What is Social Commerce

What is Social Commerce?

What is social commerce and when did it start? If you want to get into it, there are some strategies that you will need to follow to succeed.

What are these? To get answers, keep on reading.

What is Social Commerce?

Have you ever tried scrolling through your social media feed, then suddenly, an ad appears? It may be an ad for the newest pair of shoes from your favorite brand.


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It got you intrigued and clicked on the ad. And it features more details about the shoes. Like the sizes and colors available, price, shipping costs, and more. This, then, got you thinking about whether to get one or not.

Well, if this has ever happened to you, then you know what social commerce is. It is a subset of e-commerce. This means the use of social media sites to sell or buy a product or a service.

The top sites for this are Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. As for this subset, it relies more on social interaction to drive sales.

That is why we can now see lots of ads on our social media accounts. Also, brands are now doing campaigns on it and posting engaging content.

Aside from that, it is easier versus traditional e-commerce. Why? Because it has built-in analytics to measure the success of a campaign. May it be via likes, shares, comments, and more.

Further, customers can give reviews that others can see. If these are mostly positive, then it can be a strong social proof. One that can entice more people to trust the brand.

But when did it start?

When Did Social Commerce Start?

The concept of online social commerce started with Yahoo! and its “Shoposphere pick lists.” It rolled this feature to the public back in 2015. And its goal is to feature hot products.

Since then, the idea of social commerce has picked up. Brands started to make efforts into engaging online shoppers. For one, they offered advice given by experts.

Then, over the years, more social commerce platforms are rising. Some social media sites started to roll out features for social commerce.

And one of the success stories about that is Facebook and its Marketplace and Shops. After that, here we are now.

So, how can you get into social commerce?

Strategy You Can Follow

If you want to get into social commerce, you will need to have a strong strategy. If you do not have one yet, you can do these:

  • Personalize. Offer tailored products or services.
  • Graphics or images. High-quality and striking ones to attract customers
  • Video clips. Include on for each product or service.
  • Make a poll. Let your audience vote for a product or service to drive engagement.
  • User feedback. Encourage customers to leave one with attached media.
  • Endorsements. Get help from celebrities or influencers.
  • Promotions. Offer discounts or giveaways from time to time.
  • Direct link to checkout or shopping cart. To give customers a frictionless shopping experience.

That’s it. Are you now ready to take on social commerce?

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