2021 Social Commerce Trends That Will Impact Your Online Sales

The power of social media isn’t limited to its ability to bring people together on a single platform. Social media users are now beginning to realize a market behind platform giants like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Today, it’s ubiquitous to see online shops and sponsored posts that are linked to eCommerce websites from social media platforms.

As a business owner, how can you leverage the power of social networking and social commerce? Is there a way to turn mere viewers and followers into consumers within your social media accounts? Well, the answer is YES! If your business uses social media as part of your overall marketing strategy, you should include these social commerce trends 2021 in your marketing plan.‍

Social Media That Sells: The Best Social Commerce Trends 2021 & Beyond

Refining the Shopping Experience‍

Social commerce marketers understand the importance of improving the shopping experience for online users. However, some people are hesitant to click on an advertisement on social media because they are in the middle of performing a task. Whether it’s browsing their feed, making their posts, or engaging with others, it is challenging to convince users to shift to another platform for the sake of merely “checking out” your offers.

Thus, one of the latest social commerce trends in 2021 and beyond is to refine the user’s shopping experience. This can be done by seamlessly integrating your online store within your social media account. A great example of this is through the Facebook marketplace or Instagram shopping. There is no need to exit the social media app to buy your items--users can simply browse within Facebook shops or Instagram marketplace, allowing for a seamless product view to the payment checkout experience.

If you’re new to the process of placing your offers in social media marketplaces, you can begin by doing the following:

1. Adding your bestsellers first: If you have a vast inventory of products and it would be too taxing to add everything all at once, you can increase effectiveness by adding in your bestsellers per category. Add your best product images, and this process will help increase sales within the social media apps. Highly interested users will eventually look into your eCommerce website for other offers.
2. Sponsored posts with “buy now” buttons: There are also new features that will allow you to add a “buy now” button on sponsored posts. The “buy now” can either be linked to the product page on your website or a social media marketplace product page. Again, optimizing these posts for your target audience can help in the seamless shopping experience.‍

Focus on User Generated Content‍

User-generated content is one of the significant commerce trends in social media. When followers see that people like them use the products and services you offer, the posts become relatable and gain engagement. There are many ways to get high-quality user-generated content:

1. Influencer marketing: Influencers have the expertise of taking visual media featuring their sponsor in their natural settings. To get the best influencers for your business niche, you can sign up for collaboration networks or find those who bring in the most engagement in social media.
2. Giveaways and promotions: Another way to get natural marketing photos for your commerce platforms is through giveaways and promotions. Hosting giveaways and asking winners to post on your behalf is a great way to receive visual advertising tools.
3. Previous client feedback: Do you have delighted customers? You can ask for input through a picture and caption or a short video to post on your social media account. Positive reviews help potential users gain confidence in your offers.‍

Improve Engagement Through Highly Aesthetic Social Media Posts‍

It is no secret that social media accounts that gain many followers are those with unique content. With platforms such as Instagram, a highly aesthetic feed can help increase followers and potential buyers. This, along with proven Instagram engagement strategies, can boost your followers and sales.‍

Some guidelines to improve your visuals on social media include:

1. Uncluttered background: A social media account that sells products should feature items without the background clutter. A clean, minimalist space with good lighting can help attract your target audience.
2. Use simple post-processing tools: Apps such as Adobe Lightroom or VSCO can help improve the quality of your images. Ecommerce marketers know how to use these simple and free post-processing tools to make stellar social media images.
3. Mind your composition: Adding a depth of field, improving your composition, and using complementary colors can help in improving the visuals in your social media feed.‍

Take Advantage of Live Features‍

Followers are also intrigued when you use social media to feature live offers. Many entrepreneurs have successfully used live streaming to sell items, start webinars, or just share helpful content with their target audience.

Many social media platforms now offer free live streaming services for various purposes such as selling in real-time, opening an online workshop, or a Q&A. Think about what you can do in the live streaming feature and how you can move users through your sales funnel using these powerful tools.‍

Use Automated Social Media Chatbots‍

Chatbots aren’t exclusive to your website. You can also operate them in your social media accounts. Social media chatbots have several benefits such as:

1. Personalizing buyer experience: The automated feature of social media chatbots allows users to engage in your account and pick several choices leading them to an ideal offer.
2. Answering questions swiftly: Responsiveness is also a great trait to have when using social media marketing. Chatbots allow you to answer common questions swiftly while telling users that their complex questions are received and responded to within a timeframe.
3. Data sorting: Many chatbot software also has the power to sort conversations to help you gain marketing insights. These can include feedback, common questions, and order details. You can optimize your business and social commerce strategy using the data you collect in chats.‍

Leverage Popular and Branded Hashtags‍

Hashtags are features unique in social media platforms. Thus, it is advantageous to add them to your posts, especially if they are popular. Now, hashtags are searchable on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Thus, they serve as your keywords for products and services you post on social media and one of the most common ways to get discovered.‍

What are recent social media hashtag trends you can utilize?‍

1. First, use popular hashtags to get more engagement: When posting hashtags, you will see how many posts have the same tag as your post. You can leverage this by placing the hashtags with the most posts and followers, which indicates its popularity.
2. Use branded hashtags to build your brand: When working with influencers, you can make your brand by creating your hashtag. Ask users to create their posts with your hashtag to create buzz about your brand on social media.
3. Local or niche hashtags: You can also use hashtags effectively if you have a local-based business. Adding the hashtag of your city, community, or niche terms can help increase engagement and improve brand awareness.‍

Social Media: The Future of Digital Commerce‍

The rise in social media shops and users proves that social commerce is the future of eCommerce. Through improving your visual assets, making seamless shopping experiences, adding user-generated content, and utilizing the many built-in social media features, you can get ahead in the game of social commerce.

This, along with the added content marketing strategy, online emarketing, and website optimization, will ensure that all your promotional channels will be running at peak performance. Ready to get the most out of digital marketing? Contact E-Marketing Associates Today!