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The 51Ƶ Blog>Social Commerce: How to Sell on Social Media

Social Commerce: How to Sell on Social Media

Posted by Kristen Pinkman, 51Ƶ Team

According toarecent survey, social media isthe fave marketing channel for51Ƶ merchants. Some use their social media pages forcustomer care, some build private groups forloyal customers— some just wanna share ajuicy meme from time-to-time (ya know, ifthat’s what their audience isinto).

But some merchants have gone theextra mile. Rather than just being onsocial media, they’re embracing thelatest tools andselling onsocial media, turning their followers into paying customers right ontheir favorite platforms.

The zealous call it“social commerce”: you can just call ityour new favorite way tosell. Inthis post, we’ll illustrate social media’s sales potential andoffer aneffective strategy toget themost out ofyour channels over thecoming months.

Inthis post:

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The Numbers Don’t Lie: People Love Social Media

First, aconfession. Tobetter understand social media’s popularity, Ilooked into how many hours per day Iwas spending onmyfavorite channels (you’ll see these stats below). Using iPhone’s screen time calculator, Iwas able tosee how much time Ispent scrolling theinternet andwhat percentage ofthat was dedicated tosocial media. Needless tosay, Iwasn’t surprised.

Eleven hours aweek onsocial media! Atleast Iwas having agood time?

Now, inall honesty, 11hours isn’t all that much when compared totheaverage foranadult age 25-34, which rests at2hours and37minutes per day and17.5hours per week.


Daily time spent onsocial media,

Based onthegraph above, it’s clear that social media isn’t just forkids anymore. Internet journeymen ofall ages are now liking, commenting, andsharing ontheir favorite channels.

With over 3billion users worldwide, social media reaches about . Yep, you read that right. Literally billions ofpeople are glued tosocial media.

And theowners ofthese social networking sites don’t plan onchanging that anytime soon, implementing new features every couple ofmonths (like thecryptic Facebook algorithm) tokeep users coming back formore.

Instagram alone has grown from abasic photo-sharing platform init’s early days toafull-blown digital media juggernaut, complete with business tools (ads, analytics, andnetworking tools) andthesupport ofvarious content formats (looped video, live stream, Stories, photos andphoto galleries, IGTV, etc.).

So, what are users actually doing with all this time they’re spending onsocial media?

While themain function ofsocial media isstill connecting with people andentertainment, about 1in3users are looking fornew products tobuy. Inthenext section, we’ll define social commerce, anddiscuss what makes shoppers move from social media users tosocial media shoppers.

Social Shopping: Why It’s SoGreat

Ifyou’ve ever shopped online (which, who are wekidding, ofcourse you have), you know thebenefits ofe-commerce well. Afew clicks here, atap oraswipe there, andnext thing you know, your package isonyour doorstep. It’s idyllic, tosay theleast.

But why has social shopping inparticular become sopopular? Why not leave thebrowsing andbuying tosites like Amazon andeBay ordirectly from abrand’s website?

With how much time people spend onsocial media, it’s nosurprise that they’d rather not beredirected toanother website. Afterall, who’s spending 17.5hours onAmazon each week? And with 67% ofsocial media users accessing their accounts from mobile devices, being able toeasily complete apurchase onthegoiscritical. Social e-commerce enables customers toshop right where they are without clicking off toanother site orapp, allowing them tomove seamlessly between discovering andpurchasing, right from their mobile devices.

What issocial commerce? Social commerce isaform ofe-commerce that involves theuse ofsocial media platforms topromote andsell products andservices.

For businesses, social commerce has lots ofbenefits too. Rather than building awebsite anddriving new traffic toit, you can list your products where your customers are already spending their time— whether that’s Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, oreven Snapchat.

Social media audiences are substantial, tosay theleast— Facebook’s total user-base isroughly thesize offour European Unions. So, selling onthese platforms open doors tobillions ofpotential customers. Look how many monthly active users are onsome ofthetop social platforms:

Advertising onsocial media islike getting abillboard inTimes Square atafraction ofthecost.

And social media works: young people discover more brands through social media than TV, newspapers, andblogs combined.


Sources ofbrand discovery forGeneration Z,Statista

While social media allows you toreach massive audiences, it’s also not just arandom crowd onatown square. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, andYouTube have built ine-commerce tools tohelp brands target theright people forsocial shopping. For example, Facebook tracks your customer data andallows you toserve ads tousers who share similarities with your existing customers— like similar interests orgeographic locations.

