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Using social media is second nature these days and the ugly truth is that a business with an average social presence is a business that doesn’t have a concrete social strategy, and therefore a business that is not doing as well as they should be in an ever-changing world of fierce ecommerce competition.
Lucky for you, we have pulled some do’s and don’ts of social commerce for your website, no matter what category it falls under. We will explore some of the most popular categories of ecommerce and provide some suggestions of the tactics you should and shouldn’t be using in social commerce to gain some quick and long-term wins for your business.
BUT FIRST, WHAT IS SOCIAL COMMERCE?
Social commerce or social shopping is the where social media and online shopping cross paths, an inevitable intersection whereby the buyer’s journey becomes more streamlined and the power of social media ads for brands extends the shortens buyer’s journey. It’s also a pretty good way to create a more engaging online shopping experience, more so than it already is.
Though, as you may have already guessed, the competition is fierce, so ecommerce brands (which is most brands) must build loyalty through the recognition of new opportunities to isolate their market on social channels, creatively convert visitors into customers and retain these customers long term.
-Photo by The Gypsy Shrine (doing social commerce well)
But it ain’t easy to do all of the above. So, here’s some advice on what to do and what not to do when it comes to implementing social shopping.
DO INSTAGRAM SHOPPING
“When it comes to engagement, Instagram has completely dwarfed Facebook and Twitter producing over 90% of interactions while only accounting for 10% of social posts.”
One of our biggest tips is to add to your already sold social strategy through the implementation and up keep of social shopping through your Instagram channel. The most successful brands understand the shopper’s needs and harness this understanding to inspire a feeling of connection between buyer and brand as a way to become seen as an Insta-brand that engages visitors, make them look forward to posts and live the brand lifestyle.
DON’T SIMPLY BE A REFERRAL
Although Instagram undoubtedly streamlines the social shopping experience, it merely acts as a referral, chasing the buyer off the platform, going through the motions the typical social media – commerce user journey we all know all too well. Take Snapchat for example. It organically sells you something right there and then, on its native social media platform.
This tactic also allows brands to sell a specific product line on social, examine the engagement data and improve conversion rates.
Though the argument against this tactic is that we as online shoppers are so ingrained in experiencing a secure shopping journey that some may be sceptical about inputting card details on a social media channel.
DO USE THE ‘BUY’ BUTTON BUT DON’T FORCE IT ON VISITORS
The ‘shop now’ button that you so often come across on brands’ Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest channels is genius, creating a seamless journey leading to the elusive destination called purchase, fuelled by algorithms pushing tailored adverts as well as publishing unique content to make commerce easier for shoppers who scroll through their platforms.
Though, utilising Facebook’s ‘shop now’ button is nothing new, brands have been using it for years now to present the shopper with the path of least resistance to make purchases. Some of the biggest trends right now that have gone above and beyond the ‘shop now’ button include:
- Integrating commerce platforms with Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to showcase brands’ entire product catalogues automatically and make them discoverable through people’s news feed
- Using commerce platforms’ catalogues to tag products in social media posts
- Brands moving away from using mobile web and moving towards using native mobile apps which convert 2.5 times better
- Using micro-influencers who are becoming a rapidly growing Instagram trend through having more targeted audiences, high engagement rates and creating a personal experience
As you can see, it’s not all about the ‘shop now’ button, as with everything else digital advertising, the simple call to action should now be used to blend in rather than be shoved in consumer’s faces 24/7. Brands who are being clever with their social commerce strategy use their social channels to push user generated content and campaigns, establish a killer brand community, resonate with the right audience through leveraging the right micro-influencers and experiment with different strategies to stay ahead of the curve.
