of internet users in the United States who reported regularly watching live streams stated they are willing to purchase products from the live streams they follow. This means there is a significant opportunity for creators and sellers to make sales through live streaming.
3.
Use instant messaging to communicate with your customers
When selling online, customers are likely to have questions about your products. While you may not be able to broadcast live 24/7, you can keep instant messaging channels open for quick and easy communication.
In a survey conducted by 99firms, 73% of participants stated that live chat was the “most satisfying” way to communicate with a company. Live chat helps add a personal touch to your sales process and is a quick, convenient way to provide customer support.
By being available through chat, you help build a connection with your brand in customers’ minds which will translate into stronger brand loyalty and more sales. Being present in chat also helps reduce the number of users who abandon their purchases.
Through private messaging, you can also offer discounts, promote new products, and build relationships with customers after their purchase. A more personalized online shopping experience helps make customers feel valued and lets them know you’re available to help.
4. Boost your growth by partnering with influencers
Influencer marketing continues to grow in popularity as a means to drive sales, with the industry expected to reach $16.4 billion by 2022. Influencer audiences place significant value on the opinions of the influencers they follow, so a recommendation from an influencer can mean a substantial increase in online sales.
Additionally, the level of social engagement on your posts increases when you work with influencers, as they often have a highly committed audience. Look for influencers to drive sales using Shopify Collabs.
Shopify Collabs makes it easy to collaborate with creators, promote your products, reach new customers, increase sales, and track your affiliate campaign performance—all from your Shopify dashboard. Discover Shopify Collabs.
The future of e-commerce is social
Many e-commerce trends come and go, but social commerce is not going away anytime soon. As social media platforms develop more ways to integrate social shopping, user expectations for an easy way to purchase products at the moment of discovery will rise.
For small businesses, social commerce provides a level of access to customers that allows them to compete on equal footing with larger companies. Experiencing social commerce strategies now can put you in a strong position for future expansion.
FAQs about social commerce
Is Facebook social commerce?
No, Facebook is not a social commerce platform. Social commerce is a type of e-commerce that includes social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter to facilitate sales.
What is the most popular social commerce platform?
The most popular social commerce platform is probably Facebook. With over 2.6 billion active users, it is one of the most powerful social media platforms for businesses to reach new customers and increase their revenue. With Facebook’s advertising options and the ability to create product pages, businesses can easily promote their products, drive traffic to their website, and increase sales.
What are the three types of commerce?
There are three types of commerce:
- Business to Business (B2B): This type of commerce includes transactions between two or more businesses.
- Business to Consumer (B2C): This type of commerce includes transactions between businesses and individual consumers.
- Consumer to Consumer (C2C): This type of commerce includes transactions between individual consumers. Examples include online marketplaces such as eBay and Etsy.
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