Social commerce is one of the hottest trends in online retail.

It is hardly a surprise, knowing that people are spending more and more time on social networks. Increasingly, social media are becoming one of the main ecommerce channels. To be more precise, one third of users aged 18-34 make purchases through social media, which is a pretty significant group. If you haven’t leveraged these channels yet, it’s high time you started considering it.

How can you apply social commerce to your own business? To help you out, we have gathered some of the best social commerce examples for different platforms, from Facebook to Pinterest and Instagram. Want to learn the best practices and get to know the latest social commerce trends? Let’s dive in!

Gain Trust with User-generated Content

Did you know that customers are even 10x more likely to trust user-generated content rather than influencers? Content created by real users feels unforced and simply more natural. It’s not carefully crafted by a whole marketing team. Rather than that, it’s created spontaneously by people that seem relatable to the audience.

User-generated content is usually associated with the fashion industry. Many brands come up with dedicated hashtags to encourage their clients to share pictures of outfits. There are plenty of examples, such as Topshop with their #TopshopStyle hashtag:

TopShop and their dedicated hashtag
Zalando's dedicated hashtag


Topshop uses its dedicated hashtag to encourage users to interact with the brand.
Dedicated hashtags are used not only by clothing brands but also by ecommerce giants, such as Zalando:

Zalando also uses dedicated hashtags to bring about greater customer engagement.
Of course, this approach is not limited to apparel only. A great example here is Daniel Wellington, a Swedish watch brand that went from $15,000 to 440 million in just 4 years.

How, you may ask?

Their approach to social commerce was revolutionary. You could say that the brand has leveraged influencer marketing, but they have done it in a very smart way. Instead of focusing on large-scale influencers, they put their trust in a smaller scale and user-generated content – and it paid off.

User-generated content on Daniel Wellington's Instagram

What’s more, most of the content shared on the Daniel Wellington Instagram is created by the brand’s loyal customers:

Daniel Wellington frequently features its customers on its Instagram profile.
The #DWPickoftheDay contest encourages Instagram users to get creative in order to be featured. What’s more, the pictures generate social proof. Potential customers believe that the brand’s products are used by real people. When they buy the watch, they feel that it’s more than just a purchase – it also creates a sense of belonging to a bigger group. Daniel Wellington customers believe that when they buy a watch, they become a part of the brand themselves.

Generate Buzz with Instagram Posts

Instagram is not just an inspiring space for user-generated content – it’s also one of the most powerful channels for social commerce. Yotpo has conducted a study on Instagram commerce and the statistics look quite promising. 72% of respondents claim that seeing a product pictured on Instagram increases their chances of purchasing it, while almost 40% say that they frequently buy products seen on Instagram. That’s a great conversion rate, isn’t it?

The app offers dedicated social selling features, such as the “tap to shop” functionality. Instagram Shopping is currently available in more than 40 countries worldwide, and new markets are constantly being added. Many big companies use product tagging to direct the customers straight to the online store. One of the most prominent examples is Sephora:

Sephora product tagging


Sephora takes full advantage of product tagging on Instagram.
Everything you can see in the picture can be shopped. Like the brow palette? It only takes a couple of taps to purchase it right here, right now, without any hassle. What’s more, Sephora is great at keeping their social commerce efforts consistent. As you probably already know, Instagram only allows you to add one link in your bio. Here’s how Sephora is using this opportunity:

Sephora link the bio


Sephora uses the one spot for a link in the bio to make it clear where you should go for shopping.GET THE FREE EBOOK

Zalando's excellent activity on Instagram
Vanity Planet's social proof

Another good idea is to combine user-generated content with product tagging, just like Zalando does. They use their Instagram account not only to appreciate their customers’ creations but also to tag products from the online store:

Zalando combines user-generated content with product tagging on Instagram in an excellent way.
Last but not least, you can use Instagram photos as testimonials and a source of social proof on your ecommerce website. Have a look at this example of Vanity Planet, a beauty products store:

Vanity Planet makes use of Instagram pictures for its social proof.
The ecommerce store came up with an A/B test that involved adding user-generated Instagram photos at the bottom of the product page. The change proved to be successful: the number of users reaching the checkout page has increased by 24%.

Inspire Your Customers with Pinterest

Did you know that more than 322 million people are using Pinterest worldwide? This social media channel is more powerful than it may seem at first. It is a great source of inspiration, but people actually use Pinterest to shop, too. Keep in mind that when someone is using the platform, their buying intent is usually quite high. This is reflected in the statistics – 83% of weekly Pinterest users have made a purchase inspired by the content they saw on the platform. 75% of users claim openly that they’re interested in new products.

