Are Social Media platforms becoming eCommerce networks?

Social media platforms can be used for a lot more than connecting with your best friends. Moreover, social media has become the most popular method of selling products, with Facebook and Instagram leading the way in eCommerce sales.

A one-stop shop for eCommerce

Today, social networks are perceived as a one-stop shop for eCommerce. If earlier it was considered only as a marketing tool, now it’s a stand-alone eCommerce platform.

The main reason that social media is such a great platform for eCommerce is that it allows you to connect with your audience in real-time. This means that you can answer questions and provide support faster. That leads to more sales in the long run.

For instance, if someone posts on your Facebook page asking about what type of shipping options are available, then you can respond almost immediately with the information that they need. This makes them feel like they're not just talking to a machine when they call up customer service. Additionally, you can accomplish not only your commercial goals within platforms but also your marketing objectives.

With social media, a seller can create a brand and build a community around it. By sharing content on your social platforms, you're able to reach out and engage with customers in real-time.

It’s a great way to get feedback and improve your business. But social media isn't just a tool for brands. It can also be used by customers to find new products and services.

How to run an e-сommerce page

If you want to enable purchasing on your social media page, it's easy to do. The first step is to create an e-commerce store on Facebook or Instagram. Both platforms have robust tools that allow businesses to set up an online storefront with a few clicks.

Facebook e-commerce

Facebook offers various options for selling products, for example:

• You can create a "store" tab in the app's navigation bar.
• You can add buttons above posts where people can purchase items without leaving the post itself. You can add a Buy button directly to your posts, which will send users to a dedicated web page where they can purchase products).

The common strategy to get more sales from your online store on Facebook implies the following strategy:

• Find products that are already selling well on Facebook.
• Create a page that showcases your products and links to the source of the product. This will make it easier for people to buy from you instead of going through the hassle of finding it themselves.
• Post about your products, and make sure it's authentic. Don't just post about how great your product is. Show people what it looks like or how well it works. People will be more likely to buy from you if they know what they're getting into.
• Use social media platforms as an advertising platforms. Instead of just posting about your products and hoping for sales, use Facebook's ad manager to create targeted ads with a specific audience in mind. This will help you get more views on your post and more sales from it as well.

Instagram e-commerce

The one of most popular social media platforms Instagram has evolved into an eCommerce network. With over 1 billion active users, it became a great place to sell products online.

Here are some tips for how you can use Instagram to sell products online:

• Use your profile to promote your products. If someone wants to learn more about what you do or buy something from you, they can easily find it by following your account. This will make them feel connected and invested in what's going on with you and help drive sales without being pushy about it.
• Use Stories as an additional way of promoting new items or services (i.e., "Today only: 20% off all sweaters!"). Again, this gives consumers another way of learning about new products without feeling like they're being sold too hard. Even if someone misses seeing this message while scrolling through their feed now they'll still see the option later when browsing through their own personal stories library later on.
• Use hashtags related to your business in the caption of each post. That will help users find more content on their feeds related to what they like or comment on other posts in the same category as yours. For example, if you sell shoes then using hashtags like #shoes or #fashion could help people discover more information about these topics within their feed rather than having all shoe-related posts mixed up together at random times throughout the day (which would not be helpful).

To sum up, the platform enables interesting ways and features to connect with your customers and sell more.

Conclusion

The eCommerce trend inundates social media sites, so today it reaches critical mass. The natural progression of these platforms will allow them to compete with other online retailers like Amazon and eBay who already offer similar features. So don’t waste time and put this information into action.

Author’s bio:

Timothy Partasevitch

Chief Growth Officer at Smart IT

Tim is a sales and marketing specialist, who solves business challenges like an engineer by focusing on data insights, analyzing what works, what doesn’t, and what can be improved from a technical and financial perspective. Over the years he has supported the transformation of new clients into long-term partners and expanded services provided in the work space, ultimately facilitating revenue generation and business success. Tim strongly believes that you can’t be in charge of the outcome and results. However, you are 100% in charge of the input.