Is your Muslim or halal brand taking advantage of the enormous possibilities of social commerce?
Social commerce is when brands sell products directly through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.
Thanks to social commerce, customers can experience the entire shopping process — from research and discovery to check-out — right on their favorite social media platform.
The global social commerce market is expected to reach US$2.9 Trillion by 2026.
In this article, we look at the different social commerce opportunities on different social media platforms that have been introduced or enhanced in 2021.
Facebook and Instagram Shops
In 2020, Facebook helped out small businesses struggling in the pandemic by introducing the Shops feature which allows businesses to upload products to their Facebook page.
Facebook has since expanded its Shop integrations and its overall commerce features.
According to Adweek, CEO Mark Zuckerberg, recently revealed that “there are over 1 million active Shops, and more than 250 million people interacting with Shops every month”.
The official Meta for Business website explains that:
“Facebook Shops is a mobile-first shopping experience where businesses can easily create an online store on Facebook and Instagram for free. Shops let you choose which of your items you want to feature, merchandise with product collections, and tell your brand story with customizable fonts and colors. In Facebook Shops, you’ll be able to connect with customers through WhatsApp, Messenger, or Instagram Direct to answer questions, offer support, and more.”
In May 2021, Instagram introduced a “Drops” tab, which features limited-edition or just-launched products that you can use to create urgency and excitement. Also, since August, Instagram allows brands to place ads in the Shop tab.
See how your Muslim or halal brand can set up Shops on Facebook.
Twitter Shop Module
In April 2021, Twitter introduced business profiles that give businesses the opportunity to feature store hours and links to its website. Twitter also added a Shop Module in July, which lets customers buy products from the top of the business profiles without having to leave the app.
In October 2021, Twitter Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal expressed his satisfaction with the product carousel feature:
“On the direct response side, the multi-destination carousel is improving click-through rates by 20%, which gives you a good sense for why this is attracting more and more advertisers and more and more dollars to our service.”
It is important to keep in mind that Twitter predominantly focuses its shopping capabilities on small businesses.
Learn more about Twitter’s new Shop Module.
TikTok and Shopify Partnership
If your business targets Generation Z audiences, chances are you are already on TikTok.
“In June 2020 TikTok announced to advertisers that it’s open for business with their launch of the TikTok For Business platform. It provides brands and marketers with tools for creativity and storytelling. The idea behind TikTok For Business is to boost engagement and help brands build relationships with audiences more effectively and more meaningfully.”
Source: TikTok Introduces Marketing Partner Program For Advertisers – Is it Suitable for Muslim Businesses?
In August 2021, TikTok evolved its business capabilities to allow users to buy products through its platform. Tik Tok now allows Shopify for Business accounts to add a “Shop” tab to their TikTok profiles. One of the most exciting elements of the business feature is that your brand can also tag products in organic posts.
Through collection ads, TikTok users can view a gallery of other products when they click on an ad. TikTok has also incorporated shoppable links and live stream events.
Learn more about connecting Shopify merchants with the TikTok community.
Snapchat Augmented Reality Shopping
In 2021 Snapchat made serious moves in the world of social commerce. They launched a whole host of new shopping features, including the popular augmented reality (AR) filters and advertising options.
The app that started out as a camera-first entertainment platform is now offering unique shopping augmented reality ( AR) experiences with the likes of Dior, Samsung, and Gucci.
Also, the “scan” feature, which currently allows users to detect food labels and Amazon products, is getting new shopping capabilities. And a feature called “Screenshop” can now recommend clothing items when you “scan” an outfit.
Although Snapchat has been known to experiment with a variety of features, the latest version allows its users try-on experiences through voice commands and even gestures. So a customer is able to request seeing an item with a different color or pattern using voice command.
Learn more about creating a Snapchat business account.
Conclusion
Social commerce is impacting how consumers purchase products online. It has revolutionized social media platforms. Today, they are not merely hang-out places for consumers but have shopping capabilities.
We have shown you how to leverage social commerce for your Muslim brand on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat.
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