What is social commerce and why should your brand care about it?
This blog post might be titled “What is social commerce?”but perhaps it should actually be titled “Want to make some money?”
Global e-commerce sales are projected to grow to $1.6 trillion in the next three years – an increase of more than 100% compared to 2020. There has never been a better time to start selling on social media.
Social commerce takes e-commerce businesses and makes them available on social media platforms, expanding your brand’s audience and customer reach.
If you’re in the grocery business, this information will probably make you feel like an emoji with a dollar sign, eyes, and a green tongue.
Wondering how you can get part of this change? We have you covered. Read more about social commerce 101.
Social commerce is the process of selling goods and services directly through social networks.
In social commerce, the entire shopping process, from product discovery and research to checkout, takes place right on social media.
Source: Instagram
Currently, social apps with built-in social commerce features are Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok.
On social commerce, you can see a pair of sweet strawberry print clogs on your Instagram feed, click “buy now”, add them to your cart and make your purchase right in the app.
Or, while browsing TikTok, you might spot an inexpensive crew neck outfit and hit buy. Once your purchase is complete, you can continue to enjoy your regular TikTok experience by watching duet videos with your favorite artist without missing a beat.
These are the shopping opportunities (shopportunities!) directly on the digital platforms that your audience uses most often. And you must use them.
Social Commerce vs. E-Commerce
E-commerce refers to making purchases through an e-commerce site, online store, or a dedicated branded application. Social commerce, by definition, allows the buyer to make purchases on their social networks. Social commerce is not e-commerce.
Social commerce is also not social selling. Social selling is the development of social media relationships with the goal of building a list of potential customers. Read more about social selling here.
Not sure if starting a social media store is a good idea? Here are six reasons why you should try social commerce.
1. Social commerce makes shopping a social experience
Shopping on social networks makes the process much more interactive than regular online commerce.
Consumers can easily consult their friends about shopping, show off new trendy high-tops, comment on Aunt Jackie’s new “I love my niece”T-shirt, view comments from other savvy shampoo shoppers, and interact directly with the kombucha brands they love.
For those who miss the social aspects of a day at the mall, social commerce might be the next best thing. (Though, unfortunately, without the Orange Julius pit stop.)
Source: Instagram
2. Social commerce eliminates friction
See, click, buy. Social media stores remove barriers to the consumer journey, making it easier to transition from discovery to purchase. They are there. There is a product. Nowhere to go but the cash register.
Ultimately, every mouse click is an opportunity for a potential customer to change their mind. If they need to navigate from your listing to your website, to add an item to their cart, to fill in their credit card details, that’s a lot of time to lose their attention.
Eliminate those unnecessary steps and just shop directly on social media.
3. Serious money can be made
Like Shakira’s hips, the numbers don’t lie. Researchers predict that in the next three years, the volume of electronic sales will exceed 735 billion dollars.
If you want to take part in this action, it makes sense to list your products in online spaces where your customers already hang out.
81% of shoppers explore products on Instagram and Facebook, and shopping is a top priority for 48% of Pinterest users. Why not give them what they are looking for?
Source: Facebook
4. Social commerce offers instant focus groups
Not only does social commerce speed up the transaction process, but it also offers an incredible way to collect feedback.
Your product catalog is publicly available for consumers to view and discuss together. No crystal ball required: your customers can simply tell you what they like or don’t like.
Why not get your audience to vote and weigh product development and inventory decisions while they’re there? (How do we feel about my glow-in-the-dark wolf backpack? Anyone? Hello?)
With social media, you have clear data about who exactly your customers are and the ability to interact with them afterwards via comments or direct message to provide personalized customer service.
5. Millennials and Generation Z love to shop on social media.
If your target demographic is in the 18 to 34 age range, they are already online and waiting to purchase as they scroll down the page.
48% of US internet users this age group made a purchase on social media in 2019. Of those who have not yet shopped on social media, 27% expressed interest in giving it a try.
This is a modern mall. It’s time to open the store!
6. You can sell to a very targeted audience.
With the incredible amount of customer data available on social media, you have the perfect opportunity to customize and target your ads.
Your horse print bathrobes can be advertised directly to flannel lovers. Adorable small size sunglasses can shine right in front of cool young dads.
Social commerce provides the opportunity to get specific, ready-to-buy products in front of specific people who will like them, as opposed to traditional e-commerce and marketing.
Source: Instagram
There are currently five social platforms that offer social commerce opportunities. But as interest (and revenue) grows, we’re likely to see more social media brands integrating “buy now”options.
