What is 'Social Commerce' and how to sell more with it (3 Steps)

It has never been easier to find a product or service online.

During the pandemic, most major brands, such as Nike, Louis Vitton and Lowe, upgraded and expanded their sales channels significantly by bringing most of their catalogues and product offerings to social networks such as Instagram, Youtube, TikTok and even Pinterest - with significant sales results.

Firms such as Accenture have been highlighted as the market for social commerce, or social shoppingexpects to see growth of up to $1.2 trillion in value by 2025 - an increase 3 times faster than that predicted for traditional ecommerce.

Meanwhile, the platforms involved in such commerce have in turn found their user numbers increasing as a result of this trend, with giants such as TikTok partnering with Shopify, YouTube investing and innovating in its 'sellable tags' and Pinterest introducing a 'sellable' mode. Business profilesor company profiles, to shopping from the platform.

Why social commerce?

By definition, social commerce is the combination of ecommerce with social media platforms. social media -and one of the leading marketing and sales trends for 2022.

It is based on a dynamic synergy between the two elements, of which despite being a relatively new channel, such models and strategies have been growing rapidly in relevance and popularity, as a reliable sales driver in major markets around the world - with over 79 million products sold by 2020, and 100 million expected by 2023.

As it is an in-vogue model, it is important for businesses and companies to know how to approach it in order to make the most of it in their online sales strategies.

Steps to leverage social commerce to increase your sales

1. Choose the right platform for your brand

This choice will be determined by the tastes and habits of your audience. In the possibility of limited budgets, you should seek to find the right meeting points or overlaps between your various customers and audiences (e.g. platforms, such as Facebook, where young and older generations meet equally for flat rentals).

Overall, Facebook remains the leading meeting point, with more than 56 million of buyers in the US.

Its sibling, Instagram, has not been left behind by getting rid of steps, boundaries and obstacles in the sales funnelor shopping process. Maintaining the online sales model through influencer marketing as its strong point.

Direct competitors such as Youtube and TikTok, each in their own way, have in turn also introduced functionalities to support and enhance the social shopping.

2. Simplify the purchasing process

One of the biggest advantages of online shopping is the convenience and ease of the process, being able to compare prices and features from the comfort of your home.

However, other obstacles to the online sales process include the quality of the interface that guides and orients the user in their search for products through posts, links and pages - routes that can become confusing - as well as the return of competition from physical shops.

Frame call-to-actions Clear, direct links to sales pages and quick, easy to take and understand selling points are key elements to achieving success on your social commerce channels. Otherwise, every additional click that you can't eliminate will contribute to lost sales.

3. Personalise your customers' experience

The days of catalogue sales are over, both for physical and online sales.

This is even a feature that consumers have come to expect, and in this sense social commerce, with access to data, analytics and in-depth details about the tastes and behaviours of your followers, has a clear advantage over other forms of sales.

From the ability to make better, informed, data-driven decisions, designing personalised retail experiences is perhaps the most useful benefit that retail channels have to offer. social shoppingWhen well implemented, they can offer your sales force.