Social commerce: why is product content king?

Social commerce is experiencing rapid growth on a global scale. By 2024, revenue generated by social media platforms is expected to reach nearly $700 billion, marking a 23 per cent increase on the previous year.

This phenomenon, which integrates social interactions into the online shopping experience, is attracting more and more consumers. However, some countries are adopting this sales channel more quickly than others.

Leading the way in social commerce are Thailand, Colombia and China, where around nine in ten internet users made purchases via social media in 2023. These pioneering markets demonstrate that social commerce is redefining online shopping behaviour, transforming social media platforms into genuine marketplaces.

Social Commerce: definition

Social commerce is the perfect blend of e-commerce and social media, creating a new way of interacting with consumers.

Unlike traditional marketing, this approach integrates the purchasing process directly into social media platforms, allowing users to discover, interact with and buy products without leaving their social media feed. This results in a streamlined and interactive customer experience, where every stage of the purchase – from discovery to payment – is optimised to minimise friction.

This seamless flow significantly improves conversion rates, as users are exposed to products in a familiar environment and influenced by social recommendations. The community aspect of social commerce, amplified by reviews and shared content, builds trust and encourages spontaneous purchases.

This model, which has become essential for brands, enables them to fully harness the power of social media to reach consumers in a more immersive and engaging way.

Social commerce is characterised by several key elements that transform social media into powerful sales drivers.

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, boosts brand credibility and builds an active, engaged community around the products. Consumers are increasingly relying on these social recommendations when making purchasing decisions.
2. Targeted advertising: Using data from social media, brands can create hyper-targeted adverts, reaching consumers with similar purchasing behaviours or corresponding interests. This precision helps optimise advertising campaigns and increase return on investment.
3. Personalised shopping experiences: Artificial intelligence analyses users’ interactions, their purchase history and their preferences to suggest products tailored to their needs. This creates a bespoke 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 showcase products live, encouraging viewers to buy immediately.
5. Involving influencers: Influencers play a major role in social commerce, acting as 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 shopping, offering brands a unique opportunity to forge authentic connections with their customers. By integrating the act of purchasing into conversations and exchanges, it helps to drive sales in a natural, immersive and engaging way.

Social commerce to showcase brand content

Social commerce is a key tool for showcasing brands’ product content, providing them with an interactive and attractive platform.

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

The key is to choose social media platforms based on your strategy and target audience. For example, whilst Facebook and Instagram are often the top choices for brands, the choice of platforms must be tailored to specific objectives. A brand can harness the power of Instagram for visual posts, such as photos tagged with product references, whilst Pinterest is ideal for creating inspiring boards. TikTok, meanwhile, lends itself particularly well to short, dynamic video demonstrations.

Thus, varying the formats and types of content allows the platforms to complement one another, as each has its own features and a distinct audience.

Furthermore, being active on social media boosts brand visibility and enhances a brand’s SMO strategy, which is relevant even for B2B companies. Sharing content on these platforms also helps brands gain a better understanding of their audience, build an engaged community and strengthen the effectiveness of their digital strategy. To achieve this, high-quality content is essential to sustain this momentum.

The example of Gémo

The Gémo brand’s Instagram account functions as a next-generation catalogue, showcasing its products in authentic and inspiring real-life situations.

These visuals successfully bring the brand’s world to life by creating appealing images that resonate with followers, allowing them to relate to them easily. Product references are carefully included in the captions, making it easier to find them on the e-commerce site.

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

Social commerce: the power of product recommendations

The strength of social media today lies in its ability to disseminate information whilst fostering engagement and high-quality word-of-mouth.

According to a study by Digital Marketing, 49 per cent of consumers rely on recommendations from influencers to discover new products. By partnering with influencers, sharing customer reviews and organising competitions, brands enrich their content and broaden their reach.

The example of Club Med

How can you encourage product recommendations when you’re selling dream holidays all over the world?

Club Med’s solution is to share on Instagram and Facebook numerous photos posted by customers on holiday at its resorts. Customers – as well as influencers – are encouraged to post their images using the hashtag #ClubMed, in order, of course, to inspire and entice their own followers.

The brand reposts a selection of these photos, chosen for their polished aesthetic – consistent with the brand’s upmarket positioning – and which highlight the beauty of the locations to anyone who sees them, to create this key message: ‘That looks amazing – where is it?’.

Social commerce as a direct sales channel for your products

The aim of social commerce is clear: to boost sales. By enriching product content and partnering with influencers, brands can not only improve engagement and customer relationships, but also increase their turnover.

Social media also serves as a direct sales channel. Whether for B2C or B2B brands, SMEs or large corporations, features such as Facebook marketplaces, targeted adverts and Instagram’s ‘click-to-shop’ function offer numerous opportunities to drive traffic to e-commerce sites and boost sales.

The example of Le Slip Français

Originally a pure online retailer, Le Slip Français built its success on its e-commerce site before opening its first high-street shops.

However, social media has been key to the brand’s development and remains at the forefront of its strategy today: the Facebook shop is therefore an extension of the online shop, in line with a truly omnichannel strategy. It showcases the products, their prices and visuals in ‘real-life’ settings. Customers are redirected to the e-commerce site at the checkout stage.

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Conclusion

Around 83 per cent of e-commerce sites utilise social media to boost their sales, with Facebook and Instagram leading the way as the preferred platforms. However, brands can utilise a variety of tools and strategies that place social commerce at the heart of their commercial approach.

Companies such as Gémo, Club Med and Le Slip Français have recognised the importance of these channels in boosting their visibility and sales. PIM (Product Information Management) plays a crucial role in this process, enabling the effective dissemination of product information on social media and enhancing the omnichannel customer experience.

Thanks to a PIM, these pioneers of social commerce can centralise their product data, improve the consistency of their communications and respond quickly to consumers’ needs. In 2024, adopt this solution to give your social commerce strategy a boost!