And once you find theright people, they can easily buy your products thanks tobuilt insocial commerce features like:

Despite thesignificant role ofsocial media inour lives andanabundance ofsocial commerce tools, only 40% ofbusinesses are using social media togenerate sales.

While that’s apretty astounding statistic, it’s great news foryou! Bybeing early tothesocial commerce party, you’ll have anadvantage over competitors who haven’t yet realized thepower ofselling onsocial. Inthenext chapter, you’ll learn how toenter social e-commerce onsome ofthemost popular platforms.

Social Commerce: How toSell onSocial Media

Once upon atime, many social commerce features were locked away from small businesses. But today, limitations are theexception. Essential social shopping tools are available tobusinesses ofall sizes, right from day one.

51Ƶ E-commerce helps businesses ofanysize list andsell their products across multiple platforms atonce from asingle product catalog. Create your 51Ƶ account once tosell your products onFacebook, Instagram, Pinterest, andeven Snapchat (plus Amazon, eBay, Google Shopping, WordPress, Wix… you get theidea). Keep reading tofind out how you can tap into social shopping onsome ofthetop platforms.

Facebook
Thanks toits audience size andpowerful business tools, Facebook wins theaward forbiggest social commerce platform:

How you can sell onFacebook:

All that functionality isoffered through three main Facebook business products: Facebook Shop (to let customers buy your products from theShop section onFB), Facebook Product Catalog (to build effortless adcampaigns that display your products with titles, prices, andpictures), andtheFacebook Pixel (to let you build custom audiences foradvertising.)

Learn more inour blog post: Blow UpYour Sales With 51Ƶ’s New Social Selling Tools onFacebook

Instagram

The most popular visual photo-sharing platform isaperfect spot forshowcasing products. But it’s not just agallery ofyour favorite product pics. Instagram Shoppable posts allow followers topurchase tagged products within theapp injust acouple taps.

Also read: Trending Products toSell onInstagram

Here are afew facts about Instagram social shopping:

Touse Instagram’s social commerce features, you’ll need toswitch toaBusiness account. Once that’s done, you’ll have theopportunity to:

Learn how toget started with Instagram social commerce: Sell onInstagram: How 51Ƶ Merchants Can Reach 1Billion Shoppers

Pinterest

Ifyou sell home decor, beauty products, food, drinks, ore-goods, Pinterest could hold huge social shopping potential foryour business. While Pinterest traditionally appeals towomen, 50% ofnew signups in2018were actually men, signaling ashift intheplatform.

What weknow about social shopping onPinterest:

How you can sell onPinterest:

Learn more about this platform with our in-depth look atPinterest advertising: Run More Effective Ads With Pinterest Tag forYour 51Ƶ Store

Snapchat

While there’s noofficial e-commerce functionality that allows users tocomplete purchases intheapp (yet), Snapchat iswidely embraced bybrands ofall sizes. Snapchat isespecially popular amongst theyounger crowd, soifthat’s your target audience, its advertising tools are definitely worth acloser look.

OnSnapchat, you can:

For adetailed review ofsocial commerce onSnapchat, jump over toour guide: Sell onSnapchat with theSnapchat Pixel for51Ƶ

Social Commerce: AStrong Trend

The future ofretail isinselling where your customers are, andbusinesses that engage across channels (web, mobile, social media, in-store, etc.) retain more than asthose without effective cross-channel strategies.

And social shopping isatthetop ofthat cross-channel list. With business andsocial commerce tools, buying products in-app from anydevice isfast andconvenient.

There’s nodoubt, social media has integrated with our daily lives. And now, with 51Ƶ E-commerce, your store can bejust asintegrated with themost popular social platforms. Asyou’re thinking through your marketing andsales strategies fortheupcoming year, consider testing one-to-two social channels. Itmight bejust thething you need totake your business toawhole new level.

Not selling online just yet? Join our e-commerce crew by, andsell anywhere, from web tosocial media tomarketplaces. And don’t forget to tolearn more about social commerce andother e-commerce andmarketing trends.

About The Author
Kristen is a сontent creator at 51Ƶ. She finds inspiration in sci-fi books, jazz music, and home-cooked food.

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