5 Key Reasons to Enable Social Commerce Channels for your Store

17 Dec 2021

Albert Wood

With the world of commerce expanding footprints, it’s significant for businesses to find new ways to connect with users on other platforms – especially social media.

Social commerce is primarily rising due to Generation Z users, who spend 2-3 times more revenue on social shopping via platforms like Instagram and Snapchat than the average user while becoming the largest consumer generation in the world.

What Is Social Commerce?

Social commerce is the practice of buying products, services, and other things of value via social media. Since these websites allow for users to share product photos, videos, and even user reviews on their social media platforms, buying via these networks can be easier than buying in the traditional world of online stores.

Why Merchants Should Leverage Social Commerce Channels for their Business

1. Builds Strong Brand and Product Awareness

If we look from the perspective of the sales funnel which has the following stages: awareness, interest, consideration, intent, evaluation, and purchase, social media has played a significant role in these stages for years.

Sharing rich product information on social channels helps in promoting “brand-generated content,” as well as it’s vital for creating user-generated content (UGC). We all know businesses can engage on a larger scale with buyers via social media. And, the additional commerce functionality of social channels helps strengthen the relationship with potential buyers, nurture users’ interests, and keep them lured in the brand and product offerings.

2. Shortens the Sales Cycle

Evaluation and purchase: the final stage of the buyer’s journey where the value of products is assessed against competitors before making the final purchase. Social commerce enables the timeline for the lead to nurture and accelerate the purchase.

Consumers browse for the product and pricing information via social channels which allow them to learn more about the brand and its products. With the social commerce functionality, users can make a purchase directly from social media in just a couple of clicks without leaving the social media channel. This enables faster selling and helps generate an additional revenue stream for the company.

3. Increased Customer Loyalty and Recurring Revenue

Social media is one the best direct channels to build customer relationships. Buyers gravitate towards the way a brand makes them feel and how it’s treating them during their buying journey.

Social channels are key to a brand’s marketing strategy, and therefore they must be a priority, not an afterthought. It’s significant for a business to have a clear message about who they are, what they sell, and whom should they sell.

With ample information and great customer service, brands build strong relationships with their buyers and turn them into repeat customers.

4. Develops Stronger Sense of Community

We are sure you must know that social media is an easy distribution channel for product information to a huge number of prospective buyers. Once a user purchases your product they share their feedback on social media via reviews, ratings, images, comments on posts, and testimonials. This calls for authentic interactions.

As a brand continues to build the customer base, these buyers while remaining active on social media share their buying experiences and opinions about your brand. The chain reaction helps aware other potential buyers about your products and builds a strong community of followers and influencers.

5. Better Search Engine Ranking

This may seem vague, but enabling social shopping does help in increasing a website’s search engine ranking. As the companies post information about their products on social channels and their social media pages, a call-to-action linked back to the website within the posts, comments, and even brand profile pages help in link building. This also increases the traffic to the website, leading to better search engine ranking.

Social Commerce Channels can be a Game-Changer for your Business

If you haven’t utilized social commerce channels as means of getting your products in front of your buyers then you might be missing out on some of the benefits that could greatly impact your business. For more information on social commerce, contact our experts today.

Albert Wood

Albert Wood is an accomplished eCommerce Business Analyst. As a technology futurist and sales motivator at ioVista, Albert is dedicated to transforming struggling eCommerce businesses into thriving enterprises. With a keen focus on client’s business processes, user experience (UX), and leveraging the power of digital marketing, he helps businesses optimize their online presence and drive sustainable growth. Albert’s passion is for virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), immersing himself in unforgettable experiences and exploring the limitless possibilities they offer. His enthusiasm for these emerging technologies fuels his drive to push the boundaries of innovation in eCommerce.