Social Commerce
Social Commerce: Introduction
With the rapid rise of social media, its usage has diversified beyond just maintaining social networks online. Today, social media is increasingly fused with eCommerce. In such cases, social media websites function effectively as digital retail platforms, connecting people to businesses and facilitating the buying and selling of products online.
What is social commerce about and how does it work? Which platforms are leading the social commerce revolution? What benefits does it offer? This article answers your questions.
What is Social Commerce?
Social commerce is a form of eCommerce that involves the use of social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok) to facilitate online shopping transactions.
In other words, social commerce combines the power of social media with the convenience of online shopping, allowing customers to browse and purchase products directly through social media platforms.
When social media platforms integrate eCommerce capabilities, users do not have to exit the platforms in order to buy products. Rather, the purchase process becomes much more convenient, with transactions allowed within the platform. Furthermore, utilizing social media’s original purpose, customers can recommend products, leave ratings, and add reviews to make online shopping truly a social process.
For businesses, social media offers a wealth of opportunities. They can use the various platforms to engage with their target customer base, build relationships, and strengthen brand identity. Moreover, they can place targeted ads and promotions. Importantly, they can drive sales of their products on social media platforms seamlessly.
Key Platforms for Social Commerce
Several social media channels now have eCommerce capabilities. Some have more readily embraced the eCommerce potential of their platforms and launched virtual storefronts with user-friendly features.
Three of the available platforms for social media that businesses can leverage for success today include:
- Facebook is a leader and a powerhouse of social commerce today. It is an ideal marketing channel for retailers and has emerged as amongst online shoppers. Companies can create a dedicated Facebook Business Page to connect with their customers. They can use shoppable ads, customize their Facebook Shop page which functions as an online storefront, showcase their product catalog, and manage orders on the platform. Potential customers can send inquiries via messages and use Facebook Checkout to buy items of their choice.
- Snapchat allows users to browse and buy products within its platform. Retailers can run shoppable ads, put up product catalogs, and use the latest AI-powered functions to further boost their visibility and reach. For instance, with AR Lenses, users can not only view product details such as colors, sizes, and pricing easily but also virtually try on products. They can also browse other products from the retailer, attend virtual shopping events, and have an overall on a single platform.
- Pinterest allows users to buy products easily from its platform through shoppable pins. Users can simply click on a pin and purchase the product being displayed - all while staying in the app. The pins contain product information, including pricing. Helpful information - such as labels to indicate a product as a bestseller - is also shown. This enables customers to view highly reviewed products and reap the rewards of the social aspects of online shopping. Pinterest is on its dashboard to benefit retailers as well as customers.
Benefits of Social Commerce
The advantages of social commerce extend to retailers and customers alike. Some of the benefits that it offers include:
- Growth Opportunity: Social commerce offers immense growth potential for brands and businesses. As the number of social media users rises, social media platforms become more and more relevant in terms of attracting buying customers and generating higher revenue. The nature of social media platforms enables a seamless ecosystem through which potential buyers can connect with one another, discover retailers and their products, and purchase products.
- Improve Reach: The new generation of shoppers - Millennials and Gen Z - are likely to use social media for their online shopping. They are familiar with the platforms and are not hesitant to use the social aspect to make informed purchasing decisions. Thus, businesses can meet their customers where they already are present, using targeted ads and promotions strategically. The ads can be highly specific so that the right demographic is able to find and buy the products.
- Audience Engagement: By their nature, social media platforms energize connections between people. Businesses can utilize this core capability of the platforms to reach their audience and build long lasting customer relationships. Through active actions such as direct communication with customers through comments and messages, showcasing user generated content, and more, businesses can connect authentically with their audience, engage them, and build trust in their brand.
- Business Metrics: Social platforms allow businesses to track their performance through built-in metrics functions. Apart from basic information such as the number of followers and likes, they can also find out the reach, impressions, and engagement rate of their posts. They can also track the website traffic that their social media presence generates. With this information, businesses are empowered to make informed decisions in the short as well as long term - for instance, decisions related to inventory flow and sales targets.
Key Takeaways
- Social commerce fuses eCommerce with social media. It enables customers to browse, review, and purchase products in-app.
- Popular platforms for social commerce today are Facebook, Snapchat, and Pinterest. Others offering similar capabilities include TikTok and Instagram.
- Social media platforms offer virtual storefronts and leverage AI-based features. This enables businesses to better reach their target audience, while empowering customers to make informed buying decisions.
- Through social commerce, businesses can improve their audience engagement, target a specific demographic, and connect with modern customers who are active social media users.
- Social media platforms also provide effective business metrics using which companies can track their performance and take data-driven decisions to boost sales.