Social Media has become the primary income provider for e-commerce. This could be attributed to the steady rise in the user base of social applications. Hence, they have become a potential e-commerce market. Moreover, social platforms have become an ideal tool for marketing as they provide various features to marketers to reach their potential audience. All these factors have made e-commerce an integral part of social platforms.
Instagram Shops:
One factor that paved the way for the growth of e-commerce is the fact that social platforms provide the necessary space for them. Instagram, one of the significant potential social platforms for e-commerce, has Instagram Shops that is wholly dedicated for brands to promote their products. The application allows marketers to add comprehensive details about the product, such as the various color combinations of the product, specifications, etc. Hence, such an interface will provide a smoother purchasing experience to the customers. Generation Z, which is the age group with a large number of potential buyers, comprises the significant user base of Instagram. Hence, many B2C brands have a good business for them through Instagram.
Moreover, Instagram also gives other ways for brands to promote a product. It allows brands to post sponsored content on the stories section alongside adding a call-to-action. Notably, the Stories section has a higher engagement than any other form of content on Instagram. Hence, a consistent number of brands are improving their sales by doing promotions in the stories section. Such space given by the social platforms for the e-commerce industry has enhanced the sales of many companies.
Facebook Marketplace:
During the outbreak of COVID-19 last year, countries went into lockdown. Due to this, many restaurant owners, grocery shops, and medium-scale businesses underwent a tough situation as their businesses came to a standstill. Understanding the situation, Facebook came forward and introduced Facebook Marketplace. The feature helps people to find the essential suppliers in a particular radius in their locality. This has eventually helped many small vendors to curb their loss and continue their business. Thus, social platforms have become the lifeline for certain companies during the lockdown. Thus social media also paves the way for small businesses to keep up with their business.
The Emergence of Micro-Influencers:
Everyone is aware that influencer marketing is one of the result-assuring tactics in social
media marketing. Taking advantage of the growing importance for influencer marketing, macro-influencers have started to levy a hefty amount for brand promotions. This has led to the growth of micro-influencers. Influencers of this category have followers between ten thousand to one lakh. Now, brands are attaining traction in sales by doing promotions through more than two micro-influencers at a time. Thus, social platforms provide one way or another for brands to scale their products. This is also one of the crucial factors that made social platforms and e-commerce closer.
Influencers are also following various tactics to sustain their follower base. Influencers on TikTok buy TikTok likes paid services to increase the engagement rate of their TikTok videos.
‘Live’ Feature:
Almost all the leading social platforms have a ‘Live’ feature in them today. This acts as the best tool for brands to give essential updates that have to reach their customers instantly. Live features also work as a better conversational tool as brands can converse with their customers in real-time. Surveys also state that live videos have almost 2x higher engagement rates than normal videos. Having said that, brands use this feature to give demonstrations about their new products to their customers.
Lead Generation Eased With AI:
Today, brands have started to incorporate AI in their marketing strategy. AI tools are well-equipped as they scan various aspects such as customer behavior and purchasing patterns and give insights about where a customer stands in the sales funnel. Thus, the process of lead generation has also been simplified with AI. This is also helping companies to find the potential audience effortlessly and to scale the products quickly. Thus, social platforms are aiding brands to have continuous growth.
Wrapping Up:
Social platforms have become an essential one for brands to make their products sell. The growing user base of these platforms is also one of the factors that make e-commerce companies give vast importance to them.
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