Social commerce might be pretty self-explanatory, where you sell your products or services through social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook or, more famously, TikTok, which has been a huge platform for small and large businesses to take advantage of drop shipping or regular free posts to boost audience engagement and purchases.
If you are a small business or a popular brand relevant to the generations utilising social platforms, advertising and selling your products through these channels should be a priority. Everything is online, contactless and has fast checkouts. Paying for things has become that much easier and capitalising on these opportunities is the only way forward.
You don’t scroll through anything anymore without stumbling across an advertisement. Even more recently, Netflix has now provided a cheaper solution for those who want to stream films and series with advertisement options. Without getting too off track, we are going to be going through the ins and outs of social commerce.
What is Social Commerce?
Social commerce is an ever-evolving way for brands to gain popularity and become competitive in markets and it involves leveraging social media platforms such as Facebook and TikTok to facilitate the entire shopping journey, from product discovery and research to purchase and even customer service. This can take various forms, including:
Shoppable Posts
Platforms like Instagram and Facebook allow brands to tag products directly within posts, whether natural or sponsored. Users can click on the tags for product details and pricing and even complete purchases without leaving the social media app. While you can be diverted to the app or open it in an external browser, users can do whatever they please.
Live Shopping Events
Interactive live streams hosted by brands showcase products, answer customer questions in real time and often include exclusive discounts or promotions. This has become a very popular method of marketing on TikTok shops, from girls trying on wigs and testing curling irons to doing a full glam to show makeup off. There isn’t anything you can’t do to promote products on this platform.
Influencer Marketing
Partnering with social media influencers allows brands to tap into established audiences and leverage the trust these influencers have built. This was one of the first parts of evolving with selling products online; influencers now have to disclose when they are posting as a paid partnership. On TikTok, anyone could earn money if people who view their video buy it using their code or through their shop, which is a new way without having to pay influencers.
Social Proof & Reviews
User-generated content (UGC) in the form of reviews, photos, and videos showcasing real people using and loving a brand's products is a powerful form of social proof that can drive sales. The more reviews, the better. From a personal standpoint, I’ve been more inclined to buy something if the reviews are above a 4.0-star rating.
Why Should My Brand Utilise Social Commerce?
Here are some compelling reasons for brands to embrace social commerce:
Increased Reach and Engagement
When it comes to this digital world, you need to capitalise on as much as you can to not only have a fighting chance against competitors but also to make a name for a brand that will eventually grow globally. So by being active on numerous social platforms, you are opening yourself up to engagement from qualified and unqualified customers.
Creating captivating content can expose your brand to a multitude of potential customers that don't come with general ads and physical stores. Not to mention, this builds a relationship with the engaged users; this way, they can see that your brand cares about their customers, which takes away a corporate and soulless image from your brand.
Frictionless Shopping Experience
This makes the shopping experience quicker and more convenient for customers, not to mention they are more likely to follow through with the purchase if they don’t have to leave the original platform and if checkout is condensed to a minimal number of steps. This could not only increase your revenue but also encourage customers to come back and back again.
Data-Driven Insights
Social media platforms provide valuable data about customer behaviour and preferences. You can leverage this data to personalise marketing messages and product recommendations. You can truly take advantage of this data by knowing which channels bring the most traffic, the bounce rate, and which landing pages customers fall onto first. You can go as far as to analyse the data month-on-month or year-on-year depending on how long you’ve been linked to the data source. This can tell you on paper what needs to be worked on and if there has been a drop in traffic over some time.
How Can Brands Utilise Social Commerce Effectively?
Choose the Right Platforms & Create Quality Content
Focus and engage more on platforms where your target audience operates the most. For example, if you are a home renovation company, you might find platforms like Facebook and Instagram the most useful, as the age demographic for these purchases is the highest on these platforms. Alternately, if you are a makeup brand or sell clothes like men’s graphic tee’s, you might focus on TikTok and Instagram the most, as users are more likely to buy these products on these platforms.
It’s all about figuring out what works for your brand
Partner with Influencers
Find and understand who your target audience looks up to or draws inspiration from; this way, by collaborating with these influencers, you are getting all that brand and product awareness. You will have to ensure that this influencer is good for your brand image, resonates with your values and so forth, so that it doesn’t later impact the reputation of your brand that you’ve worked hard to build.
Prioritise Customer Service
Having outstanding customer service is crucial, especially where Google is rewarding businesses with better and more reviews You need to stay on top of and monitor comments that could be damaging to your brand or product. For example, if you have a customer complain about the delivery, simply respond and ask them to get in contact with you. It’s good for other potential customers to see that you care and will do whatever you can to fix the relationship.
Measure and Analyse Results
Using all of the resources available, whether you use organic, paid social or other metrics, can help you track what is performing well and what needs to be improved. Whether it’s marketing strategies, pages on the site, or the products themselves, it’s insanely crucial when you are considering growing your business to know and understand this information.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it’s crucial for brands, no matter how old in the business they are, to adhere to the changes in technology and shopping as we know it. The quicker you get on board, the better. Take advantage of the potential ways to grow your exposure and your client base. Methods will change based on your business but there are ways you can utilise and take advantage of the digital landscape.
If you are lost on how to make the most of your online presence, there are SEO and digital marketing agencies you can work with that can take over the role of trivial things such as paid advertising and social media posts or ideas. Make the most of the resources you have available and good luck growing your business.
