Social media has created a platform for many things. Not only has it connected people through art, music, and fashion, but also through business. The act of selling items directly through social media is known as social commerce, and many people across the world have immensely adopted it. The whole shopping experience from research and discovery of products occurs on a social media platform with social commerce.
Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook are the social apps that currently allow for social commerce. With social business, you might see a nice jacket on your Instagram feed; all you have to do is click ‘buy now’ and complete the purchase immediately on the app. It is an example of a shopping opportunity on the social platforms that your viewers use mostly, and you as the seller make use of it.
Why Social Commerce
Here are some of the reasons why you should give social commerce a chance if you’re still contemplating setting up a social media shop.
It makes shopping a social experience.
Social shopping makes the experience more fun and interactive than a regular e-commerce shopping spree. Customers can review comments from other shoppers and consult with their friends on various purchases before deciding on an investment.
Social commerce eliminates friction
The products are right there on the platform, and you don’t have to go anywhere. All you need is to check them out, click and buy. These social media shops have made it easy to purchase by removing friction from a consumer’s view. Just bring your shop to the social platform and make shopping easier for both you and your customer.
Potential for making good money
Instagram and Facebook hold a large number of shoppers, approximately 85% research online. On Pinterest, about 48% of users shop online. It is a good percentage of potential customers, why don’t you give them what they want?
Best Social Commerce Platforms
There are a few social media platforms that allow for social shopping, but as time goes, we hope to integrate other brands of social media into the market. Here are the social commerce platforms available at the moment:
Instagram shops
Approximately 50% of people stumble upon new products on Instagram. You should ensure that your products are among them. These shops permit users to purchase items featured in your videos and photos. Instagram has shopping tags that allow you to tag your products in your posts or stories. Brands in the U.S have the choice to highlight products in bios and post caption to make social shopping on Instagram easy for their customers.
Facebook shops
You can use your Facebook business page to connect with fans, share news, and show off your beautiful new designs. Also, you can use it to sell some items. All you have to do is to set up a Facebook shop. You can customize your Facebook shop by choosing which goods or collections to present. Decide on the type of images, fonts, and colors that suit your brand. Create a catalog of products or import from an existing website.
Although Pinterest does not strictly offer social commerce, it creates ‘product pins’ for business accounts to facilitate social shopping. These pins are in your brand’s Pinterest Shop. Even though these products are not available to buy within the app, clicking on a product will directly send a customer to your e-commerce site to complete the purchase.
Useful Tips for Social Commerce
- Interact with your followers
- Strategically listen to your followers
- Allow and encourage reviews
- Target your audience wants
- Eliminate moments of friction
Advertise your brand across all your social media platforms to encourage your followers about social shopping and your best chance to succeed online or offline.