Three Ways Your Ecommerce Brand Should Be Leveraging Social Media in 2023
Social media is still a powerful tool in the kit of marketers looking to reach and connect with new and existing customers online.
However, with Elon Musk seemingly determined to burn Twitter to the ground, and Mark Zuckerburg throwing good money after bad in pursuit of a vision nobody but him and a relative handful of "techbros” see any value in, maybe 2023 is the year to revisit your social strategy and see where things can be improved?
Comically bad leadership aside, there is obviously still plenty of value to be found for ecommerce brands on Twitter and Facebook, but retailers should be exploring alternative platforms and strategies if they want to see real success over the next twelve months and beyond.
Social Commerce
Interacting and shopping with retailers directly through social media has now moved from being a nice to have curiosity to an essential element of ecommerce success. The practice has been big business in China for some time now and we are now seeing social commerce start to gain a foothold here in the US as well.
"Welcome to the dynamic world of social commerce, where consumers explore products and complete transactions through social media and content creation platforms, all in an app,” reports McKinsey. "This emerging form of shopping removes friction from the buying process, creates a more engaging journey for the consumer, and presents new opportunities for brands to generate consumer interest.”
Some examples of social commerce success include a two-hour TikTok shopping event which brought in more than a week’s worth of sales, and an interactive, shoppable Instagram live stream which achieved 40,000 unique engagements. According to McKinsey, social commerce accounted for $27 billion in sales for the US in 2020. By 2025, that number is expected to have climbed to a staggering $79.6 billion – 5.2% of all ecommerce sales across the nation.
TikTok
Whilst the short form video platform doesn’t have the greatest reputation when it comes to privacy and security, there is no denying the impact it has had on an entire generation of internet users. In September 2021, TikTok hit one billion active monthly users – that’s over an eighth of the entire planet – and the majority of those users – 113 million monthly unique users – are right here in the US.
You are probably already aware that TikTok is incredibly popular among GenZ, but you might not know that Generation Alpha is looking to be an even more engaged demographic on the platform. Current usage statistics suggest kids spend 62% more time watching content on TikTok than they do on YouTube. YouTube’s position as the world’s most visited website after Google might be in jeopardy.
With 55% of TikTok users buying something after seeing it on the app, and half purchasing a product after watching a TikTok live broadcast, 2023 should be the year your brand seriously considers establishing a presence on the platform.
"TikTok has been one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in existence, so your brand needs to pay attention to it,” advises Sprout Social. "Especially because TikTok has such a large presence of younger generations, it’s important for brands to learn how to use this marketing channel properly.
Influencer Marketing
Leveraging the power of social media influencers is continuing to grow as one of the best methods of inspiring purchases online. Social media celebrities wield the power to influence the purchasing habits of enormous audiences and almost all are open to making deals with brands to promote products on their platforms.
In 2022, the US influencer market was valued at a record $16.4 billion with a quarter of marketers engaging with influencer marketing as a core component of their strategy. Those marketers are clearly seeing satisfactory results as well as 89% have stated they will be maintaining or increasing their influencer marketing budgets in 2023. Moreover 17% of marketers are planning to invest in influencer marketing for the first time this year.
Influencers are more effective at convincing young people to purchase when compared to traditional celebrity endorsements. Half of millennials surveyed said they trust product recommendations from social media stars, compared to just 38% who trust celebrities. A third of GenZers have bought a product based on an influencer's recommendation in the past three months.
Final Thoughts
Whilst Twitter and Facebook still have a role to play in marketing, we are seeing innovative retailers look beyond these old stalwarts and embrace contemporary platforms and new methods to reach a wider audience of engaged shoppers online. Whether through social commerce, influencer marketing, or TikTok, let’s make 2023 the year we expand our social media vision to new horizons.
The evolving landscape of social media is sure to be part of the conversation at eTail Connect West 2023, being held in September, at the JW Marriott L.A. Live, Los Angeles, CA.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.