Social media is prevalent in our everyday lives. As of January, 2025 63.9% of the world’s population use social media which equates to an astonishing 5.24 billion people. As well, on average people spend 2 hours and 20 minutes per day using social media. The most prevalent platforms include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Social media cuts across all demographic groups and continues to grow, with new users joining every day.
Beyond simply advertising, how can your local business more fully leverage the power of social media?
One idea is social media commerce. Social media commerce is the practice of buying and selling products and services directly on social media platforms. It’s a subset of eCommerce, which is the broader term for buying and selling goods online.
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So how does social media commerce work? Essentially customers browse products in their social media feed and can make purchases directly on the social media platform, natively, without leaving the app. Social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok offer tools to create digital storefronts.
Here are some of the key benefits of social media commerce:
- Convenience: Customers can discover and purchase products without leaving their preferred apps.
- Frictionless Shopping: The streamlined purchasing process can lead to repeat purchases and long-term customer relationships.
- Personalized Experience: Customers can connect with their favorite brands and discover new products.
An example of how this all might work would be a clothing brand tagging products in an Instagram post, allowing users to directly tap on the tagged item to view details and purchase it all within the Instagram app without needing to navigate to a separate website. Social commerce enables shoppable posts and direct on-platform purchases.
Social media advertising can also be used to supercharge your results. Paid advertising on social media platforms can increase brand awareness, driving traffic to your product pages, and enabling targeted reach to potential customers and facilitating engagement with your brand. Further, social media influencer marketing can lend credibility and trust leading to higher conversion rates and improved sales.
An example of integrating social media advertising and commerce would be a local bakery using Facebook to run targeted ads highlighting their new seasonal pie flavors, allowing users to directly click on the image to purchase the pie through their online store integrated with Facebook.
According to recent data, social commerce is increasingly effective, with a significant portion of consumers now using social media platforms to discover and purchase products, with estimates suggesting that around 50% of social media users engage in buying activities, making it a valuable channel for businesses to reach customers and drive sales.
According to recent estimates, the global social commerce market is currently valued at nearly $1.2 trillion, with projections showing significant growth and a rapidly expanding market sector.
Social commerce can also be effective for local businesses as it allows you to reach a wider audience within your community, engage with customers directly on social media platforms, and even facilitate local sales through features like shoppable posts and in-store pickup options, making it a valuable too for boosting local customer engagement and sales. Studies show that social commerce can be especially beneficial for small and medium sized businesses as a higher likelihood of social buyers support them compared to traditional online shopping.
Some of the key benefits of local social commerce include:
- Targeted Reach: Social media platforms allow precise targeting based on demographics and location, ensuring your marketing reaches people in your immediate area.
- Community Building: Foster a sense of community by interacting with local customers on social media, running local promotions, and sharing locally relevant content.
- Increased Brand Awareness: Utilize social media to showcase your products and services and increase visibility among potential customers in your community.
- Direct Sales Potential: Many platforms now offer shoppable features where customers can purchase directly from your social media post, and pick-up in-store.
To be most effective utilizing social commerce locally, be sure to choose the right platforms, focusing on those where your local customers congregate; utilize local hashtags to increase discoverability among people searching for local businesses; run local contests and promotions including special deals for local customers; and be sure to engage with your followers by responding to comments and questions to build relationships and the reputation of your business in the space.
As you consider social commerce as a tactic for your local business, here are some key points to consider:
- You’ll Need an Effective Strategy: To maximize the effectiveness of social commerce, local brands need to develop targeted strategies that leverage the unique features of each platform and engage with your audience through relevant content.
- Influencer Marketing Potential: Utilizing influencers on social media can significantly amplify reach and drive sales.
- Seamless Shopping Experience: Providing easy-to-use purchase options directly within social platforms is crucial for optimized conversion rates.
Any business, large or small, can engage in social commerce. It’s a great way to be accessible to more potential customers and enables you to compete with national retailers in selling your products and services.
If you’d like to learn more about how to include social commerce in your business plan, please give us a call or email us here at Sentinel Solutions.
We are experts in social media marketing and effectively incorporate these tactics into your marketing mix. We can help you build a compelling campaign that engages your audience and drives sales.
Give us a call if we can help at 603-352-5896 or e-mail to Advertising@SentinelDigitalSolutions.com. We’re here to help you succeed.
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