Nearly 24 months into the pandemic, changes in the way businesses market and sell to consumers persist. A 129% year-over-year growth among US and Canadian eCommerce entities showcases new habits in play. These center around convenience and shopper flexibility and is all the more reason to dedicate time and tweak strategies to enhance your social media eCommerce plan.
Before the pandemic, 54% of consumers were using social media to browse shoppable content to shop. Now, a whopping 82% of survey respondents say social media eCommerce is their preferred shopping channel. Overall, it’s estimated social media consumption is up by 72%, with Instagram ranking the highest. But innovation in the sector is constant, with one of the newest players, TikTok, exploding in popularity with a 33% increase in yearly consumption.
To drive social media eCommerce success, zeroing in on a strong and modernized social media strategy with technologically advanced tools is key. Statista projects social media advertising will grow 10.93% annually, reaching more than $233,137 million by 2025.
Double Down on Social Media, eCommerce Ads
All indications are that social media will remain a leader in the shoppable ads industry throughout 2022. Using automated tools to target more people in less time increases results and grants a competitive advantage. With the right software and integrations, marketers can repurpose existing copy, offering customers fresh messaging and perspectives in real-time.
Now the most commonly used social media platform for marketers, shoppable ads in the form of Facebook ads continue to be a force when it comes to social media eCommerce. Video continues to be a dominant player in the online content space, with 82% of all online traffic expected to be video-driven by the end of this year. Short-form video coupled with compelling storytelling is most effective for shippable ads content, according to industry experts.
Looking for Social Media eCommerce Success? Customer Experience is Key
As social media eCommerce becomes more competitive, it’s increasingly important to delight your customers with a seamless, quick, and dynamic online experience.
Decluttering can help enhance the customer journey. Other ways to dazzle your online audience include introducing surprises during the buyer’s journey to enhance the customer experience, like free shipping, for example. But, instead of just laying it out, keep it in your locker until the checkout process. This surprise will encourage shoppers to buy from you again while spreading the good gospel about your brand.
Additionally, offer rewards and incentives for completing purchases along with personalized shopping suggestions based on a user’s location, shopping, and browser history.
Implement Omnichannel Commerce
Overall, the acceleration in online consumer demand since 2020 is making an omnichannel strategy more important than ever.
Attention is turning to convenience. Ultimately, an omnichannel strategy can help drive sales and revenue. Streamlined digital experiences, curbside pickups, and touchless checkouts contribute to shopping frequency and incremental sales. So much so that BigCommerce and Retail Dive report that 46% of retail executives plan to increase their investment in omnichannel retailing during the first part of this decade.
Meeting customers where they are and optimizing your business with advanced data and analytics will help you to develop an effective omnichannel social media eCommerce plan. To successfully implement your advanced omnichannel eCommerce experience, consider the following:
1. Sales Channels
Now is the time to carefully evaluate your target audience. Online storefronts, eCommerce marketplaces, social media platforms, mobile channels, brick-and-mortar stores, and B2B wholesales are just some avenues to consider.
Much like diversifying your investment portfolio, investing in more than one channel, in addition to your company’s website constitutes a smart move. This also allows your team to conduct a “test and measure” process, allowing for changes to channel allocations based on results.
2. Marketing and Advertising
Once you’ve selected your channels, you’ll want to tailor your marketing and advertising strategies to drive attention to those virtual cash wraps. Google shopping ads, marketplace advertising, retargeting ads, social media, email, and SMS—are all huge factors to consider when developing your master plan.
Once again, using the “test and measure” process, you can track patterns and prioritize (and reprioritize) advertising mediums.
Leverage Co-Browsing in Order Assistance
A newer, but just as effective concept, co-borrowing, can be leveraged to help B2B customers with questions through live videos or hosting a “Buy-on-Behalf.”
In contrast to screen sharing, co-browsing allows a more secure experience as a sales agent is not able to see sensitive information on a client’s device. This provides for a more secure, streamlined customer experience.
In an age where people are increasingly reluctant to talk to a voice-automated messenger or a chat robot, adding the personal touch can help raise the overall customer experience while affording the opportunity to create more meaningful relationships… you know, moments that matter. Loyalty is also boosted as 70% of customers believe the quality of support they receive indicates just how much they are valued by a company.
Begin Your 2022 With a Zobrist Smart Solution
With drag and drop simplicity, you can take control of your storefront by leveraging the many features provided by Smart Merchandiser. From inventory and color management to analytics overlay and cross-countries catalog, these are just some of the intuitive features that will revolutionize your social media eCommerce efforts.
Rather than recruiting an army of employees, let our solutions automate your processes. With the social analytics tool, you can use integrated social media tracking to capture Facebook likes, Twitter activity, and ratings. BazaarVoice and Power Reviews are at your fingertips. On average, Smart Merchandiser results in a 70% increase in productivity and a 20% boost in revenue.
Easily integrating to your online store and social media eCommerce strategy, Smart Merchandiser can optimize and simplify your social media eCommerce process. It eliminates the tedious task of sifting through pages of data, empowering you to make informed and timely decisions with SKU-level data automatically pulled from multiple sources, including Google Analytics, Facebook, and Twitter.
Check out Smart Merchandiser today and start and take control of your eCommerce storefront.
