Sue Azari, Industry Lead, eCommerce, AppsFlyer, explains how marketer’s can achieve social commerce success with a vast, highly-engaged community
Social media’s vast, highly-engaged community makes it a prime space for activating shopping experiences. With TikTok rolling out its in-app shopping feature in major global markets, and the social commerce market set to surpass $604 billion by 2027, the future looks promising for this sector.
Nevertheless, other developments – such as Meta’s shutdown of live shopping on Facebook and Instagram – suggests that social platforms are not done experimenting. Many are still trying to figure how to make the most of these shifts in consumer behaviour, and how to adapt the technology to best suit their individual needs.
We still see daily high levels of engagement on social media – typically up to two and a half hours – which means there is ample opportunity for brands to cultivate closer connections with their audiences. So, how can marketers capture the potential for social commerce?
Bagging consumer attention
Instagram’s experimentation with commerce features does not take away from the fact that there is still a large social shopping presence across the platform: consumers are always looking for inspiration, which is where the platform’s visual and aesthetic strengths come into play.
One way to engage consumers is by leveraging user-generated content (UGC) and connecting them with real shoppers. Social media is, first and foremost, a space for discussion: it’s where users compare purchases, styles, and reviews, where they experiment with looks and explore identities, picking up trends and ideas along the way. This is a strong community where buyers share their shopping experiences publicly, and where interactions spread brand awareness and develop a brand’s reputation.
Beyond this, social media has evolved into a search destination and discovery tool for users looking for reviews and recommendations, with nearly 40% of Gen Z relying on TikTok or Instagram for search instead of Google.
The untapped potential of UGC
UGC presents two separate opportunities for brands: firstly, it’s a space where they can keep a finger on the pulse of consumer opinion and develop a deeper understanding of the audience. Whether they like it or not, negative experiences will be shared; however, these
can be used as a catalyst for improvement. By engaging in social listening, brands can prime their customer services to respond to concerns and nurture existing relationships.
Secondly, the level of interactivity between a brand and its community presents the opportunity for companies to amplify their online presence, increase searchability, promote their brand organically, and build loyalty.
Sharing photos of happy customers is a particularly successful tactic – one study found that a whopping 85% of respondents prefer it when brands share content from actual customers. Considered a trustworthy source of information, UGC has also been shown to boost purchase intent by 77% and increase loyalty by 65%.
It’s also worth noting that a brand can incorporate UGC into its content strategy as a way of consolidating and growing its audience, maintaining a steady flow of content that is consistent in quality, tone, and style is key to brand growth, credibility, and trust.
Follow your target audience
When you make the most of the native features and creative formats of each platform, you assemble an informative, relevant, and captivating social commerce experience. To truly thrive, brands need to diversify their media mix and meet their consumers where they start their journey – for example, TikTok or Instagram.
Diversifying across touch points ensures catching consumers where their attention is – and meets their varying needs at the same time. Taking the time to explore different demographics and how these groups use distinct content types is crucial to success.
Finally, optimising social media SEO increases the chances of serving the right content to browsing social media users. ChatGPT can be a helpful tool when it comes to generating copy, supporting writers in trying out different captions and keywords to perfect personalisation that resonates with the target audience.
Building your own
How to make the best out of a platform also depends on the size of the company: while small and medium businesses benefit with direct revenue from sales, bigger brands can benefit from a space to post educational content, for resale, and for consumers to engage with the brand and other buyers.
If a brand possesses a strong, loyal community, there is also another pathway to capturing granular user data in a privacy centric way: developing owned channels that streamline the process of awareness, consideration, and purchase in one digital space.
Rather than risking drop-offs from the point of inspiration on a social media platform and being redirected to a separate website, building social landing pages or a tailored experience in a specific app can drive conversions. This can be a space where brands can nurture and reward their most reliable and devoted communities. Investing in returning customers not only improves the bottom line – as they spend up to 67% more than first timers – but by providing a stellar user experience, it increases the likelihood of word-of-mouth referrals and recommendations.
Maintaining authenticity across channels
Making the most of each individual platform can require a nuanced approach, particularly with content execution.
UGC can be a treasure trove for brands, both when it comes to gaining a deeper understanding of their users, as well as involving their communities and cultivating long-lasting customer loyalty. This does take work, and brands must ensure they have a set strategy that prioritises consistency, quality, and customer satisfaction. It’s also important to have a strong brand identity on social platforms, and to work with UGC content that aligns with the brand.
By combining the strengths of social media communities with individual platforms, brands can harness audience insights and build a seamless experience – no matter where they decide to welcome their customers.
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