social business success

Not only does social commerce provide another avenue to generate sales, it also offers brands the opportunity to form stronger connections with their followers.

According to Statista, social media platforms are expected to generate $992 billion in global sales by 2022, and are set to become even more popular in the future. Social commerce sales are expected to reach approximately $2.9 trillion by 2026.

“By 2023, discoverability will be huge as consumers no longer use social media only to socialize. They actively use social media as a search engine to find and buy niche products. Businesses buy stuff, so implementing SEO strategically on social media is key, and there are very specific ways to do it, such as grooming your resume, using hashtag strategies, creating shoppable content, partnering with your competitors to grow your social capital Wait,” said Adebukola Ajao, a digital marketing consultant at Bdy Consult, a marketing services firm for small businesses.

fair competition

“While traditional e-commerce is great for consumers searching and finding what they need or are looking for, social commerce allows for the discovery of new products and brands through social media in a way that’s much closer to the real-life way of shopping with and with friends Home. Social commerce creates new opportunities, leveling the playing field for smaller brands to compete with the big ones by harnessing the power of social sharing and a single path to purchase from platforms like Meta and Snapchat,” said Prism Bags, Sustainable Manufacturing The leading retailer of functional bags and backpacks.

“The social shopping feature on social media platforms has become more entrenched – more and more people are becoming more and more accustomed to shopping through these platforms,” she added.

Discoverability

“The very nature of social commerce impacts shopping behavior and product discovery. A seamless and single path to purchase from social media apps allows for faster purchases and easier sharing of new products among friends. Fewer barriers to purchase – for example, Not having to go to a separate website or app to complete a transaction — and the trust of a friend recommending a product, it can encourage faster conversions and even impulse purchases from your off-price item store,” Lee said.

Collaborate with content creators

Content creators allow others to speak for your brand and are often more trusted by consumers than messages coming directly from a brand.

“Build relationships with your community because they can be powerful advocates for your brand. Especially in social media and social commerce, influencers and customers can play a key role in driving sales and increasing awareness to new audiences and networks. For our brand, we’ve noticed that satisfied customers are promoting our products and sharing social proof as micro-influencers, which is very powerful and drives more engagement,” Lee added.

It’s important to distinguish between celebrities or influencers and more authentic content creators. “Work with creators not influencers. Let creators create with their own voice, no panties or very limited panties, keep the rules to a minimum, and shoot for people who are similar to your client base. Fame And its reach always feels inauthentic and customers can tell what a brand is from a mile away,” advises Katharine McKee, founder of digital commerce consultancy Morphology Consulting.

Micro-influencers with less than 10,000 social media followers and micro-influencers who typically have 10,000 to 100,000 followers are increasingly popular with brands.

“Nano and micro-influencers will continue to outpace super-influencers in driving new and recurring consumers to buy brands. Going into 2023, micro and micro-influencers will remain a major part of marketing. Consumers seek authentic content, while micro-communities fostered by influencers rely on personal recommendations from influencers. Evidence of this continues to show in engagement – ​​micro and micro-influencers have not seen a decline in engagement on the platform, while super-influencers have, says Ashley Rector of social media micro-agency Laura Alexandria Marketing.

“The biggest takeaway from social commerce is how well it mirrors the needs of customers. It opens up a way for brands to understand in real time what their customers want, think, and how they feel about the product or service they are offering. The biggest and purest “authenticity” marketing shift ever. Brands need to move closer,” Mckee said.