Social media e-commerce is a marriage that was bound to happen. With social media attracting more and more of consumers’ time and attention, and mobile technology allowing people to instantly connect whenever and where ever they want, it’s a no-brainer that businesses would try to turn all of that activity into sales.
With social media e-commerce, you can turn your social media accounts into online stores and run a profitable e-commerce business. While it is still advisable to maintain an online store hosted on your own website, since social media and selling platforms tend to change their rules a lot, social media e-commerce nevertheless allows you to get your foot in the door with little to no initial investment.
If you are new to social media selling, then there are several solutions out there that can get you up and running in no time. Here is a list of some popular options to consider:
Shopial allows you to instantly turn your online store into Facebook and Pinterest storefronts. You can also use the platform to create and activate Facebook ads in order to generate more targeted traffic and sales. The system works with all the major e-commerce platforms, such as eBay, Etsy, Amazon, Magento and Shopify.
Throw those stock photos away! Olapic allows you to boost sales with user-generated images from social media. The platform aggregates images submitted by users on various social media channels such as Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. Then, using a curation algorithm and human editors, Olapic identifies which images are best suited to for use in your marketing campaigns.
If you are looking to monetize your Instagram feed, then Soldsie may be for you. Its selling solution, have2have.it, lets users shop your posts via a unique URL (have2have.it/yourstore). You just need to add the link to your profile, and customers will have easy access to a e-commerce version of your Instagram feed.
Soldie also supports an interesting Facebook app that turns the comments section into an e-commerce machine. Once customers leave a comment under a photo, Soldsie automatically adds the item to their shopping cart for quick and easy checkout.
Beetailer is another great social media selling platform for Facebook. The system quickly catalogs and imports all of your products on Facebook. The best part about Beetailer is that it is a set it and forget it system. Once the initial migration is complete, it requires no configuration or maintenance, and products are automatically updated as your website’s inventory changes. Beetailer also supports a wide range of marketing tools like campaigns and promotions, offers detailed analytics, and integrates with existing checkout systems.
Chirpify is an “engagement loyalty program” that integrates online and offline channels with social media. It works by using unique campaign hashtags to enable purchases across multiple social networks. The goal is to convert relevant social media activity into rewards for users while generating valuable data and sales for you the business owner. All users have to do is post the hashtag on their Twitter, Facebook or Instagram feeds to activate a purchase or take advantage of a promotional offer.
If you want to sell your products or services on Facebook, you might as well go to the source. Facebook for Business is a robust platform that allows you to create Facebook business pages and purchase Facebook ads and then integrate your Facebook campaign into a business website or mobile app. The platform also provides extensive analytics and reporting that will give you key insights into your campaign performance.
Pinterest for Business allows businesses create branded Pinterest accounts. There are two important features that are valuable to businesses when it comes to Pinterest. First, businesses can add the “Pin It” button to any images of their products found on the web. When Pinterest users click on the button, not only is the image is added to their boards so their followers can see it, these pins also include the seller’s shop name and pricing information. The second feature is Buyable Pins. This feature allows you to add a Buy button on every pin you place on Pinterest. All sales generated are free of charge.
Twitter currently offers “Buy Now” buttons that allow followers to make purchases from your Twitter feed in real time. This means customers don’t even have to go to your online store to buy your products.
With one or more off the platforms mentioned above, you can turn your business’ social media presence into some serious social sales.