Here are the current available social commerce platforms.
You use your Facebook business page to share news, connect with fans, and show off your cute new logo. Why not use it to sell a few things and increase your sales while you’re there? Set up a Facebook store and you can do just that.
Facebook shops are customizable. Choose which collections or products to present and customize fonts, images and colors to match your brand. Import an existing product catalog from your website or create one from scratch.
Source: Facebook
Your Facebook Shop will be accessible from your Facebook page, your Instagram profile, your Instagram shopping ads, and your shopping stories and posts.
When it’s time for a conversion, you have the option for your customers to place an order on the app or open a direct Messenger chat with your company. You can also submit them to your site.
Source: Facebook
Once you start selling your products on Facebook, you will likely see a flood of messages from your customers asking about product details, shipping, and sizing. To save time and make sure you never leave a question unanswered, use an AI-powered customer service chatbot like Heyday.
The Heyday chatbot can answer simple recurring questions right in your Facebook Messenger private messages and flag requests that require more personal contact. Customer service has never been easier.
Another nice feature of Facebook Stores is that you can create a test store to learn more. Here you can add products, manage orders, and even check customer service.
Learn how to set up your own Facebook Stores with our step by step guide.
60% of people discover new products on Instagram. Your product should be among them.
Instagram Shops allows users to buy the products featured in your photos and videos from anywhere in the app.
Source: Facebook
Business profiles can create a custom showcase page that acts as a curated collection of products to sell. Each product in your Instagram Shop catalog will get a separate page with pricing information, media files, and a detailed description.
There are several ways to sell products on Instagram. Trade tags allow businesses to tag their products in their stories or posts. American brands also have the ability to highlight products in post captions and bios.
You can also sell through a dedicated “Shop”tab where people can view, save, and buy products listed by companies or tagged by creators.
Or you can create an ad with a “Shop”tab inside it. The ad will appear labeled “Sponsored”and function like any other post or product listing in custom channels.
Meta also recently introduced a feature that allows you to shop via DM. Opportunities are constantly improving and the demand is there.
Source: Instagram
Note. To set up your Instagram store, you just need to live in the relevant region and have an Instagram business account linked to your Facebook page and Facebook store.
Pinterest was one of the first social networks to offer users the ability to shop back in 2015.
But there’s some news you need to pin down right now: Pinterest doesn’t strictly offer social commerce.
Yes, for business accounts, Pinterest offers the ability to create “Product Pins” (previously known as Buyable Pins) that appear in your brand’s Pinterest store. If a customer lives in the US and sees a Buy button under a Pin, they can make a purchase through checkout without even leaving Pinterest.
Source: Pinterest
But it’s important to note that outside the US, they can’t be purchased in the app. Clicking on a beautiful vase will take you from Pinterest to an e-commerce site to complete the sale.
Is Pinterest still a useful tool to get your products out there around the world? Certainly, especially considering that 89% of Pinterest users are looking for shopping inspiration.
To learn more about how to get the most out of your Pinterest account, here are eight business strategies worth trying.
Snapchat
In July 2020, Snapchat announced the launch of a closed beta testing of brand profiles. One of the features of profiles? A “native store”experience (powered by the Shopify platform) that allows users to browse and buy directly from the app.
They debuted the feature with five official endorsed influencer accounts – Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Shay Mitchell, Spencer Pratt, and Bhad Bhabi.
Source: Snapchat
Several other brands have been approved in the meantime, and it’s likely that the feature will eventually spread to the rest of the non-Kardashian world.
In the meantime, keep an eye on Kylie Cosmetics to see how she makes the most of the swipe up to buy app.
Or improve your rankings with our Snapchat strategy guide for business.
TikTok
Building a digital storefront on TikTok as a retailer or creator is a must if you want to stay relevant to today’s shoppers. TikTok Shop is a new shopping feature that allows merchants, brands, and creators to showcase and sell products directly on TikTok.
There are three ways to sell products on TikTok Shop:
- video in feed
- life
- product showcase tab
The TikTok shopping experience is real. #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, where users post what they bought thanks to product recommendations on the site, has been used 7 billion times.
Source: TikTok
Note. In recent changes, TikTok has dropped plans to expand the TikTok store experience from the North American market, but it is currently still available in the UK and Asia.
Your store is set. You are motivated and ready to sell. Here are the top tips and tools to help you make the most of this brave new digital storefront.
1. Optimize sales and customer service with an AI chatbot.
A quick and professional response to a customer’s question can make the difference between a sale and an abandoned cart. With the right tools, you can automate customer service and make sure your customers are taken care of 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a week (even when your team is offline).
