There are literally hundreds of shops inside social networks that offer many different types of products and services. They include Facebook store fronts, the ability to click and buy through links on Twitter, Pinterest, blog posts, advertisements on the social network, and more. There are many ways to profit today with social commerce, which is really just a mix of social media networking and e-commerce.
* Set up a Facebook store front – You can use a variety of means to set up a store front on Facebook. An easy way to do it is by using an app that lets you create your Facebook store in literally minutes. You just need products or services to offer and you’re in business. You can connect an existing store or start fresh.
* Allow easy sharing of shopping carts – Even if you don’t want to set up a store front right on the social network, you can enable sharing after a purchase. Just add the code on your thank you page that lets the buyer easily click to share what they’ve purchased. Often times people really trust their friends and will buy what they buy. It also makes friends feel like they’re enjoying the shopping experience together.
* Include social media sharing buttons – Add all social media sharing buttons to every blog post, every product recommendation, and every mention of a product or service. This will make it easy for readers to share with their friends and connections on social media accounts, encouraging more purchasing.
* Recommend products and services – If you use certain products and services that offer affiliate programs, why not promote them? If you already use them, and love them, it should be simple to tell your friends and connections about the tools you use for your own business and even just products you like to use for living your life. Just sign up for the affiliate program first so that each time your friends click through and buy from your recommendation, you get credit.
* Engage with your audience – No amount of recommendations and links to stores will help you profit from social commerce without the all-important socialization process. If you aren’t connecting with your audience in an authentic way, they’re not going to care what you promote. Your audience wants to interact with you in a way that builds relationships, and they’re pretty savvy about how to tell if you’re real or not.
* Understand your audience – Demonstrate that you truly know and understand them by your actions. Make it easy for them to share and brag to their friends and connections about their purchases and/or connection with you. Deliver content and recommendations that your connections are proud to tell others about. You can only do this if you know them intimately.
By combining all of the above and truly understanding what your business goals are when it comes to social commerce, you’ll be able to create social marketing campaigns that give you a leg-up on the competition because you are adding true value to the social commerce realm that your audience resides in.