introduction to social commerce

An Introduction to Social Commerce: What and How

The term “social commerce” is currently a buzzword among retailers. What does the term mean? This article serves as an introduction to social commerce. 

Social commerce is the ability to buy a product from a brand within the native social media experience. In other words, the whole purchase journey – from product discovery to price comparison to payment – all happens inside the app

For instance, you can browse and compare products on Facebook. Afterward, you’ll make the purchase on Facebook itself instead of going to the company’s website to make the purchase. 


Ads by Digital Commerce



The top three social media sites in social commerce are Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. What makes these companies stand out among others? 

Facebook 

Facebook has put a lot of social commerce features into its platform. Their main feature is the “Shop Now” stores. It can manage orders and enables brands to upload products and customize their shop’s product catalog. Moreover, you’ll gain access to what works and what does not. You may also run a Facebook ad and sell directly from your Page. 

Putting all your products isn’t the best thing to do. Instead, select the right products for the audience. You don’t need to put your entire inventory in your Facebook shop. Test the waters first and release products to see how they go over. Experiment to see what works for you. Furthermore, don’t overwhelm your audience – narrow it down for them.

Instagram 

According to Facebook, around 70% of shoppers turn to Instagram to find products. Instagram introduced Instagram Shopping in 2017. It enables users to tap on images and stories to view products featured on it. Instagram also offers an in-app checkout feature to a limited number of merchants. However, expect that the feature will soon be available for more merchants. 

Pinterest 

Pinterest’s Buyable Pins are a special kind of pin that lets customers buy your products without ever leaving Pinterest. What’s unique about this platform is that a small portion of the site’s content is original. Statistics show that 80% of Pinterest content is repins. This is a major benefit for original content creators like your retail brand. 

Thus, you need to ensure that your products are featured in various colors. It’s a no-brainer: how you visually represent your product is critical, so spend the necessary resources to perfect your product images.

What does it mean for eCommerce companies? 

So now we’ve had an introduction to social commerce. The big question is, do you need to be on the social commerce bandwagon today? Not really. Social commerce is an experiment, but keep an eye on this revolution. 

Let’s say that you do decide to experiment with it. The first thing you need to do your research and understand your audience better. For instance, the older your audience is, the less likely they will respond to social commerce.

Furthermore, each social media platform is unique so knowing your audience demographics is crucial. Afterward, choose one social media site to start. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Finally, optimize endlessly. 

Liked this introduction to social commerce? Bookmark this guide now so you can easily access it for future reference. 

Click to rate this post!
[Total: 0 Average: 0]


Ads by Digital Commerce

Scroll to Top