Social Commerce Tools

Digital Marketing - Study Notes:

Using social commerce tool

While social commerce is an efficient and streamlined way to sell to consumers, it’s not as simple as setting up a social commerce shop and watching the sales roll in. To ensure your social commerce strategy has the best chance to be successful, there are several tools you can use to drive more sales through your social commerce channels.

These include:

• In-platform checkouts
• Buy buttons
• Chatbots
• Advertising
• Livestreams

In-platform checkouts

Social media users can pay for items by entering their payment and delivery details, which are associated with their profile. When a business signs up for a service like Meta Pay, they can use Facebook to collect revenue on their behalf for product sales. The first time a user tries to pay for a product, Facebook will prompt them to enter their payment or credit card details, and other required information such as preferred email, phone number, and delivery address.

The real benefit of in-platform checkouts is that the user’s details will be used to seamlessly complete the transaction without ever leaving the social network. This is common with businesses using Facebook Pay, and on other platforms, such as WeChat. This makes it extremely easy for people to buy, as it reduces the number of data fields they have to fill out and the number of clicks and actions they must take in order to complete a purchase.

For example, Meta Pay is a seamless and secure way to make payments on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and in participating online stores. After you enter your payment card or account information, you can use Meta Pay to make purchases, send money, donate within the apps or check out when shopping online.

Note: Users can view or amend their Facebook Pay details in the full list of Facebook services on the left of their profile.

Buy buttons

Buy button functionality can be added to products via your social media shop. This allows users to buy an item and pay via the in-platform checkout. Call-to-action (or CTA) buttons such as Shop Now can also be added to adverts.

Chatbots

Chatbots automatically engage with shoppers by acting as a shopping assistant when users are seeking advice or considering making a purchase. They do so by using a set of pre-defined questions and prompts which are designed to guide the consumer through the sales process. The chat bot can also suggest potential items to buy based on what the user has input into the chat box. This type of functionality is usually offered by third party integrations like ManyChat or Mobile Monkey.

Chatbot configuration

These tools can be configured to automatically recognize user needs and suggest products from your catalogue to the user in the messenger window. The user can then go ahead and click to buy these items if they fit their needs. It is a cost-effective way to use automation and AI to engage with shoppers while outside of business hours, in a personal way within the platform they wish to use, for example, Messenger.

To help with the chat bot configuration and prompts, try to get into the mind of your customers and ask yourself: “What are the primary questions consumers are likely to ask themselves or a salesperson to identify their needs?”

As the next step, and to begin creating these prompts, ask yourself: “What answers can I give to these questions to direct consumers towards my products or services, and position them as the solution?”

When you have identified a series of questions and responses, use this as the starting point for your chat bot set up.

Lego chatbots

For example, Lego uses an AI chatbot on Facebook Messenger to deliver personalized shopping recommendations based on queries they receive in messages from customers. This offers an instant positive experience, without a customer needing to wait for a response.

Advertising

Social media shopping ads are designed to provide a seamless path to purchase by promoting and selling products directly to users.

These ads typically incorporate eye-catching visuals, engaging descriptions, and CTA buttons to encourage users to make a purchase. The best social media shopping ads are simultaneously storefronts, showrooms, personal shoppers, review sites, and coupon pages.

Additionally, shopping ads give brands an effective and targeted way to reach their desired audience, because 56% of us now expect offers to be personalized. By leveraging the user insights available on social media platforms, businesses can deliver personalized ads to individuals who are more likely to be interested in their products or services. This is likely to lead to higher conversion rates and increased sales.

Livestreams

Livestreams are a great way to combine the interactivity of in-person shopping with the convenience of ecommerce.

Try hosting live Q&As, demos or tutorials, or product launches. And use the opportunity to answer customer questions in real-time. This enables you to remove barriers to purchase and create personalized connections. Be sure to mention specific product names directly in your live broadcasts. This will encourage your audience to purchase products on the spot.

With live streaming, you can authentically connect with your audience in real time. They can ask questions and get answers straight away. You can show them the pros and cons, and what a product looks like. You can really sell the products that you are passionate about.

TikTok live shopping

For example, TikTok live shopping is an ecommerce experience that offers brands an opportunity to showcase their products in real-time through livestream events.

By participating in these events, TikTok users can purchase products without leaving the app. This allows brands and customers to interact and engage with one another while streamlining the purchasing process. Since using livestreams, beauty brand Mallows Beauty grew sales on their TikTok shop by 500% with over 130,000 orders.