What is social commerce?
Social commerce allows users to purchase products and services from a social media platform such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest or Spotify directly. The entire customer experience, from discovery to purchase, happens within the app. Which means the checkout process is simplified and customers are happier.
How does social commerce work?
While other sales methods direct shoppers directly to another website or app, social commerce allows customers to buy your products without having to leave their preferred social media platform.
In addition, customers can add their payment and shipping information in a single social app instead of in different independent online stores. This form of commerce helps shoppers feel secure, ensures a quick and easy checkout process and leaves you with fewer abandoned carts.
There are different types of social commerce, but the general idea is the same: you promote, sell and interact with your customers on the same platform.
Why is social commerce important?
Bottom line: you need to be where your customers are.
People spend a lot of time on social networks and usually use cell phones or tablets to shop as well. Social commerce allows you to combine these two consumer habits and streamline the shopping experience to reduce any hurdles that may arise between product discovery and purchase.
Most retailers already use social media to market their products, so social commerce is just one additional feature that can enhance your sales, generate brand awareness and reaffirm customer loyalty.
What impact does social commerce have on the customer experience?
Social commerce makes shopping quick and easy, as customers don’t have to search for products online, remember ad brands, browse through long product catalogs or add their personal data in different online stores.
The process is streamlined, which improves the overall customer experience.
What types of social commerce are there?
To help you get started, let’s take a look at the different types of social commerce you can implement in your business strategy.
Shoppable ads
Shoppable ads give businesses the opportunity to sell products through sponsored posts. You can tag products in your ad and take your customers directly to the pages of the item in question.
For example, if I see a T-shirt I like, I don’t have to research the brand online or search for the T-shirt in their product catalog. Instead, I click on the post and order my new favorite t-shirt directly from a social platform.
There are several platforms that have shoppable ads available, among them are Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. One of the main benefits of using this type of social commerce is that you can track the effectiveness of your ad. This way, you can see which ads convert into purchases and which don’t.
Depending on the platform, there are different tools and features you can use to target the right audiences, optimize your goals and ultimately drive sales.
Plugins, calls to action and chatbots
Social plugins, calls to action and chatbots offer many more options to sell your products. To choose the best options, you need to do some research and decide which options will work best for your store.
Plugins allow you to connect your online store to social media and give you the best of both worlds. For example, the CedCommerce plugin lets you integrate your WooCommerce store with Facebook Marketplace. Other plugins allow you to integrate shoppable posts on your website.
CTAs (calls to action) and stickers in link format allow you to direct shoppers from social platforms to your website. While not as direct as shoppable ads or in-app checkout processes, your customers can still browse your store without leaving a social media platform.
Finally, chatbots are agents that talk to your customers using artificial intelligence: they help them find what they are looking for, save you time and will increase your sales. You can integrate them into your website to guide customers through frequently asked questions and help them navigate your online store.
Payment processes in social networks
Another widely used type of social commerce is social media checkout. This process gives shoppers the ability to choose and purchase a product directly from a social media platform such as Instagram or Facebook.
When customers discover a product they like on a brand’s post, they can click ask, choose the size or color and proceed to checkout. Best of all, they will do it without leaving the social media app they are in.
The first time someone uses social media checkout they will need to add their name, email, billing information and delivery address. But if the information was already added previously, it only takes a couple of clicks until a purchase is made.
Within the same social networking app, it is also possible to receive a shipping confirmation, track your packages and contact the seller. This makes the whole process simple and convenient.
What is the difference between social commerce and ecommerce?
Social commerce is a subset of ecommerce that includes only the services provided within the different social media platforms. Ecommerce is a broader term that encompasses all online shopping: online stores, marketplaces, apps, etc.
Lately many internet users shop and browse social platforms on their mobile devices. Social commerce platforms allow you to combine both experiences in one and at the same time, making the shopping experience fast and hassle-free.
But this doesn’t mean that social commerce is better than ecommerce. There are pros and cons to both. Depending on your target audience, you can choose which sales method best suits your brand and which type of digital marketing you should use.
If your niche market is on social media platforms, social commerce is a good option, as it allows you to eliminate parts of the sales funnel and streamline the checkout process.
But if your target doesn’t use any of these platforms, you’re better off focusing on your online store.
What are the pros of social commerce?
Social commerce can help your brand grow, but it is not the universal solution to all your problems. You have to weigh the pros and cons and decide what works best for your business. Let’s first take a look at the advantages of using social commerce!
Convert followers into buyers
Chances are your brand already has a social media presence and you’re creating varied content depending on your digital marketing strategy.
Selling on the same platform makes it easy to use engaging content and promotional campaigns to convert followers into buyers. Plus, you can track the impact of your digital marketing content more easily.
Generate social proof
Comments, likes and shares: you can’t get better proof of product and service quality. Social commerce combines social proof and shopping in one place.
Social media allows customers to easily see if a brand has a decent follower base and trustworthy reviews. Reviews are made by real people, so prospective customers can ask them follow-up questions to learn more about an item they’re interested in.
You can also collaborate with influencers who promote your product or service. People love to see what products look like in real life and trust people they can relate to. This means you don’t need big names to make use of influencer marketing, just find the right micro-influencers for your target audience.
Increases brand awareness and loyalty
Social commerce enhances your social media presence, and in turn, helps you generate brand awareness and customer loyalty. Shoppers want to see who is behind the brand and interacting with your followers will make them more likely to remember you and return to your store.
Selling your products directly on Instagram, Facebook or other platforms will bring your potential buyers closer to becoming customers, as they will be able to make the purchase immediately on your page.
Optimize mobile shopping
Mobile shopping is the future. As we said earlier, most social media users check these platforms on their mobile apps instead of using computers. Many people also use phones or tablets to shop. Being part of social commerce allows you to reach customers in the most convenient way for them.
Reach a global audience
Social media apps have an advantage over traditional online stores: there are millions of people already using them. As with ecommerce marketplaces, there is already an established audience for these platforms.
This gives you the opportunity to promote your products to your target audience worldwide.
What are the disadvantages of social commerce?
Let’s now look at some disadvantages of using social commerce.
You need to keep up with your audience
Selling on social platforms means investing a lot of time and effort in your content and interactions with your audience. You also need to follow the latest social media trends and keep up with them to apply them in your marketing strategies.
It’s not enough to create a store on Instagram or TikTok, you must make it stand out with original content that captivates your audience and convinces them that your brand is worth their money.
Social media also relies heavily on user-generated content. If you create shareable content, your followers are likely to re-share it on their social networks, so always make sure your content is up to par.
Offer a limited number of potential customers
Although you will have a global and versatile audience on social networks, think that you will always be limited to users who use this social platform.
That’s why it’s better to also have a traditional online store to reach people who don’t use these social media platforms.
Drive less traffic to your website
Selling on social media means less organic traffic to your store. Although on some social media platforms you can reach people by creating original content, advertising is the main tool you should use to drive traffic to your store and get more sales.
In short, with social commerce it is difficult to attract new customers without investing money in targeted advertising.
Increase the impact of negative feedback
Your success in getting sales on social media depends heavily on social proof and customer satisfaction. Social proof can make or break trust in a brand and the quality of your product.
Negative comments can affect your brand’s reputation. But it’s even more important how you respond to bad reviews and comments. Always try to resolve any issues your buyers have to reduce the impact that negative feedback has on your potential customers.
