8 Million Stories explains why it’s important for retailers to use social media for sales, and how they can do so.
Ecommerce and social media have always been a good pairing. Now more than ever, people are using social media for both entertainment and shopping. It’s easy to discover and engage with new products and brands on various platforms.
Although 92 per cent of the UK population use smartphones (Statista, 2021) compared to different markets globally, this is still pretty low. Facebook IQ recently revealed that 52 per cent of consumers, before purchasing a product, search for it on Facebook and Instagram. Some consumers will also consider the brand in question’s own social channels too – which can affect purchase consideration.
Shopping socially
There are approximately 3.4 billion users that use Facebook and Instagram, with Instagram alone reporting that 200 million users visit a business page on the platform every day. With social media platforms constantly trying to find new ways to incorporate commerce and new ways of shopping into their channels, there is massive growth for ad revenue, sales for businesses on the platform, and generally keeping users on Instagram.
Photo credit: Facebook
In May 2020, the Shops tab was launched over both Facebook and Instagram platforms. This allows business pages on the platforms to upload product listings either manually or through their existing eCommerce provider so that they can eventually have their complete catalogue of products on the platform. Facebook, in particular, has worked to ensure that customers can easily connect with businesses on the platform by allowing them to message a business directly from their shop listings via Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram Direct. There are some plans already in the pipeline for the future as well, with customers soon being able to view a business’ shop and purchase products from within a messenger stream.
On Snapchat, users can scan barcodes and images via the platform’s visual search function. This then redirects the user to the Amazon Store to complete a purchase. The Bitmoji extension on the platform also allows users to customise their own outfits for their Bitmoji and even purchase it for themselves. Both large and small businesses which specialise in clothing and accessories have the opportunity to gain brand affiliation.
Photo credit: Facebook
During the pandemic, Pinterest launched its new Verified Merchant programme, which helped to maximise its availability of Shoppable Pins. The platform also rolled out shoppable boards, shop from search, and shop from pins alongside the programme. Another feature called “style guides” was also added, which can help users to view styles for different products or ideas that they’re searching for. This means that users can explore styles or tastes that are currently trending without having to search for it directly.
Pinterest is essentially trying to become a platform in which their users can discover new products and ultimately purchase them on the platform – which, as we know, will be extremely easy to do on a platform with a simple interface like Pinterest.
How brands can take advantage
Ultimately, our key takeaway here is that social media users want to shop on platforms and are simply waiting for the opportunity to do so. We’re expecting to see social media platforms continue to make improvements to this process.
It has always been important to brands that the audience share images of their products and talk about the brand itself on social media platforms to raise brand awareness. Now, it’s vital that brands use this user-generated content to their advantage and make it easier for others to purchase their products directly from these platforms.
Having a social media strategy that connects both your brand and your audience is also just as important. This can be improved by running social media contests, for example, and campaigns to encourage users to share their love for your brand and products. The most successful brands will be producing content on social media that enriches their followers’ lives whilst also making their lives easier within the shopping and eCommerce world.