Social commerce is the new way to shop.
It’s no secret that social media has become a huge part of our daily lives, and it’s starting to change how we buy things. Social media has made it easier than ever before for people to share their experiences with brands—good or bad.
And as more people start to use social media as a way to find new products and services, we’ve seen a rise in demand for businesses that can offer an online shopping experience that matches the personal feel of their website or blog.
What is social commerce?
Social commerce is what happens when you combine these two things: social media and eCommerce.
Simply put, social commerce is the process of selling products and services directly through social media. And it’s not a new concept—people have been selling things to friends and family on Facebook for years. But social commerce has evolved, and now it is no longer just about personal connections.
Today, social commerce has evolved to let shoppers use social media to discover new brands, research products, interact with customer support, and then make purchases.
Social commerce sales are happening every day on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, where users can make purchases without leaving their feeds.
Did you know that as of 2022, 84% of Chinese consumers have done shopping on social media channels? And these numbers are increasing in all parts of the world at a rapid rate. Now, these are opportunities you do not want to miss out on!
That’s why it’s so important for you to get on board with social commerce if you haven’t already—because those numbers aren’t going away anytime soon. You need to be able to sell directly through social media in order to stay competitive in today’s marketplace.
The good news is that social commerce doesn’t have to be hard—and it shouldn’t be. If you know what you’re doing when it comes to social commerce, your store can benefit from all those extra eyeballs and hands-on experience that come with it.
What are the benefits of social commerce?
Social commerce is more than just a buzzword. It has proven that it can successfully drive store conversions and increase awareness of brands.
Here are a few reasons why you should definitely check out social commerce in 2023 –
1. Highly targeted audience
With social commerce, you can connect with people who are already interested in your product—and you can target the right people using social media ads.
Your followers are more likely to purchase from you if they see something they like, and they’re more likely to buy something if they think they’re getting a good deal. Social commerce lets you make sure that both of those things happen because it puts the power in your hands.
2. Improved customer engagement
Social commerce allows you to engage with your customers on a more personal level and help them find exactly what they’re looking for. You’ll be able to do this by having conversations with them, responding to questions and comments, and making sure they have all the information they need before they make a purchase.
3. Get data on your audience
Social commerce is a great way to get the data you need on your audience.
You’ll know what they’re interested in, what they’re looking for, and how they engage with products. You can use this information to inform your future marketing strategies, whether that’s getting people to buy more of what they’ve already bought or trying something new!
4. Cost-effective marketing
Social commerce is the perfect way to market your business without breaking the bank.
Social media sites are free, and they have a built-in audience that’s interested in what you have to say. You can post about new products, offer discounts and sales, and share interesting stories all on social media.
5. Social proof
Social commerce is a great way to collect social proof.
People use social media to share their experiences, and when they do, it’s usually a positive experience. If you can find ways to get your customers to post about their experiences with your business on social media, it will help build trust and loyalty with potential customers who are looking for information about your product or service.
6. Enhanced shopping experience
Social commerce is a way to enhance your customer’s shopping experience by connecting with people who have similar tastes. Customers can easily find people who share their style and preferences, and they can help them discover new products that they might love.
Shopping on social media allows them to see what other people are interested in and what they are buying. This can give them an idea of what types of things they might like too! They can also join discussions about the products that interest them, which can help customers learn more about them before purchasing them.
7. Receive customer feedback
Social commerce is a great way to get feedback from your customers. You can find out what they’re looking for, what they love, and what they hate. This helps you to improve your product while also making sure that you’re staying true to what your customers want.
Social commerce trends and statistics
- According to Statista, in 2023, global social commerce sales are estimated to reach a whopping $1.298 billion.
- On average, humans spend around 2 hours and 27 minutes on social media every day.
- 28% of internet users aged 16-64 use social media to find inspiration for things to do or buy.
- It is estimated that the number of US social buyers will increase by 35+%.
How to get started with social commerce?
Step 1: Choose your social media platform(s) that has built-in social commerce features
Ok! First things first: you’re going to need to choose your social media platform(s).
You probably already have a few in mind, but if not, we’ll make it easy for you.
We recommend choosing at least two platforms—one for a more personal touch and one for mass-market appeal. For example, Facebook is great for reaching people on a more personal level, while Twitter is great for getting your message out there quickly and easily.
While some businesses are able to flourish on all major platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), others choose to focus on one or two and then use the others as a way to promote what they’ve done elsewhere.
For example, if you’re trying to sell makeup products, it might make sense for you to focus on Instagram where there is already a large community of beauty lovers who post their own looks and products regularly.
Step 2: Grow your following
After you’ve determined which social platform to use for your store, the next step is to grow an audience!
First things first: you need to figure out what kind of content will resonate with the people you want to attract. In order to do this, you should take a look at the companies whose followers are most similar to yours and study their content strategy.
Once you’ve done that, it’s time to start posting! Make sure you post regularly—once every two days is ideal—and keep in mind that images and video tend to perform better than text-based posts. Now that your followers are growing, it’s time for step three!
Step 3: Set up your social commerce store
After you’ve got your brand’s social media presence and a few key pieces of content in place, it’s time to set up your online store. This is where you can really connect with your customers and offer them something unique—something that will make them want to buy from you.
Check out Instagram Shop, Facebook Marketplace, and Pinterest Shopping to help you get started.
Step 4: Promote your store
Now that you’re up and running, it’s time to start promoting your store! This is when you’ll want to come up with a marketing plan.
This will include how and where you’ll advertise, what kind of content you’ll share on social media, which influencers you’ll reach out to, and more. The first three steps are all about getting your store set up—now it’s time to get people in the door!
Step 5: Test, analyze, and improve
Now that you have a solid plan in place, it’s time to put your ideas into action. This is where most businesses fall short. They’re so focused on getting the first version of their product out there that they don’t spend enough time testing and analyzing their results.
This step is crucial to your success as a social commerce business because it helps you identify what needs improvement and how to improve it. You need to track all the data you collect during this process, so make sure you have a system in place for doing so.
You’ll want to test your strategy out with a few different audiences—your own followers, people who follow other accounts similar to yours, and so on. Keep track of how well your new strategy is performing by measuring engagement rates, follower growth rates, conversion rates, revenue figures, and more.
As you gather feedback from these tests and make changes based on it (which you will), keep making tweaks until your social commerce strategy is optimized for maximum performance.
Step 6: Stay consistent
Social commerce is not a one-and-done kind of thing. You have to keep up the momentum. If you start posting about your products on Facebook, for example, and then stop for a long time, people will forget about you and move on to other things.
It’s one thing to sell a few things here and there on social media, but it’s another thing entirely to make a full-time business out of it.
That’s why it’s so important to stay consistent with your content because consistency will help you build trust with your followers—and trust is the key ingredient in any successful relationship.
Wrapping up!
The bottom line is this, though. If you want to reach new customers, social commerce can be a great choice.
It allows businesses to expand their reach and attract new customers while integrating social elements in a way that enhances the shopping experience rather than detracting from it. By keeping customer interest at the forefront of your approach, you can bring together the best of all worlds: social and eCommerce, working together towards the same goal, drawing in more revenue for your business.
And you can do this by driving consumers from your store and offering them a way to sign up for a customer account on your site with social login.
This way you can capture their information and personalize how you sell to them on social media after that.
That’s where Flits comes in!
With Flits, enable one-click login for customers using their social media accounts. Simplify Shopify customer account login and see more shoppers convert into subscribers and customers.