So, what’s in it for your brand, and how can you leverage the power of Pinterest properly?

First of all, start with setting up your Pinterest Business account. This will unlock a range of features that will help you boost your sales. One of them is the Pinterest Tag, which will allow you to track conversions and user behavior. This is the best way to measure the impact of your campaigns and target them more accurately.

Just like Instagram, Pinterest also offers a way to redirect your potentials customer straight to the online store. Buyable pins are powerful CTA buttons displayed right next to the pin, like this:

Pinterest buying pins


Pinterest’s buyable pins are an excellent way of boosting your sales.

If you’re using a popular ecommerce platform, such as Shopify or Magento, you can link straight to particular product pages. When someone sees a piece of furniture they like, they can purchase it right away.

Buyable Pins are the most straightforward option, but there’s much more to Pinterest than just that. You can also choose to use rich pins, with a focus on product pins. These don’t feature the “buy” button, but they include product information and a link to the online store, just like in the example below:

Aillea on Pinterest
ShopStyle on Pinterest


Instead of a purchase button, Aillea features a description and a link.
Another interesting option, especially for fashion brands, is known as Shop the Look.
You can mark every item with a dot, as pictured, and redirect the visitors straight to the product pages:

ShopStyle uses the option to shop the look on Pinterest.

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Make It Easier with Facebook Store

New Balance on Facebook Store
Loveramics on Facebook Store
Loveramics on Facebook Store

Did you know that 85% of all social media orders come from Facebook? It’s hardly a surprise then that the platform is trying to make purchases even easier. When the user finds your brand on Facebook, you don’t even need to redirect them to your store. When you implement the Facebook Store section, they can start shopping right away! This solution is used not only by small local stores, but also some of the biggest brand, such as New Balance:

New Balance makes sure to take advantage of Facebook Store.
Thought this is unnecessary? Not exactly: the “buy” button will redirect the clients straight to the checkout form. Have a look at this example from Loveramics:

Loveramics makes it possible for users to shop on Facebook.
You can see all the pictures and the whole product description on Facebook, without going to another website. And here’s where you land after clicking “Check Out on Website”:

Finalizing the payment is fuss-free when redirecting from Facebook to Loveramics.
This solution reduces friction significantly and makes the whole user journey as easy as can be. Only the payment takes place outside Facebook – apart from that, you don’t even need to leave the social media website.

Start a Conversation with Messenger Chatbots

Although chatbots are not the first thing that comes to mind when talking about social commerce, they still create a lot of interesting opportunities for boosting customer engagement.

Messenger plugin by Avon

Avon can be a great example here. The company used Messenger chatbots in a very smart way. A special plugin allowed them to test a lipstick shade before buying it, all thanks to a special camera filter:

Avon allows their clients to test lipstick shades on camera on Messenger.
This one is both impressive and immersive, yet you don’t need to build fancy AR filters to engage your clients. You can also use a chatbot to distribute promo codes or send newsletters. It is also worth mentioning that Messenger chatbots boast particularly high open rates. They may even reach almost 100% – and in the case of chatbots, it’s definitely not something unusual!

Create a Community with Facebook Groups

Setting up a Facebook group for your brand (or ecommerce store) takes much more effort than running a page, but it’s well worth it in the long run. Some companies attribute as much as 50% of their sales to Facebook groups!

Increasing your sales is obviously the main objective, yet you should always keep in mind that groups should be a space for discussion in the first place.

Mokosh and its Facebook group

The group can be openly branded, just like the group MOKOSH Lovers:

A dedicated Facebook group is an excellent way to directly connect with your customers.
This group has been created by Mokosh, a Polish natural cosmetics brand. The customers use it to ask for skincare advice, share their experiences and communicate with the brand. It’s a space for sharing inspiration and suggesting improvements. It creates a sense of belonging to a community of people with common interests who share the same values too.

ZigZag facebook group

You can also choose to distribute special offers to Facebook group members only, like ZigZag does:

On its closed Facebook group ZigZag distributes special offers.
If you’re a member of the group, you can get access to new arrivals 24 hours before others. There are exclusive products available and live sales too. Pretty neat, right?

Key Takeaways for Boosting Your Ecommerce Business

As you can see, social commerce is a goldmine of opportunities. Everyone is on social media nowadays, which means you should be there too. On the other hand, creating a single profile and posting a thing or two from time to time won’t do the job. Look at how top ecommerce brands leverage the power of social media and be sure to include some of these ideas in your strategy. We hope this article will help you out!

This article was originally published at Growcode.com, by author Pawel Ogonowski.

Original article >>

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