How will you promote a social media procuring expertise?

A lot has changed since the beginning of 2020, especially after the initial lockdown in many countries around the world. It also changed the role of social media in marketing strategies.

Once used only as a channel between a company and its customers, large companies are reinventing this interaction and creating social-first customer experiences. This is because due to the lockdown Millions of people are now using online shopping as a routine for all types of products and services.

Companies are also increasingly using social channels because they can create viral content. Because of the way these platforms are built (smaller and flashy content, easy sharing, and instant social feedback), content that really gets into people’s minds tends to go viral quickly.

Indeed, after Hootsuite‘s Social Trends 2022 report, 53.2% of the younger generation prefer social networks for brand research.

What does that mean? This year, more than ever, small businesses need to pay special attention to social commerce, according to Hootsuite’s study. Leveraging social commerce can create a better brand experience and better results in business.

On the one hand we are with Rock content are specialists and ensure a great experience with great content.

On the other hand, Hootsuite specializes in social media and their trends – that’s why we put these two hands together to create this special series of articles in partnership. Follow us for a deeper dive into each of the trends in the Hootsuite report and how that could affect your brand in 2022.

The effective growth of social commerce

It seems like there is no going back from buying on social media platforms. According to Statista, market forecasts point to the Global sales through these types of networks will be around $ 2.9 trillion in 2026.

One of the main reasons for the rise of social commerce is the personalized shopping experience that shoppers find in apps like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.

Hypersegmented ads play an important role in helping companies target the right customers. This statement is confirmed by the report that 75% of Generation Z users in the US are influenced by social ads in their purchase decisions.

Another highlight are visual content formats. Businesses have found more and more consumers are excited about fast video, live streams, and high quality images. Hence it is not surprising that 40% of Pinterest users search for products and brands on the image-based platform.

The trend towards visual content is again confirmed by YouTube, which is a research source for 51% of US and UK buyers.

Numbers don’t lie, so let’s stop wasting time looking at some cases from companies that have created great social commerce experiences for their customers and prospects. Should we?

5 Amazing Examples of Social Commerce Strategies

1. Goodbye Cinderella

The fashion shoe brand Goodbye Cinderella from Barcelona currently uses UGC (User generated content) to advertise its offers and at the same time to get in contact with its audience.

In this post, they shared a picture sent by a typical shopper to express the authenticity of their shoes.

Interactions like these help brands build more natural relationships with potential buyers as they can see how a product fits into actual consumer lives.

With a strong UGC strategy, your followers will be happy to create content for your brand and also promote it on their social channels. This is a great way to bond with your audience.

The strategy might work even better if the users who create content for you are popular on the internet. Au Revoir Cinderella works with micro-influencers from the fashion industry to achieve greater reach on Instagram and attract more prospects.

2. Sephora

The iconic beauty brand is really known for great customer experiences in their physical stores. For example, there are usually two colors of baskets, one for people who need help and another for people who prefer to shop on their own.

In social commerce it is necessary to create an experience on the same level. With this in mind, Sephora has “Fragrance IQ” quiz.

Referrals are always a great way to attract new customers, and creating an interactive quiz will make that experience even better.

Resources like these add credibility to your brand. After all, you are actively helping users choose the right product for their needs instead of selling them everything you have in stock just to take their money.

Hence, shoppers who took the quiz are likely to make more purchases if your recommendations for their preferences turn out to be correct.

At the same time, quizzes and other interactive experiences give you a better understanding of your customers’ behavior. Every response and click generates data that you can use to target customers with the offers they are more likely to accept.

3. Bollé

Bollé used Augmented Reality (AR) to create a unique experience for Instagram followers and enabled potential buyers to virtually try on and try out his new Phantom sunglasses model.

Users were able to use the selfie mode camera to visualize what the lenses look like on their faces. Then they could switch to the front view and add effects to the camera to see how the sunglasses behave in a real environment.

The experience is fully integrated into the shopping process, so after enjoying the image with the sunglasses, the user can immediately select the model they want and the seller from whom they will buy.

Bollé’s initiative is another great example of how social commerce can be more effective and profitable with the help of advanced technology. From a branding perspective, it’s also a strategic way to increase engagement and authority in the marketplace.

Additionally, providing users with sophisticated ways to interact with products before they spend their money is a win-win approach. The more interactions that are registered on the AR page, the higher the chances of collecting valuable data from every visitor.

4. Dollar Shave Club

Leveraging positive feedback from customers is key for a brand to stand out in the e-commerce world. With this attitude, Dollar Shave Club created a Pinterest board entirely devoted to his customers’ valuable comments on them and the unpacking of photos.

This action mixes user-generated content and social evidence to gain credibility and trust not just from their base, but from any Pinterest user who wants to learn more about the brand.

This example eloquently shows how different steps in the customer lifecycle can mutually support each other to benefit the brand as a whole.

Dollar Shave Club uses loyal buyers in the retention phase to advertise their service in order to attract new buyers. It’s the perfect combination!

5. Jordan

In 2018 this is legendary shoe brand partnered with Snapchat to create a great digital experience to bring their Air Jordan III “Tinker” special edition to market. It was only accessible in a specific NBA All-Star Weekend court area.

Aside from the urgency for Jordan’s clients, this strategy included a gamification process to keep Snapchat users on the platform during the event. In 1988 they were able to simulate a classic play by Michael Jordan by activating a unique lens flare.

The QR code that Jordan made available to the participants enabled them to buy the sneakers directly on Snapchat through an integration with Shopify.

The icing on the cake was the fast delivery system run by a company called Darkstore. Most shoppers received their brand new shoes at home the same day.

This pinpoint, engaging experience represents the best of both worlds for social commerce. It takes advantage of the emotional high shoppers feel due to the event setting, while also providing an easy buying method that dispels objections.

With all of these examples, it can be seen that social media can provide a great and unique shopping experience for users in general. Brands can combine their products or services with certain social tools to engage with their audience, build a solid promoter base, and attract even more customers, rather than just serving as a mere advertisement for customers.

If you want to learn more about what social media marketing has in store for this year, take a look Hootsuite Social media trends 2022 report and keep an eye out for our special articles here in the Rock Content blog.

Next week, for the last article in Rock content and Hootsuite‘s blog series, we’ll dive into the rising demand for customer service on social media. Stay tuned!