Set up your shop on social media and watch sales soar!
It’s easy to agree that online shopping and social media are here to stay. If the pandemic taught us anything, it was that the ability to socialize and connect is important to our health and wellbeing in a myriad of ways. Not to mention, the ability to acquire basic necessities even when we can’t leave home is of utmost importance. Our penchant for online shopping has only grown in recent years and social media has been a huge driving force.
With the click of a few buttons we can have groceries delivered, browse our favorite restaurant eats, and have the latest fashions sent straight to our doorstep. Online shopping has rendered obsolete many brick and mortar locations for everything from clothes and shoes to electronics, and even food, but at what cost? However, the social aspect of a physical location is hard to beat.
Brands, especially those that operate solely online, now need to mimic the social experience of a store in some way. This is where social commerce steps in to lend a helping hand. Today’s successful brands know that a social commerce strategy is paramount to success in the e-commerce world.
What is social commerce?
Simply put, social commerce is the selling of goods and services directly through social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. Today, customers can complete their entire purchase without ever leaving their favorite social media app. Not only does this way of buying build trust and brand loyalty, it also increases a brand’s opportunity to make sales. Social commerce trends may come and go, but social media and its purchasing power is likely here to stay.
Why social commerce?
You may have heard about viral products which gained traction on sites like Instagram and TikTok and subsequently sold out in a number of days or even hours. Successful online stores know that a solid social commerce strategy can drive rapid growth. A brand that understands the latest social commerce trends is more likely to go viral and thus, make more sales. So, why exactly is a social commerce strategy important?
- Spend more time with your customers
Globally, the average person spends around 147 minutes per day on social media. With over two hours of opportunity to reach your target customer each and every single day, it’s no secret that social media is a powerful tool. A social commerce strategy will help your online store meet your customers where they’re already spending time. - Reach a global customer base
While a brick and mortar shop may have a better conversion rate with customers more likely to buy inside a store rather than browsing online, they reach a much smaller pool of people. E-commerce accounted for over 19.6 percent of global retail sales in 2021 with that number expected to rise each year. Whereas a physical store can only reach customers in a certain city, online stores can reach customers around the world as long as shipping to those destinations is supported. - Attract new customers
Did you know that more than 30% of internet users are already shopping on social media? According to Hubspot, 35.9% of social media users in the US have made at least one social commerce purchase in the last year. A brick and mortar location may be able to attract customer attention one day a month, at most. Social media, however, has the ability to attract customers around the world each and every day!
What are the best platforms for social commerce?
If your business has the time and resources, it’s a great idea to utilize every social media platform that you can. Social media is a great free resource for marketers. However, it does take time to create great content so if you only have time for a few, check out this list of some of the best platforms to use and why.
- Facebook
Currently under the Meta umbrella along with Instagram and WhatsApp, Facebook is one of the best social media platforms when it comes to social commerce. Facebook Shop allows you to create a virtual in-app shop on Facebook and Instagram. Additionally, the ads you launch within the Meta sphere, whether it be Facebook or Instagram, can be promoted seamlessly within Shopify, too. - WhatsApp
In our hyper-connected world, your business should be too. Did you know you can send multi-product and single-product offers straight to your most loyal customers via WhatsApp? Curate a personal list of your customers’ favorite item or items and hit send. Depending on your settings, customers can add to their shopping cart and even pay without ever leaving WhatsApp. - Instagram
Instagram is a visual platform making it a great way to sell goods and services due to its aesthetic nature. Product photos and videos perform the best on Instagram as does influencer marketing. The Shoppable Instagram feature also allows users to shop directly within the app. - TikTok
TikTok has a large global reach with the younger demographic so it’s a great place to be if your target customer is under the age of 35. Not to mention, the platform has a direct partnership with Shopify. Those with an existing Shopify storefront can seamlessly integrate TikTok shopping with the click of a few buttons. - Pinterest
An eMarketer survey revealed that nearly 50% of respondents used Pinterest for the purpose of shopping. Your social commerce strategy would be remiss not to include a Pinterest plan. As it is used as both a social media platform and a search engine, Pinterest is a great place to gain traction for your online shop or business. - Twitter
Twitter has a much more cerebral, text-based focus making it traditionally a tougher platform for selling goods, but this may no longer be the case. In 2021, Twitter announced a partnership with Shopify to offer merchants the ability to advertise up to 50 items on their Twitter profiles. Twitter is also experimenting with other social commerce features and only plans to grow its social commerce offerings. With an already reported 1.11 billion in sales in the first quarter of 2021, don’t sleep on Twitter social commerce.
What does the future of social commerce look like?
As is the case with any social media platform or trend, it can be hard to predict what users will latch onto, but one thing is for certain, social media is here to stay. Social commerce that allows users to shop directly on social media not only helps drive additional sales, but creates brand camaraderie as users interact with likes and comments. Social commerce sales are expected to triple by 2025 so if you’re looking to spend more time with your customers, grow your global following, attract new customers, and make more sales make sure you’ve got to have a social commerce strategy.
Whether your social commerce strategy relies on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or a little of everything, we are here to help. The team at Zimply know that keeping up with requests and questions over several social media platforms can be tricky. This is why we’ve created a tool to help e-commerce shops collate questions and requests into one place. With Zimply, you’ll spend less time sifting through your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest inboxes and more time creating value for your customers.