Let’s face it. If you’re active on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, you’ve seen plenty of advertisements. But have you ever been shocked by how niche the ads seem to be? For instance, if you just returned from a camping trip, you might have been bombarded by ads for tents, sleeping bags, and hiking boots. If this sounds familiar, then you’ve seen social shopping in action.
As a business owner, you need to take advantage of social shopping to not only boost your sales but to better engage your customers and communicate your brand and products clearly. In this guide, we’ll cover how to implement social shopping into your marketing strategy.
What is social shopping?
Social shopping blends ecommerce with social media, allowing customers to buy products directly from sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Essentially, businesses create posts specifically to sell products and provide direct links to their website. Some social media sites like Facebook and Instagram take social shopping one step further by allowing businesses to set up virtual “shop” pages to connect with consumers directly. Some also offer shoppable posts and native checkout experiences that allow customers to directly purchase products on platforms seamlessly.
Data shows product sales via social media will add up to $1.298 billion by the end of 2023. With so many of us using social media daily, these platforms allow businesses to capture the attention of millions of potential customers every day.
How can social shopping help your business boost sales?
So, why is social shopping so effective at boosting sales? By putting a point of sale on your social media channels, you can streamline your customer journey and simplify the purchasing process, providing ultimate convenience for customers. Rather than having to go through multiple links to find your product page, social shopping allows customers to add your products to their basket and check out instantly.
Simultaneously, implementing a social shopping and marketing strategy can also boost the awareness of your products and your overall brand image. The more followers your business acquires, the more likely potential customers are to trust your brand and make a purchase.
Top tips for driving sales and engagement with social shopping
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So, you now know that social shopping is an excellent strategy for driving sales and engaging customers quickly. But how do you implement your own social shopping method for your business? Let’s take a look at some of the top tips for boosting your sales and customer engagement efforts.
- 1. Study your target audience
As an established business, you likely have a picture of your target audience. However, to make your social shopping strategy work, you need to have a solid understanding of your customers, including their motivations, online behaviors, and product preferences. Studying your target audience is essential for tailoring your strategy to the right people.
To gain an in-depth understanding of your customer base, start by conducting market research. You can do this by handing out customer surveys that include questions on their age, location, and interests. You can create a picture of your average customer from this raw data.
You can also see who visits your business website with Google Analytics and build your knowledge from there.
Your business can also create target personas based on the data you’ve gathered. Bring this persona to life with a name, occupation, age, and motivation. This will help you adapt your social strategy depending on how your persona uses social media or shops online. For instance, would your target persona use Instagram or TikTok daily? With this answer, you can begin to build a strategy that best suits your audience.
- 2. Decide on the appropriate social media channels
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So, you deeply understand your target audience – what’s next? With your personas, you can begin to target specific social media channels with the most followers, similar to your customer demographic. Let’s look at which audiences gravitate toward each of the top social channels.
Facebook: The platform is most popular amongst consumers aged 25 and older. It’s a global platform, with the most users being in North America and Europe.
Instagram: This platform has a typical user base of people between 18 and 34. More women use the platform, and it’s most popular in the US.
TikTok: Most users are young, between the ages of 16 and 24, and are most popular in China and the United States. However, it has a growing user base in Europe.
X (previously Twitter): The platform has a wide user base, including teenagers and adults. X is most popular with those interested in business updates, news, and current events.
- 3. Create compelling content for followers
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To succeed in social shopping, you must create compelling and unique content for your followers and potential customers browsing your page. The content you make depends on what social media channel you’re using. For instance, when selling on Instagram, you need to create stunning visuals that captivate the essence of your product. Whereas, if you’re advertising on TikTok, you should try to create short videos that showcase what you have to offer.
With powerful AI technology, you can use an AI post generator to create high-quality marketing material that instantly encapsulates your product. Of course, no AI is perfect. Ensure you review the generated material and edit the language and visuals accordingly.
To ensure that your content will engage the right people, consider creating a customer survey with multiple post options. Ask for feedback regarding the copy, visuals, and how easy it is to check out. With this feedback, you can perfect your social shopping strategy to suit your audience.
- 4. Work with influencers
Influencers also play a key role in social shopping. By partnering with influencers, businesses open doors to a world where products are not just showcased but celebrated. They are not just promoters of your products; they're storytellers, weaving narratives that captivate audiences and propel products into the spotlight.
- 5. Directly engage with your customers
Social shopping doesn’t end after posting. You need to directly engage with your customers, whether over social media or other channels of communication. You can do this by implementing a combination of:
Live chat or phone support – Give customers a clear option to reach out to your business, either with a live chat feature directly on your social media page or with online phone services.
Direct messages (DMs) – Encourage customers to send direct messages for support or feedback. Don’t leave customers in the dark—hire customer service representatives or use automated chatbots to respond to DMs.
Comments and replies – Monitor comments on your social media posts and respond quickly to keep your customers engaged. Implement a powerful social shopping strategy to boost your sales today Imagine being able to reach millions of potential customers who have demonstrated their interest in your product niche. With social shopping, you can! By creating a robust strategy, you can join business giants in taking advantage of social media channels and advertising to the right people to boost your overall sales and customer engagement.
To delve deeper into the world of social commerce and refine your approach, explore Productsup’s Advertising PX offering. Discover additional best practices tailored to specific platforms such as TikTok and Instagram through the following resources: