Once upon a time, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat were only used to get in touch with people worldwide. Today, organizations from throughout verticals are utilizing social media websites to promote and sell their items and services. This combining of e-commerce and social networks has led the way for social commerce –– an idea that has created ripples in the economy since it emerged in the early 2000s.
Today, social commerce has acquired tremendous traction and has witnessed an impressive development trajectory. A bulk of this progress can be credited to the heightened usage of social media, especially amongst the more youthful generation –– millennials and GenZ, in not just tier-I, but tier-II and tier-III cities too. Social commerce is a flourishing market and brand names are racing to make the most of it.
For small services and sellers, however, a specific level of handholding may be needed to help them scale their service by leveraging social commerce as they might not possess the technical knowledge. On that note, here are some pointers for small sellers to capitalize on the social commerce boom to grow their company.
Utilize a tailor-made strategy and incorporate social commerce with e-commerce
Before engaging in social commerce, it is crucial to analyze the nature of your business. This will help you recognize the best platform that is finest suited to your company’s needs and the target market for your services and products. For example, services dealing in consumer-centric items and have a target market that consists of a younger age group can use platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat as they attract the youth more as compared to platforms like Facebook. Utilizing a tailor-made strategy for each platform taking into consideration the abovementioned factors will pave the method for quicker development and optimize time and cost invested in numerous mediums.
Apart from this, sellers can also incorporate the e-commerce element with social commerce. Put simply, this includes integrating your e-commerce site with your selected social networks platform to make the shopping experience problem-free.
Authenticity is key
For any brand name, authenticity lies at the core of building the brand and the trust factor with customers. Establishing trust is among the secrets to the success of the brand. Using genuine customer testimonials in digital formats such as videos or images with text will develop trust faster and move the consumer-product engagement.
Over a duration, laying a strong structure of trust using client ratings, reviews, and feedback will help a business expand its client base by reaching a broader audience. In addition, including peer reviews from some of the most influential within your sector and setting the budget for sponsorship is a vital method.
Develop a smooth checkout
When selling on any platform, among the crucial elements to remember is the payment entrance. An integrated payment entrance that provides a large range of digital payment solutions will produce a smooth post-order customer experience. The payment facilities provided by the brand, especially on social media platforms, accounts for a large piece of the customer experience. So, guaranteeing a smooth checkout experience will largely improve client complete satisfaction, acquisition, and retention. Sellers can likewise use automatic checkouts utilizing bots to more boost customer experience.
Do not take part in difficult selling
Even in our own experience, the number of times has we overlooked a service or product that appears numerous times on our social networks news feeds and appears to take part in tough selling? Tough selling is one of the most common errors brands, specifically smaller sized ones, make on social networks. It is essential to get in touch with the consumer and recognize their requirement for your product prior to taking part in the sales part. Social media provides the perfect medium to engage with the customer and inform them about your item, thereby determining the discomfort points and how best your product/service can resolve it. In addition, this will help supply the clients with an individualized shopping experience, improving their fulfillment.
The social commerce section is flourishing in the country, presenting the best opportunity for little sellers to leverage and expand their digital footprint. In addition to this, e-commerce aggregators are likewise providing small-time sellers the essential guidance and services to take their service online. Given the breakneck speed at which social commerce is growing, the future will be all about brand names that can capitalize on this aspect and scale their business even more.