Entertainment & Entrepreneurship: How Social Commerce Is Changing the Game

Social media has grown so much that more than half of the world now uses one form or another; the number of social media users has now reached 4.62 billion. Since Facebook’s launch in 2004, followed by YouTube (2005), Twitter (2006), and Instagram (2010), the number of users keeps on growing by about 10% each year.

What used to be a platform for communication, content sharing, and entertainment is now also an online marketplace. Your social media followers can easily shop and purchase items within the app, so you should work with high-risk merchant account providers and set up payment gateways to facilitate social media transactions.

On TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, followers are easily turned into customers. This development greatly helped to shorten the shopping experience while allowing business owners to attract followers and convert them to customers.

The global pandemic pushed people to shift from doing regular shopping to online shopping. This rapid development valued the global commerce market at $89.4 billion in 2020 and is estimated to reach $604.5 billion by 2027. 

Social media is no longer limited to socializing; it has also become an avenue where consumers can research products to purchase.

Why Social Media Commerce?

On average, social media users spend 2 hours and 27 minutes daily on their preferred platforms. Generation Z and millennials spend most of their time on social media. 

So, if your target market is millennials and Gen Z, you do not want to miss out on the opportunity to establish your brand’s social media presence. In 2021, social commerce sales reached $492 billion globally and it’s expected to triple by 2025.

As social media continues to dominate, companies should not only develop content and marketing strategies but also leverage the commerce capabilities of social media platforms to reach a wider range of consumers.  Implementing an influencer marketing strategy that directly links to the products for purchase will compel users to complete transactions because it’s not more convenient to do so.

If your content is interesting enough, you will attract public interest and drive sales. Leveraging social media will not only promote your products and services but will provide insight into your target audience’s preferences as well as competitors’ strategies.

Social media allows you to interact with your audience and followers through quality content, comments, and direct messages. Through customer engagement, you are made aware of their wants and needs while addressing issues, which leads to a better customer experience.

Social media is an inexpensive way to promote your business via targeted advertising. The algorithms of the different platforms allow companies to reach their target demographic based on a number of factors, including but not limited to language, location, and online behaviors for a price that is within your budget.

With more than half of the world’s population using social media, it is no wonder why these platforms reach a highly targeted audience. The power of social media also improves traffic to your website, acts as a window to showcase your products or services, and drives sales.

Lastly, social media is an opportunity to humanize your brand. Sharing the content of your daily operations, engaging with customers beyond the monetary transaction, and showcasing how customers have benefitted from your products or services are all great ways to show your social media followers and potential customers what your brand is about.