Many things in our world, in business, and in everyday life has changed since the advent of the Internet. The Internet has transformed how people communicate and even how people shop. Social media continues to impact how small businesses sell and how customers purchase and share what they’ve bought.

Understanding social ecommerce can help you tap into today’s consumer. Here are 5 things to know about social ecommerce and how to tap into the trends.

1. Storytelling and behind-the-scenes

Create an experience around online shopping to grab attention and increase sales. Social media gives you the platform to tell your company story and the stories behind your products or services, showing what happens behind the scenes, and sharing positive reviews and testimonials.

Take advantage of the ability to upload not only photos but videos of your products, your team, your location, anything that brings your company to life and generates interest. Leverage all the different ways each social network allows you to post including regular posts, reels, stories with links, short videos, long-form videos, and even livestreaming.

2. Live shopping events

Take your sales-related videos a step further by using livestreaming to showcase specials and promotions, to demonstrate products, and to provide live virtual Q&As with potential customers. These days, you don’t need a professional video camera or expensive streaming equipment. A mobile phone or tablet on a tripod, or even handheld, can be all you need to instantly stream your event on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and even LinkedIn and X.

Pick the right channel for your livestream based on where you have the largest following or greatest potential target market. Treat your livestream as you would any other event and promote it with social media posts, boosted posts or social ads if you have the budget for them, and event pages on social networks such as Facebook events, LinkedIn events, or even event platforms like Eventbrite and Cvent. These event page options have social media sharing capabilities built in, making it easier to share and promote. Plus you can monitor RSVPs to gauge the response and interact with anyone who registers.

3. UGC/Influencer recommendations

With the proliferation of “influencers” or online content creators who position themselves as arbiters of taste, there are many opportunities to get the word out about your products or services through partnerships and influencer programs. The benefit of influencer marketing is that you are getting a third party, with a built-in audience, to promote you.

Search for and identify influencers who would likely be interested in working with you. A relevant influencer could be someone in your geographic region or someone specializing in your industry such as a beauty influencer for a salon or a skincare or make up company or a food and beverage influencer for a restaurant, coffee shop, or food company. You can find influencers through Google searches, searches on your favorite social networks, and paying attention to who is following, liking, and commenting on your social network accounts. There are also social media influencer networks, however, they may be out of your budget.

Each influencer will most likely have a different way of partnering or posting. Some may come to your coffee shop or bakery for the free samples in order to provide a review. Many have fees depending on what you’d like them to do to help promote your business, from posting a review to hosting an online event, to providing content for your website or online store, to sharing content you provide to them with their followers.

4. Multiple payment options and payment plans

A key aspect of closing the online sale is toward the end of the purchasing process. These days, with more and more people shopping on their phones, offering multiple ways to pay reduces the friction at the virtual checkout counter. While credit and debit cards are still commonly used, more often people are looking to use PayPal and even digital wallets like Venmo and Apple Pay to complete their purchase.

Depending on the ecommerce platform you’re using for your online store, you should be able to select from a variety of payment options. For example, the Shopify platform includes the options to pay by PayPal, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

Also increasing in popularity are the Buy Now, Pay Later options such as Afterpay, Klarna, and Affirm. Essentially, these options are payment plans that are usually interest free if paid on time. Adding a pay later option to your shopping cart can not only increase sales but can potentially increase the size of each sale. Take note of fees on the seller’s end to make sure adding these options makes financial sense.

5. In-App shopping on social networks

Some of the top social networks now integrate online shopping directly into their platforms. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and even YouTube put the “social” in “ecommerce” by offering shoppable posts and in-app checkouts. Their goal is to take consumers from browsing to buying without having them go to another site to complete the sale.

If you are livestreaming on any of these networks, look into their in-app shopping options to go seamlessly from demoing your product to an online shopping cart to checkout.

As you can see, today’s selling and shopping experiences can be completely handled online, from attracting the potential customer to engaging with them in creative ways to closing the sale. Many of the tools you need to create social ecommerce experiences are built right into the popular social networks you’re already using for marketing. With some strategizing and planning, you can turn your social media posting into direct sales.