“Social” commerce is selling products directly on social networks. Marketplace feed management tool Channable recently published a digital book on the subject. Here are the highlights.
Let’s start by recalling some numbers to gauge the scope of the phenomenon. According to eMarketer, “social” commerce is expected to exceed $50B in the US by 2023. A growing trend.
US Social Commerce Buyers Growth, 2017-2023 (millions and % change)
Its major advantage over traditional commerce? The proximity between brands and users/customers. According to a study by Sprout Social, 78% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand with which they have had a positive experience on social networks.
One third of consumers also go on social networks to learn more about a brand. And the vast majority (97%) of Generation Z consumers say social networks are their main source of inspiration for shopping.
Let’s take a look at how to turn users into online customers.
Tips for implementing your social media sales strategy
The Channable report presents some best practices to put all the chances on your side.
1. Fill in your online profile completely
This is a guarantee of reliability and authenticity. Be careful to have a consistent profile on all platforms used.
2. Target influencers who correspond to you
These are the people who will improve or even support your online sales.
3. Join online communities in your sector
This allows you to establish new links, build a network and even collect data from potential customers.
4. Have a regular and quality editorial strategy
There are many resources on the subject. In short, the idea is to share engaging and informative content every day or two.
5. Generate engagement
There is no magic formula to achieve this. The challenge is to test different solutions: sponsoring publications, providing value to online groups, responding and interacting with your subscribers…
6. Be credible
This is about “social proof”. Users will be more influenced by the opinions of other consumers than by your marketing messages. A good online brand image is therefore essential!
How to choose the right sales channels?
The study then looks at the different platforms on which it is possible to sell your products. What do we learn from them?
The most important social network in the world (nearly 3 billion active users per month, i.e. more than a third of the world’s population!) is obviously distinguished by the size of its community. Some effective techniques mentioned :
- Live shopping: a feature that allows you to create live shopping events. The total revenue of sales by this means should reach $500 billion in 2023.
- Personalized messaging: it is possible for customers to write directly to you and create automatic messages to interact more effectively with its customers
- Whatsapp API: the messaging service, owned by the Meta group (Facebook), is a communication tool that can be integrated with Facebook to simplify the sales process
Not forgetting the essential “Facebook Shops” function.
Let’s stay in the bosom of Meta with the application with billions of active users per month, two thirds of which are under 34 years old. The app’s strength is of course its Stories: more than half of users (58%) say they are more interested in a brand after seeing it through this medium.
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Other techniques to focus on include Reels, those short videos copied to TikTok or “shopping tags” / “Live Shopping” which, as their name suggests, are specific features for online shopping.
Snapchat
The application with the yellow ghost has more than 300 million users: more than half are under 24 years old and 54% are women. Demographics to keep in mind to understand it.
The next generation of consumers and the one after that will be Snapchat regulars. If your brand has been on Snapchat since the beginning, chances are you’re reaching a lot of these young people,” says David Brock, author of Snapchat Marketing Excellence.
Among the added values of the application: augmented reality but also contests, which offer original experiences to users.
TikTok
Finally, a last word on the Chinese application that is increasingly overshadowing the Facebook group and whose three quarters of the one billion monthly active users worldwide are under 24 years old (57% of them women).
Tiktok has recently launched its Shopping function which allows companies to add their products on their profile. Users can proceed to payment without leaving the application.
To succeed in this world of music videos, the study advises to work with influencers. But also to caption your videos well, to bounce on the trends of the moment (with the Trend Discovery Tool) and to have videos that are more polished than average.
Now it’s up to you to make your choice!
