Social distancing measures prove that offering multiple sales taiwan cp number channels is essential, and within this context, social commerce has become more important than ever.
This article covers the following topics:
What is social commerce or social shopping?
Social shopping tools at your disposal
Sales through social shopping
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What is social commerce or social shopping?
Social shopping is the practice of using your social networks to sell products to your customers. When deployed optimally, it allows customers to search for and purchase products online in a pleasant, flexible and seamless way, often without leaving their social network of choice.
Social commerce can also refer to anything related to a purchase. This can include responding to comments on posts, creating content related to new product launches, promoting product reviews for sale through social commerce, and partnering with influencers for advertising purposes.
Social media usage has only increased since social distancing measures were put in place. According to The Verge , Facebook has seen an extreme spike in usage around the world as part of lockdown efforts.
Merchants looking to expand their reach and increase online sales can leverage social media to promote social shopping, a rapidly growing branch of e-commerce that is resonating with consumers. The sales opportunities that social commerce offers can help future-proof your business because, after all, it’s one more way for consumers to find and purchase your products.
Is social shopping just social media marketing?
In a word, no.
In its current general meaning, social commerce aims for an immediate and direct sale, the objective being to present your products to people who want to buy them and to offer them the shortest possible path to make the purchase.
Social media marketing, on the other hand, has a broader scope. The end goal of a social media marketing campaign may be to increase followers or engagement. Often, it’s more about awareness or brand building.
Social commerce can be part of a larger social media marketing plan, but it shouldn’t replace it entirely. After all, social media marketing is about growing a community of followers who are willing to buy your products through social shopping.
Get started with social shopping
Ready to launch your social shopping plan? When it comes to tools that engage consumers and that you can use to launch social commerce, Instagram and Facebook are leaders. These are the interfaces where you should focus your efforts.
Social shopping: integrated tools
Instagram: posts and stories with purchasing options
Instagram shoppable posts and stories allow potential customers who connect with your content to follow up on their interest in your products and immediately make a purchase.
Shoppable story stickers are especially useful for businesses that don’t have 10,000 followers yet and can’t add links to their stories. Stickers work regardless of account size and allow you to direct your followers to your products.
How to: First, create a catalog of your products in Facebook’s Catalog Manager. Then connect your catalog to your Instagram business account . Finally, submit your account to Instagram for review and approval: go to your profile settings, tap Shopping on Instagram, and follow the steps.
Once approved, every time you submit a post (or story) that features at least one of your products, you can tag the product just like you would a person in the photo. Every time a customer taps on that tag, they’ll be directed to the product to purchase.
Once you have published at least 9 shoppable posts , a Shop tab will appear on your profile. This will allow customers to immediately identify the posts from which they can make purchases.
Instagram and Facebook: Facebook Shops
Facebook Shops is a brand new feature that builds on the principles Facebook was already exploring with tools like Instagram posts that enable shopping. This commerce interface lets you present a complete storefront that customers can visit without having to leave their app.
Once you set up your Facebook Shop interface, customers will be able to access it from your Facebook page or Instagram profile. Customers will be able to save products they are interested in from your store, and if you are located in the United States, they will be able to make purchases without leaving the app, giving your customers a truly seamless experience and potentially encouraging them to buy more.