For most of the population, social media has become the internet itself. Therefore, social media is one of the most important communication points for brands that want to meet their target audience on the internet. However, the fact that e-commerce businesses use this contact point only for the promotion of products and services causes them to add another layer for sales. Social commerce makes it possible to sell things through social media, which speeds up the sales cycle.
Inspiration in the Purchasing Process
Undoubtedly, shortening the check-out process is one of the most important advantages of social commerce. However, this is not the only advantage. In particular, the younger generations get their inspiration for shopping from social media. A study showed that 97% of Gen Z use social media as the biggest source of content for their purchasing decisions. This means that social commerce does not only make the e-commerce process practical for the user; it also shows that it brings users closer to the source of inspiration.
A More Personalized Way to Reach Your Audience
One of the most important reasons for the success of social commerce is the ability to reach potential customers through personalized systems. Since the activities of people on social media are much more traceable than on other channels, it becomes easier to recommend products and services that they are more likely to purchase.
Communication and Sales: One Channel
One of the biggest advantages of social commerce is that communication and sales with the target audience can be carried out through a single channel. Brands that restrict their sales to their own e-commerce sites use their social media for communication while selling from their websites. The fact that these two channels act independently of each other causes a lack of synergy. Social trading solves this problem. In this way, a more loyal customer base emerges.
There is data to confirm this insight. A study showed that 72% of millennials are more loyal to brands that engage with them on social media.
There Are Great Opportunities for Small and Medium Businesses
We should also say that social commerce offers great opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses. Recently, there has been a shift in e-commerce from large retailers to smaller businesses. These businesses consist of local businesses and businesses with expertise in a particular field. Social media offers these businesses great opportunities. Since these businesses are more likely to be able to communicate with their customers more effectively than big retailers, they are also more likely to make sales.
To summarize, social commerce has reached a level that e-commerce operations of all sizes simply cannot ignore. Businesses that use social media not only as a communication channel with their target audience, but also as a sales channel earn more. If you run such an operation, you should seriously consider using the power of social media to sell.
