Top 5 Social Commerce Trends, Plus Best Practices to Follow

The global value of social commerce is predicted to reach about $2.9 trillion in 2026, while the social commerce retail earnings in the US alone are predicted to grow to nearly $80 billion by 2025.  

When you consider that 57% of the global population is currently using social media, there's never been a better time to start selling on social! Imagine putting your brand in front of 4.59 billion people!

But remember that you’re not the only business out there vying for the attention of your customers on social media apps.  

So, how can you make your brand stand out from the increasing competition and create compelling social commerce through digital marketing campaigns in Miami?

The key here is to stay on top of social commerce trends and have a deep understanding of your target audience’s shopping preferences.  

This way, you can better use social commerce tools to provide your customers with the best social shopping experience possible.  

What is Social Commerce?

Social commerce is the use of social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook to sell and market products and services.  

This type of selling model allows customers to buy without leaving social media apps. What’s great about social commerce is that shoppers can use it to do the following:

• Research products
• Discover brands  
• Buy items
• Receive customer support  

By making your customers’ shopping experience more social, your digital marketing interactions in Miami tend to feel more organic and delightful.  

Research shows that the average social media user spends 15% of their waking life on social platforms, with 10% of American adults having an addiction to at least one social app.  

Gen Z and millennials in the US also claim that they have made at least one purchase on social media.  

Without a doubt, social commerce is the future of eCommerce It’s going to be the future of eCommerce. It’s how people will shop and how retailers will promote and sell their products.  

5 Social Commerce Trends to Adopt in Your Social Commerce Strategy

Almost half of the internet users in the US shop on social media.  

1. More and More People are Engaging with AR Experiences

In 2022, more than 25% of the people in the US use AR, of which 16.6% use them through social networks.

This means that you should look into incorporating AR into your social commerce. From social filters that allow virtual try-ons of your products to using VR to demonstrate your products in a more immersive and memorable way.

A great example of this is how L’Oreal partnered with Facebook to bring AR-powered makeup try-ons to shopping on Instagram. Their customers can simply go to L’Oreal’s Insta page, find a product, and virtually try it on before purchasing.  

An AR-fueled social commerce shopping experience allows customers to buy online with more confidence. It also makes the entire experience more exciting and personal.  

If you’re wondering how to make AR work for your brand, think of ways on how you can use it to help your customers figure out which products or services they want to buy, like doing the following:

• Employing augmented virtual humans, in reality, to assist brands in developing emotional connections with customers.  
• Augmented reality shoppable live stream to accelerate the selling process.  
• Augmented reality features in NFTs for a fully immersive experience.

2. Consumers Want More Videos from Brands

88% of consumers want more video content from brands that showcase products in action.  

Social media platforms are also putting a priority on video content over other types of media, which is why you'll see social channels releasing a laundry list of features that are video-centered, like live selling and shoppable videos.  

88% of people also say that they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a branded video. This proves that consumers are becoming increasingly reliant on videos throughout their shopping journey.  

This year, consider doing live selling and publishing shoppable videos to boost your social commerce strategy.  

Showcase your products in action to help potential customers envision themselves using your brand. It’s also crucial to make your videos interactive by providing clickable calls to action.  

Aside from promotional videos, it's also important to take an authentic approach by showcasing behind-the-scenes clips or live streams, video consultations, and personalized product recommendations.  

Focus on how you can use video to help your customers make better purchasing decisions on social.  

Here are the five best practices for using video in social commerce:

• Understand how your intended audience uses various social platforms. This will give you an idea of what types of video content to publish in a way that fits into the user experience on each platform.  
• Understand which content format different social platforms prioritize to optimize your videos for visibility. Is it Live? Short-form videos? Or longer videos?
• Keep your video concise and straight to the point.  

• Add a caption to your videos because they tend to get 40% more views and make 80% of users watch until the end.  

3. People Crave Relatable Content

Influencer marketing isn’t a new trend, but it’s still relevant for 2023. Why? A growing number of people have more faith in influencer recommendations than in branded social media content.  

However, big-name influencers with millions of followers may be out of reach for your growing retail business. This is why working with micro-influencers is the best option, especially if you want to tap into the larger segments of your target audience.  

According to Statista, Instagram influencers with less than 10,000 followers charge $193 per sponsored post. Aside from being more affordable, micro-influencers tend to have a more engaged and loyal niche fan base.  

This makes it easier for you to target new audiences, expand your reach, and build trust. They also tend to have much higher engagement rates (5%) compared to super influencers (1.6%).  

This 2023, develop an influencer program as a part of your influencer digital marketing campaigns in Miami. Discuss in detail the perks, product discounts, monetary compensations, and other non-monetary rewards influencers can get in exchange for posting images and videos about your products or services.  

If you haven’t worked with an influencer before, here are some influencer digital marketing Miami ideas you want to try:

• Gifting of product in exchange for a mention or feature in their Instagram Stories or posts.  

• Paying influencers for featuring your products or services in their blog or a sponsored social media post.  
• Provide an influencer discount code or affiliate link where they’ll get a commission per sale.  
• Let influencers take over your account for a day.  
• Co-create products with an influencer.  

4. Shoppable User-generated Content Influence Purchase Decisions

Remember earlier when we said that people don’t trust branded content as much as they did before? Social proof is the key to bringing that trust back.  

Shoppable user-generated content can provide evidence that people want to see before buying something on social media. Since people can’t physically experience an item or try it out when shopping online, they want to have a form of assurance that the item works or that it will fit them well.  

79% of people say that user-generated content highly influences their purchasing decisions. Given this compelling statistic, make sure you feature authentic visuals created by your customers to give interested buyers a look into what your products or services look like in reality.  

You also want to post images of real people using your products or service in your digital marketing campaigns in Miami and create a dedicated hashtag for them.  

Promote this hashtag in your social media bio to make it easier for people to see UGC and to encourage customers to use it.  

In 2023, the most influential content is the one that isn’t overly staged – those that come from your real customers. It’s also the type of content 56% of customers want to see from brands.  

5. Live Streaming or Shopping is What’s Popular

60% of consumers agree that live streaming improves their shopping experience.  

If you want to boost your sales this 2023, try blending live streaming and commerce by doing live selling! Live selling strategies generate a conversion rate that’s 10 times higher than traditional commerce.  

17% of American consumers are also frequently watching influencer shopping live streams.  

Live selling is incredibly interactive and engaging in nature. It possesses excitement similar to live auctions, which is why they work in bringing out people’s fear of missing out, enticing them to buy NOW.  

With live selling, your audience can ask you questions in the comment section and you can answer their concerns and questions in real time. This helps speed up the sales process and boost customer satisfaction by giving your customers the immediate response they want.  

What’s even more amazing about live selling is that like-minded shoppers can interact with each other in the comment section. This helps foster a community of loyal customers around your brand.  

Use Trends and Best Practices to Take Your Social Commerce Strategy to The Next Level!

Staying on top of trends is important, especially if you want to stay ahead of the competition. It's the key to staying relevant to your customers and ensuring you meet their expectations consistently.  

Now that you know the top social commerce trends this 2023 and best practices, apply them to your digital marketing strategy in Miami for social commerce to generate the best results!  

At Digital Resource, our digital marketing specialists in Miami and social media experts will work with you to create a custom strategy that will help you achieve your business goals.  

Want to see your business succeed this 2023 by gaining traction online and attracting more customers? Contact us to know how we can make it possible for you!  

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