Social Commerce: Leveraging Social Media Platforms For E-Commerce Growth

Gone are the days when your marketing or sales team had to go from one house to another to market the products. The Internet has changed our lives and most of it is for the good. With the growth of e-commerce, there are better opportunities for every business to grow at an unprecedented pace. And with the entire world hooked on social media, businesses are looking up to social commerce to boost their sales.

Nowadays, social media isn’t just about chit-chatting, liking, and commenting on each other’s pictures. It has turned into a business platform. People are earning income in lakhs every month and businesses are selling their products like never before. It is not a big game to leverage social commerce for e-commerce growth. Let’s explore how you can take your business forward on social media platforms.

A.) Social Media And E-Commerce Growth:

Social commerce is just a mix of social media and e-commerce. Several brands look up to social media to market and sell their products. You must have seen influencers collaborating with different brands on their social media pages. These influencers have thousands and millions of followers who look up to them as inspiration.

As a follower, you might want the same piece of clothing that your favourite influencer is wearing. Or, you might want the same suit in the category of men’s workwear that an influencer has put on. So, you simply click on the link provided by the influencer and boom! You are on the e-commerce website of the brand!

Social media has the potential for great user engagement. That’s why many brands are also setting up their social media pages. If you open Instagram, you will see that all e-commerce businesses, big or small, have their official pages. Sometimes, you don’t even need to open the official website of the e-commerce business. You can simply place an order by sending them a message. The reverts are quick and their services are highly efficient.

So, more and more people engage in shopping on social media platforms because it saves their time and energy.

B.) The Rise Of Social Commerce Platforms:

Collaborating with different people and brands online is just a market strategy. Since social commerce is seeing a boom, we can see a lot of social marketplaces emerging in recent times. For instance, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc., are no longer just another communication channel. They have turned into an online shopping centre.

Platforms like Instagram Shopping, Facebook Marketplace, Pinterest Shop, and TikTok’s “Shop Now” feature exemplify the growing trend of social commerce. Businesses can showcase their products and engage with their target audiences on these social commerce channels.

C.) Why Should You Use Social Commerce Platforms?

The rise of social commerce platforms owes to the multiple benefits that they offer to businesses. You can also find big brands like Gucci, Prada, etc., marketing their products through these channels. And let us tell you that social commerce platforms are not limited to just the fashion industry. From jewellery to automobiles, you will see numerous products on these channels.

Let us look at some benefits of social commerce for businesses.

1.) Enhances Your Customer Engagement:

First of all, social media platforms allow you to connect and engage with your target audience in a more meaningful and personalized way. It helps in building trust and loyalty between you and your customers. When customers see and purchase your products while browsing their social media pages, they have a more immersive shopping experience.

2.) Offers An Enhanced Business Visibility:

Social commerce can help you enhance the reach and visibility of your business. With the help of social media channels, you can reach out to a wide range of audiences all over the world. So, the scope of your business operations is not limited to the place or country where your business is situated. You can make your brand popular in the world.

However, you might need to use new and strategic content creation. It is also important to create targeted advertising so that there is an increase in brand awareness. Doing so will help you attract new customers who may not have discovered your brand through traditional channels.

3.) Provides Targeted Marketing Opportunities:

Social media platforms use AI to assess the behaviour of the user online. AI assesses how much time a person spends on any single post. Accordingly, it understands the preferences of the users and shows them exactly what they like. So, social media platforms present businesses with a great opportunity to grow.

Businesses can get customer targeting options based on demographic, behavioural, and interest-based data. This way, you can create targeted marketing campaigns and get better leads to grow your business.

D.) How To Leverage Social Commerce?

Now, you must be wondering about what you should exactly do to leverage social media platforms for your e-commerce business. It is a simple task and involves implementing a few key strategies.

1.) Create Shoppable Content:

Customers can purchase from you only when you have something to sell. To shine on social commerce platforms, you must first create shoppable content. Integrate product information with the purchase options on your social commerce page.

Make sure that you put some visually appealing images and videos of your products. There should be clickable links and tags which can take the user to the product page. The shopping or the order placement process should be easy and hassle-free.

2.) Use User-Generated Content:

Let’s face it! There are hundreds and thousands of brands using social commerce channels to sell their products. Not all of these brands are top-notch.

Some customers can also have the worst experience of their lives with these brands. In such a case, people can feel sceptical about purchasing products from social commerce platforms. This is where the role of user-generated content comes into play!

To grow on these platforms, you must encourage your customers to share their reviews online. You can persuade them to share the product recommendations on their social media channels. It will help you gain the confidence of other social media users and also get better visibility.

3.) Influencer Marketing:

We mentioned influencer marketing in the beginning. Believe us! Influencer marketing is a great tool. Influencers can help brands gain more visibility because they showcase your products to their engaged audiences. They help you drive traffic and amplify your sales by giving product recommendations and endorsements.

4.) Social Media Advertising:

Finally, opting for paid social media advertising will help you gain visibility by targeting a specific audience. You can also track the performance of your advertisements in real-time. Most businesses invest in sponsored posts, carousel ads, and video ads to increase brand awareness and drive conversions on social platforms.

Conclusion:

Social media platforms present businesses with an opportunity to grow like never before. Besides, the traditional marketing and sales channels businesses use, social media platforms have made things simpler for businesses.

Almost all people around the globe use social media channels like Facebook, X, or Instagram. So, businesses can tap opportunities even in those places where they could never reach. However, businesses need to ensure that they are leveraging social commerce platforms in a planned way to get the most out of it.

About the Author:

Jay Chettiar works as a content manager at “Thomas Scott India Limited.” He is a talented individual, creating engaging and informative pieces that capture the attention of readers. Jay’s dedication to excellence is evident in every work he produces, making him an invaluable member of our team.

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