Social commerce: why is product content king?

In our last article, we talked about social shopping as one of the 5 trends to watch for 2020. And with good reason: social networks have evolved considerably in recent years to create a model where product content is king. There are no fewer than 2 billion monthly users on Facebook and 1 billion on Instagram - to name but two - and 87% of customers say that social networks help them in their purchasing decisions: so it's inevitable for brands to be there.

What is social commerce?

As the name implies, social commerce is the use of social media to leverage the online user experience. Social commerce combines e-commerce with the integration of social networks and their influence. The general idea is to use the various platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok...) to facilitate the discovery of a brand's products, issue recommendations and make the purchasing experience more interactive.

Social commerce covers several key elements such as :UGC, User Generated Content, (encouraging customers to create content related to the products they have just purchased to create a community around the product), targeted advertising (where brands can use social media data to target ads more relevantly and accurately based on users' interests and behaviors) or personalized shopping experiences (AI-based algorithms can personalize the shopping experience by suggesting products based on past behavior, social media interactions, etc).

Social commerce to enhance the value of your content

Just like an e-commerce site or marketplaces, social networks can be used to highlight product content in all its forms. Photos, videos, infographics, live demos... There are a multitude of formats that can be used to showcase products. Facebook and Instagram are the most popular social networks used by brands, The strategic orientation of the latter must determine which platforms to exploit and what types of product content to offer. Varying the publication formats will help to create complementarity between the networks, as each of them has different uses - and users: infographics on Facebook, tagged photos (with the product reference) on Instagram, albums on Pinterest... The functionalities evolve regularly: innovation is perpetual testing.

Moreover, developing a presence on social networks enables a brand to reinforce its visibility and SEO strategy, which is always relevant for all brands, even B2B. Sharing on social networks allows you to get to know your audience, develop your community and boost your digital strategy. But to do this, brands need their product content.

The example of Gémo

Like a new generation catalogue, the Gémo brand's Instagram account puts the products in scenes of life that are both ordinary and inspirational. These visuals transpose the brand's universe into images that inspire and in which followers can recognize themselves. The product references are indicated in the captions so that they can be easily found on the e-commerce site. It is an enrichment of the product universe declined in a more "formal" way on the brand's website.

Social commerce: the power of product recommendation

The other strength of social networks today lies in their ability to circulate information by generating engagement and qualitative word-of-mouth. 25% of French people have already discovered a new product thanks to an influencer The power of product recommendation is not negligible. By creating partnerships with influencers, but also by sharing customer opinions or proposing competitions, the brand enriches its product content and multiplies its impact by finding new influence relays among the communities that make up its ideal target. Brands become closer and more attentive to their consumers.

The example of Club Med 

How do you inspire product recommendation when you're selling dream holidays all over the world? Club Med The answer is to share on Instagram and Facebook many pictures posted by its customers on holiday in its villages. 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 sleek aesthetics, consistent with the brand's high-end positioning and which highlight the beauty of the places to anyone who looks at them, to create that key thought: "it makes you want to, where is it? ».

Social commerce as a direct sales channel for your products

The objective of social shopping is clear: to generate sales. If enriched product content and influence relays make it possible to improve engagement, customer relations and ultimately sales, it is also possible to consider social networks as a direct sales channel. Whether it is a BtoC or BtoB brand, an SME or a large group, features such as marketplaces (via Facebook in particular), targeted advertising or Instagram's click to shop are all possibilities for driving traffic to the e-commerce site and increasing sales.

The example of Le Slip Français

Pure player of origin, Le Slip Français founded 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 shop is therefore an extension of the online shop, in line with a truly omnichannel strategy. It presents the products, their prices and visuals in "real life". The redirection is made at the time of payment to the e-commerce site.

Conclusion

83% of e-commerce sites use social networks, and while the big favorites remain Facebook and Instagram, there are a multitude of ways to use them that place social shopping at the heart of product strategy. It's no coincidence that Gémo, Club Med and Le Slip Français have invested in social networks to grow and sell more. And what better way than with PIM (Product Information Management) to push product information onto social networks and give a new dimension to the omnichannel product experience? In 2020, like these three social shopping pioneers, go into high gear with PIM !

Would you like to push your product content into social commerce? Request a free demo.