Article Written by Katina Jaye Beveridge, ASBAS Advisor, Western Sydney Business Centre.
Online shopping has evolved drastically over the last few years — from website selling to Amazon & Ebay stores and, and now we have selling on social media.
Yes, online shopping has just been added to social media’s long line of superpowers. If you are an online shopping fan, you have probably tried this already.
Instagram is one of the first social media platforms to adopt this strategy. We are talking about those IG posts that you can click and buy directly from. No need to go to the brand’s website to place your order. You can do that right on their Instagram page.
This is called shoppable content. Basically, it includes any type of visual content, such as social media posts, that allow customers to purchase the products directly from it.
The idea behind this is to seamlessly merge the point of inspiration to sale using content. When the user sees your content and ignites a feeling to buy the product, the user can instantly buy it just by clicking on the post. Shoppable posts are equipped with a checkout link, price, description, and other details customers might need.
Social Media Channels with Shoppable Posts
Although major social media networks are catching up to the trend, some platforms are simply designed for social selling so they are the first to take advantage of this feature. These include:
Instagram Shoppable Posts
Instead of simply providing inspiration to the customers, Instagram has incorporated a purchasing function to their photos and videos. You need to have a business profile in order to create shoppable stories and posts using the platform’s built-in product tagging feature.
Facebook Shop
Since Facebook and Instagram are sister platforms, it can be expected for this feature to be carried over to the other network. Facebook has also released its own shoppable social media content feature using product tagging. For this to work, you need to have a Facebook business page. Plus, you can manage the product catalog for both Instagram and Facebook using your Facebook page.
YouTube Shoppable Videos
Aside from images, shoppable content can also be in the form of videos. With more than 5 billion YouTube videos being watched every single day, the possibility of conversion can go up as high as 80%. The publisher adds the shoppability function by embedding it on video advertisements.
What’s Next?
Shoppable content proves how online shopping has evolved over the last few years. Although a website is still important, there are other avenues, such as social media, that you can explore to promote and sell your products.
