I’m a big believer in the power of social media. It’s one of the greatest tools we, as entrepreneurs, have at our disposal. So if you haven’t been taking full advantage of the new features on your favorite platform, you’re truly missing out. And so is your business.
Have you noticed the growing popularity of e-commerce taking place on your favorite social media platforms? If you’re not sure what I’m referring to, think about that little white or blue bar that keeps showing up on the Instagram posts from your favorite brands.
You know the one; it says “Shop Now” at the bottom of the post, it’s clickable and takes you to a site where you can instantly purchase that product. Those are known as mobile banners and work as a “direct response” tool, allowing users to take a deeper dive into a product by visiting the product’s website. In many cases, you can then purchase the product featured in the post. Pretty genius, don’t you agree?
Over the course of the last few years, social media has truly become an incredible force in the e-commerce world and with the addition of shoppable posts on our favorite platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, it’s made shopping so much easier.
Shoppable Pinterest Post
According to Pinterest, “Buyable Pins let people buy products without ever leaving Pinterest. Like a shopping bag you can take anywhere, Buyable Pins work seamlessly across mobile and the web, so you can close the sale right when someone has the impulse to buy.”
According to Instagram, “Mobile has changed the way people shop. You browse products while waiting to be seated for dinner, make purchases on your commute into work, and compare prices online when you’re at a store to see what’s the better deal. In fact, more than 84% of smartphone users in the US browse, research or compare products via a web browser or mobile app.* While browsing and discovery is easy on mobile, finding more information about the specific products you see isn’t always as simple.”
Shoppable posts have really changed the way we shop online. Rather than having to leave a social media platform to do additional research on a product, you simply click a button and get to find out more while you’re still logged in. It also gives shoppers the chance to see what products might look like in real life. Anyone familiar with the LiketoKnow.It app? This awesome shopping app allows brand influencers the chance to tag the products they’re wearing in their Instagram posts. Users can easily screenshot the post and shop everything that’s been tagged. It’s SO simple.
And, of course, there’s the SHOP.COM Mobile App, which you can download now in the App Store or on Google Play.
Can you believe how much social media has evolved over the last few years? I’m thrilled to see how easy it’s become to be an e-commerce brand on social and how simple it is to make purchases right from social. What do you think? Has social e-commerce made your life as a shopper easier?
