Social commerce is a phrase that dominated the space during the Covid-19 pandemic. The promotion of products linked to an eCommerce store on social media has been on the rise. In fact, market watchers forecast that the trend will grow exponentially post-pandemic and beyond.
Brands moved product conversations online during the pandemic in order to influence shopping preferences. Apart from a few challenges, the traditional commerce model was doing well during the pre-pandemic. Shoppers would discover products through advertising outlets or online, but they would go elsewhere to buy them.
However, the use of the social commerce model to market goods and services via social media has changed the use of these platforms entirely. Customers can now buy and sell products directly from the platforms. Indeed social commerce has reshaped the world of commerce in the following ways.
What is Social Commerce?
Social commerce is a business model where brands sell their products and services on social media instead of depending entirely on their stand-alone eCommerce site. That means brands promote their offerings on social media platforms linked to their stand-alone eCommerce store.
Businesses take advantage of influencer marketing to increase brand awareness and sales. ECommerce involves selling products on the website, but social commerce is selling on social media. This allows marketers to partner with celebrities or individuals with a huge following to market their products. Potential customers can follow a link in an ad appearing on the influencer’s page to your main online store.
Social Commerce Trends for 2022 and Beyond
1. Convergence of Commerce Platforms
Social media, eCommerce, and Social commerce are different, but they converge on the internet. Initially, people used social media platforms to connect but not shop. Instead, they used search engines to search for solutions or products they needed.
Today social commerce has transformed social media platforms because they have created malls where users come to hang out and shop. As a result, they come, discover products, buy and pay via an on-file payment method within one app.
The difference between eCommerce and social commerce is how businesses interact with potential customers and the degree of influence involved.
2. Influencer Marketing
The growth of social network usage has grown across industries. Brands have also increased their budget for social media marketing in order to leverage key marketers.
Influencers generate content and share it on their platforms to create awareness about a brand, its products, and services. This influences the target audience’s shopping decision because they trust these influencers. Brands, on the other hand, demand results and ROI from these influencers. Therefore, influencers must create content that attracts shoppers’ attention.
Other companies explore different social networks. They share videos on TikTok and YouTube, Instagram is great for photos and videos, Facebook is about stories and connections, and Twitter is purely an on-demand news channel. Social media users put a lot of effort into establishing themselves on social networking sites. But a few can make the difference. Those who can not get the desired success they look for opportunities like Instagram accounts for sale or Facebook accounts for sale as an easy option.
3. Conversational Chatbots
The initial purpose of social media was to facilitate conversations among friends. That is what led to the increased use of Facebook and WhatsApp. The adoption of AI technology has changed how brands communicate with their customers.
Today, brands don’t have a person to answer queries from their customers because chatbots can do that. These tools can make suggestions based on customers’ previous selections, they can answer questions and share product visuals.
This is beneficial because modern customers want to connect with brands that are precise and quick to respond to their queries. So the use of conversational chatbots is the trend to look out for in 2022 and beyond.
4. User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content (UGC) has dominated the social media platform, and shoppers use the content to make purchase decisions. Buyers use existing users’ recommendations and reviews to decide what to buy or avoid. They trust their experience with the brand.
UGC is an excellent way to market brands, products, and services. Such content generates trust and engagement with the audience. Therefore companies use content created by users while interacting with their products to increase awareness. Eureka Street, based in Australia, leveraged UGC and generated 15% more revenue, 2k monthly clicks, and 132% engagement.
5. Live Streams
Businesses increasingly use live streaming to showcase their new products, discuss trending products, share usage guides and tutorials, take interviews, etc.
Brands can create high-dimensional quality videos using professional video editing software. They don’t need a high budget because some of these tools are free to use or available on a subscription basis.
Live streaming allows the target audience to learn about the business through an interactive experience and from experts. It can also be saved for later use, and the discussions can continue through comments.
6. Upgraded Functionality on Social Media Platforms
Social media platforms have upgraded their functionality to blend well with social commerce trends. That is why you see Facebook Shops, Instagram shopping, and Pinterest Buyable pins. Other platforms that have introduced social commerce trends are Snapchat, Pinduoduo, WeChat, and much more.
The change has been caused the growth of social commerce trends across the world. It’s expected that it will expand in 2022 and beyond.
7. Frictionless Experience
Today’s customers don’t tolerate digital inconvenience. Brands are aware of that, and they’re working hard to offer a seamless experience across their platforms. The frictionless experience in these social networks has led to increased acquisition, sales, and retention.
As a result, brands go through their customer experience map and identify any bottlenecks in their customers’ journey. They can streamline the entire process by eliminating any unnecessary steps. The aim is to make it easy for customers who want to buy your products on social platforms, thus providing the digital convenience they’re looking for.
8. Use of Emerging Technologies
There is an accelerated use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), and Machine Learning (ML). These technologies help brands improve their ability to engage with target customers in social commerce effectively.
As mentioned above, brands are using AI-powered chatbots to make sensible conversations with their customers. Instagram and TikTok are the best examples of AR. Users can modify on-screen how their surroundings look as well as help them create TikTok videos. Using your phone camera, you can use AR to add new products to various rooms to virtually decorate your house.
AI, on the other hand, helps create automated checkout. Brands can initiate a conversation with their target customers, such as taking them through the whole process of making a purchase.
9. The Realignment of Buyer Behavior
Thriving brands understand how social commerce aligns with customers’ behavior. The convergence of social media and social commerce shows that businesses must have both in order to succeed. For instance, a brand must have an online store and then use social media for marketing the store and its products to the target. If not so, where will the audience actually buy its products from, the social media?
On the other hand, for a brand with an established eCommerce website but no social media presence, how will it drive traffic? These social media platforms will help it reach the target audience and direct them to the website.
10. The Dominance of Digital Assets
The knowledge about digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFT) has been on the rise. The metaverse is slowly taking center stage and increasing in popularity. In fact, Facebook rebranded to Meta, and digital creators and artists are excited about this revolutionary form of compensation for their work.
Brands are giving NFTs are closer look because they want to understand their potential benefits to the digital ecosystem and emerging economy. NFTs are a new form of social commerce, and they can empower collectors, creators, and small businesses.
On the other hand, consumers are keen on acquiring these digital assets. They can buy them when lifestyle companies sell artworks, fashion brands sell digital clothing items, and content creators monetize premium content.
Conclusion
The list of social commerce trends is endless. However, the article has highlighted the top 10 trends for 2022 and beyond. This will help you maximize your efforts to target the right audience and increase your sales.
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