Social Commerce: Definition, Tactics, and Examples

What Is Social Commerce?

Social commerce uses networking websites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as vehicles to promote and sell products and services. A social commerce campaign's success is measured by the degree to which consumers interact with the company's marketing through retweets, likes, and shares.

Understanding Social Commerce

Social commerce professionals create and post messages and interactive features that promote online sales and other e-commerce initiatives. Some of the marketing tactics social commerce employs include:

• Inviting users to vote on product style or choices
• Offering personalized buyer options
• Applying large and striking graphics to attract viewer clicks
• Using videos to show the product in use and from multiple angles
• Encouraging user-submitted photos, commentary, and feedback
• Using celebrity endorsements of the product line
• Linking directly to the checkout or shopping cart
• Offering promotions or giveaways to users who share the product on their feeds

Social commerce encourages social shopping tools such as forums and communities where buyers and sellers discuss their online shopping experiences and compare notes.

How Social Commerce Began

In the article "Social Commerce: A New Electronic Commerce," Yao Zhong said the concept of consumer marketing promotions online first appeared on the internet in November 2005 in Yahoo! The site promoted their "Shoposphere pick lists," which highlighted the most popular products.

The notion of social commerce developed further to engage online shoppers by offering reliable advice and support from online experts regarding their purchases. Marketing blogger Jeff Bullas identifies the following four brands as being among the best in the business:

• Nordstrom, which pins a "popular on Pinterest" label on store items that are trending online
• Coca-Cola, which personalized its labels on bottles in stores and then invited social media users to post photos of their name-branded soda with the hashtag #ShareACoke
• Lolly Wolly Doodle, a fashion brand that allows followers to design and order their own clothes right on its Facebook page
• Starbucks, which awards bonus points to customers who unlock Mayor badges on Foursquare

Social commerce is different from social shopping. While social shopping is a collaboration of online shoppers networking together, social commerce collaborates with online vendors.

Special Considerations

Social commerce is a growing and changing field of online marketing that works in conjunction with social media and online shopping growth. Fashion and shopping-related blogs use social commerce and media to entice shoppers to purchase linked items online.

For example, many popular fashion blogs have Instagram accounts that allow followers to like, share, and comment on the offered product. The tagged article frequently links directly to the store's shopping cart or check-out desk.