{"id":3178,"date":"2020-01-17T15:36:15","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T13:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homepage.rs\/?p=3178"},"modified":"2024-02-26T14:03:54","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T12:03:54","slug":"social-shopping-and-social-commerce-help-people-promote-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homepage.rs\/en\/blog\/social-shopping-and-social-commerce-help-people-promote-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Social shopping and social commerce – Help people promote you"},"content":{"rendered":"

Social shopping is not another fancy word or a trend that is just passing by. It became a\u00a0<\/span>new way for e-commerce<\/span><\/a>\u00a0companies to sell more efficiently their products, online. As we already talked about the phenomenon of\u00a0<\/span>social shopping in our previous article<\/span><\/a>, we can now certainly say that social shopping uses the best from social media \u2013 product sharing and consumer influence and puts it into one shopping experience, created especially for the user.<\/span><\/p>\n

Around\u00a0<\/span>60% of modern consumers<\/span><\/a>\u00a0are very open to receiving recommendations from family and friends when shopping \u2013 it\u2019s not a shocker that people use social media to search for new products, read reviews and buy products in-app.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, not only do social media networks like Facebook and Instagram want to make us shop, but retailers are also trying to create their own ways and networks that will influence potential consumers to buy.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why in this chapter we will explore different opportunities that social commerce offers for your business \u2013 what apps to use and how to develop a successful social shopping strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

How can social shopping grow your sales?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Social shopping is becoming the number one priority for brands that want to get closer to their consumers. Whether you already run a profitable e-commerce business or just starting in the online world, shopping without social media platforms is not an option. 60% of people\u00a0<\/span>discover products on Instagram and 78%<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of Americans use Facebook just to find new products \u2013 these statistics alone should convince you that it\u2019s time to invest in social shopping experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

This all means that your customers are ready to turn to social media to buy in-app and that now is the best time to take your retail business to social media. As the latest report says, people in\u00a0<\/span>2019 spent 1.786 trillion dollars<\/span><\/a>\u00a0buying consumer goods online which is an increase of 14% compared to 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

And with an increasing number of mobile users that spend their time on social media, it\u2019s no wonder that platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest have become destinations for discovering new trends and products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

People no longer have to visit a website or retail store to complete a purchase of your product. Instead, they can scroll through social content while connecting with friends and conveniently buy in just a few clicks.\u00a0<\/span>Cutting down the purchasing path<\/span><\/a>, customers can basically buy in three steps and return to their pre-shopping activity easily.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, social shopping is easy to track \u2013 product tags can tell you how many people clicked, saved and purchased an item from a specific post.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also good for content marketing \u2013 you can inspire users with great quality photos and copy, leaving product tags to do the dirty work of selling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, to do all that you need a social media marketing strategy that will involve building relationships with customers, creating valuable and top-quality content, engaging users and many more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Social Commerce Plugins and Apps to use?<\/b><\/h2>\n

In times of social shopping buzz, besides social networks that are still figuring the best way to implement social commerce for brands, third parties launched their own plug-ins and apps to promote social shopping. Some brands even took things in their\u00a0<\/span>own hands (or apps)<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

One great example of an app you can use for social shopping\u00a0<\/span>on your website is Soldsie<\/span><\/a>, which works with the most popular social media networks \u2013 Facebook and Instagram. This third-party app allows your followers to make a purchase just by commenting on a post with the word \u201cSold.\u201d After customers post the comment, the app takes care of the rest, emailing them an invoice to complete payment and confirm the order.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are\u00a0<\/span>even more examples<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of social shopping sites that combine the best of social commerce \u2013 community and shopping. We will single out the London start-up\u00a0<\/span>Shopa that is successfully turning shopping<\/span><\/a>\u00a0into a regular social media activity. How? Well, Shopa works pretty similarly as other social networks \u2013 you have a profile, tools to select favorite items and collections, but with Shopa users get rewarded for their recommendations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It seems crazy, right? Well, not so much, because we know already that recommendations are the thing people are looking for on social media. And on Shopa users are rewarded with discounts\u00a0<\/span>if one of their connections\/friends purchases<\/span><\/a>\u00a0something they\u2019ve recommended.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And this is where the future of social media leads, which means companies need to try out these features. But you are probably thinking, where to start if you want to succeed in social commerce. Luckily, we have the list of best apps and tools to use for selling through social media:<\/span><\/p>\n