The boom of social media has brought about an intensive change in not just people’s way of living but also how they shop. By now, we are well-versed in using social media platforms, and brands are using our familiarity with social media by putting it to great use and turning towards social shopping or social commerce.
Many social media platforms allow brands to create a social shop for users, enabling them to shop without leaving the social media platforms. The most popular social commerce platforms are Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat
In this blog, let us discuss the functionalities of these platforms in detail.
Since its launch in 2010, Instagram has become the world’s most popular social media platform. A major reason for Instagram’s success is its inclusion of new features and updates to keep the users hooked.
If we refer to the timeline, Instagram launches a new feature or updates its existing features every month. The social media platform has evolved to become extremely user-friendly for both brands and content creators.
This co-existence is especially beneficial for social commerce. Instagram has in-built features to make shopping easier for customers and selling smooth for brands.
You can sell on Instagram in these ways:
- Instagram Shop: An amazing way to sell through Instagram is by creating an Instagram shop by attaching your website to your Instagram account. This way, your audience can easily shop from your brand without having to leave the social media platform. You can tag products and make them shoppable to make the shopping experience easier by allowing your customers to complete the shopping process from selecting the products to the payment gateway, all without leaving Instagram.
- Shopping Tab: Another amazing feature of Instagram for social commerce is the introduction of a separate ‘Shop Tab.’ This allows customers to enter a tab dedicated to shopping. In this tab, customers can explore similar products from different brands or check out all the products from the same brand and make their purchases without leaving the application.
It might not be the most popular social media platform among the younger generation, but Facebook is still the social media giant with 2.9 billion active users monthly.
Other than being the largest social media platform, Facebook also provides an eCommerce platform that allows brands to sell their products on Facebook easily.
Sellers can set up e-commerce stores without coding, promote their brand via Facebook stories, and maintain direct contact with customers through Messenger.
These are the benefits of Facebook Shop for social commerce:
- Sell Via Marketplace: With Facebook Marketplace, you can easily sell to local customers by listing products from your retail store. This is a great feature to reach customers from your community; because it works locally, it benefits your brand online and offline.
- Customize Your Shop: Facebook Shops are customizable, allowing the brand or business owners to control their shop fully. You can add and moderate product catalogs, add information, and even interact with your customers directly.
This is a great feature for social shopping, as customers can instantly contact the brand and get their queries answered.
Taggshop
Taggshop is a popular e-commerce platform that enables brands to convert social content like branded posts and UGC into shoppable galleries and generate sales through this content.
Brands and businesses can easily create a shoppable feed of social content and embed it into their websites. This content can be sourced from user handles, user mentions, and hashtags on social media.
With Taggshop, brands can give visitors a life-like shopping experience and compel users to stay on the website to explore the brand’s products. It is an advanced tool with many features to make it easier for brands to encourage purchases and increase engagement.
Snapchat
This picture-and-video-centric social media platform is extremely famous among youngsters for its quirky filters and streaks.
Snapchat was launched in 2011 and gained popularity for its unique feature of sharing media (pictures and videos) called ‘Snaps’ that would disappear within seconds of sharing.
The platform has used its growing popularity to its benefit and has also introduced a few social e-commerce features for brands.
TikTok
The emerging popularity of TikTok is a big advantage for e-commerce brands. According to popular belief, TikTok will soon move past Instagram and bag the number one position globally. This rise in usage and popularity makes it a superlative platform for social commerce.
There are several ways through which brands can sell through TikTok.
Brands can sync their e-commerce websites with their TikTok feed and create shoppable galleries through social content. TikTok is filled with young content creators and is the best platform for collaborating with popular influencers and taking your brand to an all-new popularity.
Wrapping It Up
There are several social commerce platforms to boost your business, and with the emerging number of e-commerce brands, many advanced tools are coming forward with great features. Existing social media platforms are introducing new updates catering to the needs of brands and consumers.
All in all, the best social commerce platform for your brand is the one your target audience is most active at.
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