Social networks are a very efficient communication channel for businesses that want to increase their online presence and have closer contact with their customers. Furthermore, it has become a complete shopping channel since it is possible to search, find stores, ask questions, and get opinions from other people.
Thus, Social Commerce is gaining space in the strategy of many brands. A powerful marketing strategy to leverage the number of sales in your store.
In this article, we will talk about what Social Commerce is and how to use this strategy in your business. Enjoy your reading!
What is Social Commerce?
Online shopping has become part of the daily lives of many consumers, according to a survey conducted by Opinion Box86% of people affirm that they have this habit. Of these people, 76% say they use social networks to research products or make purchases.
Social commerce is a type of e-commerce that makes use of the functions of social networks to add value, integrate operation and loyalty users, selling products and / or services on social networks to promote a brand and boost its sales. Basically it is an integration between e-commerce and the social networks of a brand with the goal of transforming these channels into true showcases.
The idea is to create a channel where people can interact with the store and share their opinions, evaluations, and experiences with the company, relationship with the brandIn addition to making purchases directly from these social networks.
The most used platforms for product research and shopping, according to Opinion Box research, are:
- Google Shopping (53%)
- Instagram (50%)
- Facebook (43%)
- WhatsApp (42%)
- Twitter (6%)
- Pinterest (5%)
What are the advantages of using Social Commerce in your strategy?
Social networks influence a lot in purchase decisions, consumers use several channels to search for information about brands, find other customers' opinions, how to use products, among several other necessary information before buying. purchasing a product or service.
Because it is a channel that merges all these needs, purchases made on social networks will grow from 22% to 34% in 2020, according to a CloudCommerce study. In this way, we can see that it is an increasingly popular trend among consumers and brings many advantages to a brand's e-commerce. These are:
- Possibility to generate authority and trust for consumers through Social Proof;
- Makes the brand more human, since social networks promote interaction between brand and customers;
- An open space for the customer to give and have access to opinions, evaluations promoting the credibility of your brand;
- It serves as a channel for acquiring new customers, since social networks have more or less 3 billion active users worldwide. Moreover, these users spend an average of 3h30 daily.
The sum of these advantages, consequently contribute to the increase of sales and expansion of your e-commerce visibility.
How to start using Social Commerce?
Now that you know what Social Commerce is and the advantages for your e-commerce, it's time to understand how to put this strategy into practice.
Produce content for social networks
Be present in the right social networks and from there, choose what will be produced type of content that will meet the main needs of consumers, in addition to educating them about your products. Here, it is worth investing time in benchmarking competitors or brands that do a great job on social media.
Promote interaction with people
For your social commerce strategy to work, encourage interaction and engagement from your audience on social networks. Start conversations, get to know them, and value their opinions.
Do this through polls, interaction posts, and even by sharing and commenting on your customers' posts that tag your store. Remember to reply to all messages received with an accessible and empathetic language.
Encourage customer reviews
A very common behavior among consumers is to search for reviews and testimonials from people who have already purchased the product, to help in their decision making.
In this way social proof is fundamental to make the consumer more confident in closing a sale. Therefore, encourage customer reviews, both the product and the shopping experience offered by your store.
Integrate your e-commerce with social networks
Make the buying process easy on your social networks. Nowadays channels like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Pinterest already have a way to integrate the photos in your feed with your store's products, as if it were a store window.
Thus the consumer can view the products offered and are directed to the product pages of these items in your e-commerce, without much difficulty. buying behavior of your target audience.
Monitor brand reputation
There is no point in having a channel that promotes interaction with the user if your brand does not monitor what people are saying about your store. Brand reputation can be damaged with reviews, negative testimonials or complaints, even more so if your brand does not answer them and help the customer solve their problem.
There are tools that can help in monitoring that track all mentions of your company made on social media and on review sites, such as Reclame aqui.
Whenever you come across a complaint, handle it carefully, seeking to enhance the relationship with the customer and solve the situation with efficiency and agility. If possible, try to reverse the situation.
Now you know how social networks are an important part of your customer's buying journey and you can use these channels to increase your brand's authority and sell more.
Did you like learning about social commerce? Read more about it in our post on "How to use instagram as a tool for your business?"
