Social Commerce is a kind of e-commerce that uses online social networks to help in the buying and selling of goods and services. It is a subset of electronic commerce that involves social media, online media that supports social interaction, and user contributions to assist online buying and selling of products and services. It is when social media platforms are used to make a more personalized and targeted in-app experience shopping experience for customers. Social commerce refers to new online marketing strategies or retail models that incorporate peer-to-peer communication – established social networks – to boost sales. More succinctly, social commerce is the use of a social network(s) in the context of e-commerce transactions.
The success of a social commerce campaign is measured by the degree to which consumers interact with the company’s marketing through retweets, likes, and shares. The term social commerce was introduced by Yahoo! in November 2005 which describes a set of online collaborative shopping tools such as shared pick lists, user ratings, and other user-generated content-sharing of online product information and advice. Examples of social commerce platforms and social commerce sites include Facebook business retail store pages where users can browse and shop without leaving the platform, or buy buttons on Twitter and Pinterest. With billions of users and the numbers growing daily, social media platforms are a must for any successful growth strategy. Plus, since social media increases website traffic, social commerce efforts can lead to a higher search engine ranking.
With billions of users and the numbers growing daily, social media platforms are a must for any successful growth strategy. Plus, since social media increases website traffic, social commerce efforts can lead to a higher search engine ranking. Examples of social commerce platforms and social commerce sites include Facebook business retail store pages where users can browse and shop without leaving the platform, or buy buttons on Twitter and Pinterest. The concept of social commerce was developed by David Beisel to denote user-generated advertorial content on e-commerce sites, and by Steve Rubel to include collaborative e-commerce tools that enable shoppers “to get advice from trusted individuals, find goods and services and then purchase them”.
Social commerce aims to assist companies in achieving the following purposes. Firstly, social commerce helps companies engage customers with their brands according to the customers’ social behaviors. Secondly, it provides an incentive for customers to return to their website. Thirdly, it provides customers with a platform to talk about their brand on their website. Fourthly, it provides all the information customers need to research, compare, and ultimately choose you over your competitor, thus purchasing from you and not others.
