Growing Your Business with Social Commerce
Social commerce, the method of exploring, selling, promoting, and purchasing products or services via social media, is quickly revolutionizing traditional ecommerce. From finding and researching products to directly purchasing them, the entire shopping experience can now be via social media platforms.
This shift in the ecommerce industry can be attributed to several factors including the democratization of online selling and the rise of social media platforms. To keep up with competitors and consumers, merchants need to understand how and why this shift is happening and implement strategies to move along with it.
Democratization of Online Shopping
Nowadays, advanced ecommerce capabilities are no longer exclusive to corporate retail. Ecommerce platforms have removed these barriers for newcomers, online creators, and micro-brands to create a professional online store, establish brand recognition, and thrive. This means that access to online selling that was once limited to major merchants is now available to nearly everyone. This creates more opportunities for smaller businesses to sell to wider audiences and has led to an increased number of online sellers.
Traditional media was once the major way to attract buyers, but it was very expensive and accessible only to large merchants. Today social media is more accessible and more popular than transitional media. This is leading to social media democratizing how merchants reach their customers. By looking at social media platforms to promote and sell their products and services, business owners are meeting shoppers where they are. Up to 62.3% of the worldâs population use social media with an average daily usage of 2 hours and 23 minutes, and specifically, U.S. adults spend 17.9% of their digital media time with social platforms in 2024.
Rise of Social Shopping
Social commerce and shopping have fueled (organic and paid) growth for ecommerce brands, which will only get bigger in the future. Projections indicate that social shopping is on track to reach $7.03 trillion by 2030, underscoring its potential to eliminate friction, enhance engagement, and open new avenues for merchants to generate interest and drive sales.
Consumers are increasingly leveraging social media for product discovery and as a platform to initiate and complete their shopping journeys. Studies reveal that more than 90% of consumers resort to social media for guidance on purchasing. Features such as designated shopping tabs, native store pages, and live shopping capabilities are becoming integral parts of the social media experience, and theyâre working: U.S. digital buyers ages 18 to 34 have made purchases on Instagram (28%), Facebook (26%), and TikTok (22%).
The introduction of shoppable features within social media content, particularly on social platforms has revolutionized social commerce, making it easier for consumers to discover and purchase products directly from posts and videos. As these platforms continue to evolve, they provide merchants with innovative ways to connect with their target audience, leveraging the social aspect of these networks to create more interactive and personalized shopping experiences.
Instagram has a designated shopping tab; Facebook has native store pages for businesses; TikTok introduced live shopping capabilities and functionality for online sellers to integrate their catalogs; and the list doesnât end there. Almost every social media platform has a way to create a shopping experience. âLink in bioâ has become a must-have in order to create a simple single page containing all the links and popular social media accounts to drive followers to online stores. These offerings will only become more seamless and frictionless, and the bridge between social connectivity and shopping will narrow in 2024.
Expanding Your Omnichannel Strategy
With the accelerated growth of social shopping, merchants should embrace a comprehensive omnichannel approach to expand their reach and increase their customer acquisition opportunities. Approximately 73% of consumers use multiple channels for purchases and, studies show those who use 4+ channels spend about 9% more than single-channel consumers. Not only does an omnichannel approach foster a cohesive brand experience and a seamless shopping journey, but it also significantly enhances the potential for acquiring new customers. Companies with omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain 89% of their customers; Compared to a 33% customer retention rate for companies with weak omnichannel strategies Today, eCommerce platforms allow merchants to sell their products and sync their catalogs across their branded online stores, physical stores, social media, and marketplaces.
With the democratization of eCommerce platforms and the rise of social media commerce, there is increased competition over traffic which also means that itâs more and more expensive to acquire new customers. With higher customer acquisition costs, which increased by 222% over the last eight years, customer retention is more important than ever because it costs 4-5 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. Sellers are turning to social media channels for both acquisition and retention by staying engaged with customers to keep them coming back for more. Sellers should continue to double down on their retention efforts to save on acquisition costs and boost revenue as existing customers tend to spend more than new customers. Social media is a key component of this retention strategy.
6 Tips for Social Media Success
Here are some practical social media tactics for merchants to take away and implement to stay on top of the latest trends:
- Cultivate credibility with social media pages and accounts: You need to have social media pages and accounts that resonate with your customers, foster community, and provide value beyond a transaction. Make sure to have links to your online store in your social bios and have the ability to transact in your social media accounts using omnichannel syncing of your online store catalog to the social media store interface.
- Create and engage in social media marketing posts: Organic social posts are an effective way to connect and engage with your audience. Share exciting updates about your business, from new product launches to upcoming events, and encourage your followers to take action â whether itâs signing up for a class or making a purchase during a seasonal sale. To amplify your reach, consider creating customized paid posts through your social media marketing dashboard. Use these strategically to target specific demographics, ensuring your promotions meet the right eyes at the right time. Paid posts can significantly increase engagement and conversions when used correctly.
- Explore influencer marketing: The influencer marketing landscape has transcended traditional sponsored posts, with businesses and influencers co-creating content that emphasizes authenticity and genuine product endorsements. This evolution has elevated the role of micro-influencers, enabling brands to effectively target and engage with niche audiences.
- Offer shoppable content: Short-form video channels like TikTok and Instagram Reels further enhance social commerce, offering businesses a dynamic and engaging way to highlight their products to potential buyers.
- Strengthen connections with consumers: User-generated content, including reviews and testimonials, is key to establishing trust and credibility among potential customers.
- Donât just speak; listen: Use social media as a listening tool to improve your offerings and send the signal that you are listening to your customers. Businesses need to engage in social listening, closely monitoring and responding to customer interactions on social media to address concerns swiftly and show dedication to customer satisfaction.
Source: Small Business Xchange