How to Win at Social Commerce
Ecommerce is now a major driver behind business success. Social commerce refers to the combination of e-commerce and social media, where brands sell through social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Ecommerce is now a major driver behind business success. Social commerce refers to the combination of e-commerce and social media, where brands sell through social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Researchers found that social commerce is more than a fleeting trend, and is fueled by megatrends, evolving technology, growing smartphone penetration, direct selling, and generational influence. Social media is especially interesting for smaller businesses, having a direct route to market, without the need for their own ecommerce platform.
Selling successfully on social media platforms is easy if you apply these strategies:
1. Identify the right platform to reach your audience.
Different social media outlets attract different age groups and demographics. Facebook’s demographic tends to skew older, while TikTok is popular with Gen Z. Do some research before you select the platform that fits your customer profile to ensure you do not waste your budget on the wrong group.
2. Determine if you need to integrate or separate your efforts.
This question is relevant to retailers that already operate in the e-commerce space as winning at social commerce relies on creating a seamless customer experience. If you are selling your products on a well-built, established e-commerce platform, integrating social commerce allows you to streamline operations and consolidate technology in one place. With every added click from seeing the initial advertisement and closing the sale, the sale suffers.
3. Make and learn from mistakes.
Social commerce has the advantage of enabling retailers to try one sales approach, then measure the success and optimize quickly and efficiently. This approach allows for mistakes without becoming costly. You could select or test two different sets of images, time slots, or geographic locations and compare your conversion rates. Those activities will give you, as a retailer, data and a better understanding of your target audience, and more insight into your audience in a short time.