Use a tool like Heyday to engage with your customers through their preferred channels and convert customer communications into sales.
Heyday is an artificial intelligence chatbot for retailers that integrates your online store with your social media channels. This allows you to automate up to 80% of your customer service conversations. When customers reach out to you on social media with questions about your inventory or order tracking, a chatbot helps them in real time (and relays more complex requests to your support team).
Get Heyday Free Demo
Heyday can also help you increase sales by automatically sending out-of-stock and price drop notifications to customers who have previously expressed interest in the product.
2. Engage with your followers
To create a great social commerce experience, you have to keep the “social” part in mind.
You can’t just throw away your directory and forget about it. Answer questions, offer valuable and interesting content, be human and sincere, and so on. Set up a chatbot to help people move forward with their customer service shopping experience.
The same best practices that you would normally use to attract your followers apply here.
Source: Instagram
3. Listen strategically
You have a front row seat for your audience. Make the most of them.
Keep a close eye on comments and posts on your Store and respond or offer customer service as needed.
Setting up social monitoring across all platforms can be a great way to get feedback or industry news outside of your own bubble.
Check out our guide to listening to social media here.
4. Encourage reviews
93% of online shoppers say a review can make a difference in their decision. If you have a product that people are happy with, ask them to help spread the word about it.
Whether it’s an automated follow-up email asking for feedback after a product has been delivered, or rewards like a contest to encourage previous customers to rate and share their experience, collecting social proof is vital to building a positive online reputation.
Once you get positive feedback, share it creatively on social media, whether it’s posting user-generated content, posting a live video of happy customers, or simply creating a carousel of positive comments. There are tons of ways to do this and it won’t make you sound like you’re showing off.
5. Focus on reach
Take advantage of the incredible data available to you on social media to get your products or purchases to the right people.
Not sure who your audience is? Here’s how to find and target the client of your dreams.
6. Price your products to keep them moving
Social commerce offers great opportunities for many different types of goods—clothing, dog toys, risqué pottery—but luxuries tend to fall short.
Because of the risk involved in buying something invisible, consumers are less likely to spend money on something more expensive.
Source: Instagram
Shopify’s data shows that under $70 is ideal: just the “why not”for many social media users.
Of course, social commerce is probably just one piece of your overall digital marketing puzzle.
To develop a solid strategy that engages, sells and intrigues online, check out our 101 social media advertising guide. Build your brand across all your platforms for the best chance of success, online or offline.
Frequently Asked Questions About Social Commerce
What is social commerce?
Social commerce is the use of social media platforms to promote and sell goods and services. It encourages and allows users to purchase products directly from social media platforms without having to open another browser.
How does social commerce work?
Social commerce benefits from the sheer number of people using social media platforms around the world. For example, 59% of U.S. adults use Instagram daily, and 38% of those daily visitors access it multiple times a day.
This is a huge potential audience for brand advertising, far exceeding any coverage of television, radio and print advertising.
Social media users can discover and explore brands, products and services, add products to their shopping lists or shopping cart, and checkout, all without leaving the social network.
Social commerce may involve using your own shopping solutions (such as Facebook and Instagram stores) or integrating with e-commerce (such as browsing a product catalog and adding items to your shopping cart on a social platform and then completing an online checkout).
What are the types of social commerce?
- Native social media shopping solutions (e.g. Facebook and Instagram stores)
- Selling on marketplaces, also known as peer-to-peer sales (e.g. Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, eBay)
- Curated shopping lists (like Pinterest shopping lists)
- Online shopping events (e.g. on Facebook Live)
- Purchased AR filters (like Snapchat shopping lenses)
Why is social commerce important?
Social commerce allows brands to sell directly on social media. This is an effective sales strategy as it removes the friction associated with online shopping that starts on social platforms. Many people discover the products they like by browsing social media. Allowing them to proceed to checkout without leaving the social network provides a fast and convenient experience and reduces the risk of abandoned carts.
What are some examples of social commerce?
Examples of social commerce include:
- Domino’s Pizza accepts orders via automated Facebook Messenger flow
- Mac Cosmetics AR lenses available for purchase on Snapchat
- Gap uses Instagram guides for curated shopping lists
- Nike uses product pins on Pinterest
- Best Buy Canada’s Shop Facebook Tab
Engage with shoppers on Instagram and turn customer conversations into sales with Heyday, our custom conversational AI tools for social commerce retailers. Deliver a 5-star customer experience – at scale.
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