WTF is social commerce?
Social Media + ECommerce = SOCIAL COMMERCE
Social commerce simply put, is the shopping mall of the 21st century.
If you were hatched in the 70s, 80s & 90s like me - you know how frickin' awesome malls were!
They were THE PLACE to be, to meet friends, to hangout, to shop. eat food & work.
They were the social hub.
With no email, cell phones, social media or common use of personal computers. we cute little humans would gather at the mall for our social proof and consumption purposes.
But things started to shift.
In the early 2000s changes were brewing.
With the rise of cell phones and personal computers (I can still remember the sound of dial-up internet sttttttritch straaaatch) the ol' shopping malls were transforming quickly.
What came next none of us could have imagined.
Welcome to now. Most of us buy things online. The shopping malls of the past have morphed into what we now know as e-commerce.
People are making money with social commerce. A lot of it.
Whether that be directly from a business, Amazon or via social channels (Social Commerce)
Social commerce is forecasted to grow globally 31% year over year, growing to a staggering 8.5 trillion by 2030! 🤯
So, why does social commerce work so well?
Simple,
✅ We are emotional herd animals that rely heavily on social proof.
✅ We love (and NEED ) to be part of a community.
✅ We are more likely to buy something if there is trust & credibility.
Social proof works wonders, just like it did in the 90s when your best friend got a Tamagotchi and suddenly you wanted one too (ohhh the pain you felt in your heart when your digital pet died 😭)
This is why Tesla is the best selling cars in the world despite not advertising AT all. It seems cool to drive a Tesla right? (no, I don't drive a Tesla)
Social commerce is a smooth integration into the social media experience. We like social media because it activates our pleasure centre.
We already feel happy on social media reading our friends posts and watching a hairless cat video.
You can make a purchase directly from Instagram Shopping, TikTok Shop or Facebook Marketplace without having to leave the app. Bada bing bada boom!
This leads to higher conversion rates and increased sales.
By running targeted ads on social media you can pinpoint a demographic with insane accuracy. This is where knowing your target market is EXTREMELY helpful.
Targeted advertising on social platforms will boost the efficiency of your budget and increases ROI (return on investment).
UGC (user generated content) is another beneficial tool for social commerce.
A great example of UGC would be someone unboxing an item in a YouTube video and giving a review on that product. (Who doesn't love a good unboxing!)
When someone shares photos, videos and testimonials of your product on social media it creates authentic engagement. This only works if the person sharing the content is well-liked and trusted.
The added bonus of social commerce is the abundance of data you will collect about your target market, their buying behaviour, what is working and what isn't.
Of course. social media algorithms change frequently and you have to stay on top of all the latest news on all the platforms you are marketing on. Also. never put all your eggs in one basket.
In conclusion, if you already have an awesome website SEO'd to the max and optimized your Google Business Profile - social commerce should not be ignored!
It can be a fun, profitable way of making money online with the right goals and tactics.
Lots of these activities can be done for free with a little time and effort, or you could hire a digital marketing strategist like moi to help you.
Have Fun ❤️