Social commerce: why is product content king?

Social commerce is enjoying a meteoric rise worldwide. By 2024, revenues generated by social media platforms are expected to reach nearly $700 billion, marking 23% growth over the previous year. 

This phenomenon, which integrates social interaction into the online shopping experience, is winning over more and more consumers. However, some countries are adopting this sales channel faster than others. 

Leading the way in social commerce are Thailand, Colombia and China, where around nine out of ten Internet users will have made purchases via social networks by 2023. These pioneering markets show that social commerce is redefining online purchasing behavior, transforming social networks into veritable marketplaces.

Social Commerce: definition

Social commerce is the perfect alliance between online commerce and social networks, creating a new way of interacting with consumers. 

Unlike traditional marketing, this approach directly integrates purchasing within social platforms, enabling users to discover, interact with and purchase products without leaving their social network. The result is a simplified, interactive customer experience, where every step of the purchase process - from discovery to payment - is optimized to reduce friction.

This fluidity considerably improves conversion rates, as users are exposed to products in a familiar environment, influenced by social recommendations. The community aspect of social commerce, amplified by shared opinions and content, reinforces trust and the spontaneity of purchases. 

This model has become a must for brands, enabling them to fully exploit the power of social networks to reach consumers in a more immersive and engaging way.

Social commerce is characterized by several key elements that transform social networks into powerful sales levers.

1. User-Generated Content (UGC): Brands encourage their customers to share authentic photos, videos and reviews of their products. This content, perceived as more reliable than traditional advertising, reinforces brand credibility and builds an active, engaged community around products. Consumers are increasingly relying on these social recommendations to make their purchasing decisions.
2. Targeted advertising: Using social network data, brands can create hyper-targeted ads, reaching consumers with similar buying behaviors or corresponding interests. This precision optimizes advertising campaigns and increases return on investment.
3. Personalized shopping experiences: Artificial intelligence analyzes users' interactions, purchase history and preferences to offer products tailored to their needs. This creates a tailor-made customer experience that enhances satisfaction and loyalty.
4. Live shopping: Increasingly popular, live shopping combines entertainment, real-time interaction and instant purchases. Brands create events where they present products live, encouraging viewers to buy immediately.
5. Integrating influencers: Influencers play a major role in social commerce, becoming brand ambassadors. Their ability to connect with their followers makes them key partners for promoting and selling products directly.

Social commerce blurs the lines between social interaction and online purchasing, offering brands a unique opportunity to forge authentic links with their customers. By integrating the act of purchasing into conversations and exchanges, it stimulates sales in a natural, immersive and engaging way.

Social commerce to enhance the value of your content

Social commerce is an essential lever for enhancing brands' product content, by offering them an interactive and attractive presentation space. 

Unlike traditional e-commerce sites or marketplaces, social networks allow products to be showcased in a variety of content forms, such as photos, videos, infographics or live demos. This variety of formats enables brands to capture users' attention in a more engaging and creative way.

The important thing is to choose social platforms according to your strategy and target audience. For example, while Facebook and Instagram are often top of mind for brands, the choice of networks needs to be tailored to specific objectives. A brand can leverage the power of Instagram for visual posts, such as photos tagged with product references, while Pinterest is ideal for creating inspirational albums. TikTok, meanwhile, lends itself particularly well to short, dynamic video demonstrations. 

Varying formats and types of content helps to create complementarity between networks, each with its own features and distinct audience.

What's more, being active on social networks boosts brand visibility and improves your SMO strategy, which is relevant even for B2B companies. Sharing content on these platforms also helps you get to know your audience better, develop an engaged community and boost the effectiveness of your digital strategy. To achieve this, high-quality content is essential.

The example of Gémo

The Gémo brand's Instagram account functions like a new-generation catalog, showcasing its products in authentic, inspiring life situations. 

These visuals successfully transpose the brand's universe by creating attractive images that resonate with followers, enabling them to identify with them easily. Product references are carefully indicated in the captions, making them easy to find on the e-commerce site. 

This approach enriches the user experience by offering a more dynamic and engaging presentation of products, complementing the more traditional way in which they are displayed on the brand's website.

Social commerce: the power of product recommendation

The strength of today's social networks lies in their ability to disseminate information while generating commitment and high-quality word-of-mouth. 

According to a Digital Marketing study, 49% of consumers rely on influencer recommendations to discover new products. By partnering with influencers, sharing customer reviews and running competitions, brands can enrich their content and extend their reach. 

The example of Club Med

How do you inspire product recommendation when you're selling dream holidays all over the world? 

Club Med is responding by sharing numerous snapshots posted by its customers on vacation in its villages on Instagram and Facebook. Customers, but also influencers, are encouraged to post their images with the hashtag #ClubMed, in order, of course, to inspire and inspire their own followers. 

The brand reposts some of the shots, selected for their polished aesthetics, consistent with the brand's high-end positioning and which enhance the beauty of the places in the eyes of whoever looks at them, to create this key thought: "it makes you want to, where is it?".

Social commerce as a direct sales channel for your products

The aim of social commerce is obvious: to boost sales. By enriching product content and leveraging influencers, brands can not only improve engagement and customer relations, but also increase sales. 

Social networks also present themselves as a direct sales channel. Whether BtoC or BtoB brands, SMEs or large corporations, features such as marketplaces on Facebook, targeted ads and click-to-shop on Instagram offer numerous opportunities to drive traffic to the e-commerce site and boost sales.

The example of Le Slip Français

Originally a pure player, Le Slip Français built its success on its e-commerce site before opening its first boutiques. 

However, social networks have been key to the brand's development and are still at the forefront of the strategy today: the Facebook store is therefore an extension of the online store, in line with a truly omnichannel strategy. It presents products, prices and "real-life" visuals. Payment is redirected to the e-commerce site.