More people are selling products on social media platforms. Many people are still selling on websites too. But how do you know which one would be better for you and your product or service? And why are more people preferring to purchase on websites?
Table of contents
In this article we will explore the following:
- The top 5 benefits of selling on social media.
- The top 3 challenges of selling on social media.
- The best social media platforms to sell your product.
What are the top 5 benefits of selling on social media?
These five benefits are the main reasons why more people are choosing to sell on social media.
Wider reach
The main reason people interact with social media is to discover content. There are billions of active users on these platforms. This gives users the opportunity to discover content related to your products or services. Social media also gives people the opportunity to leave reviews, adding credibility to your products and services.
Targeted advertising
With social media, you can target your audience according to your niche. This could include certain interests, behaviours, and locations to ensure that the right audience gets to see and interact with the advert. After interacting with advert, the user would not have to leave the platform to start the payment process. This eliminates steps to making a purchase making it simpler.
Enhanced customer engagement
With social media, you can directly interact with your customers. You have got features like commenting, live chat or livestreaming, and messaging which helps build a relationship with your customers. This would increase your chances of making a sale as you build trust too.
This is also a result of the targeted advertising capabilities mentioned above, as users would seeing content relevant to them.
Collaborations with influencers
Social media makes it easy to get in contact with influencers. That is their domain. When they do honest reviews or test run of your product or service, you have the potential to boost sales, credibility, and reach.
Insights and analytics
Social media platforms allow you to view insightful information on the results and progress of a campaign. Insights like engagement levels, ad performance and conversions. This will help you make informed decisions on the next steps to take towards your objectives.
What are the top 3 challenges of selling on social media?
Social media isn’t perfect. There are a couple of challenges you’d need to consider before implementing a store onto a social media platform. Listed below are the top 3 concerns.
Security and privacy
Websites are still more secure than social media platforms. In terms of cyber security, handling customer information on social media is not the best way to do it. Social media is still more vulnerable to cyber-attacks such us phishing, identity theft or data breaches.
Lack of control
There is a limited amount of customisation you could do. You are limited to the templates these platforms provide for you. You are subject to the terms and conditions making the configuration less flexible than a website. Having a limited number of transaction methods can make you miss out on making a sale too. It would be a shame if only iPhone users were able to purchase your product.
Dependency on platform
If you’re selling only on a social media platform, makes you completely dependent on the platform. If the algorithm or policies change, that could disrupt your conversions or relationships with your customers.
As platforms continue to grow, they may also prioritise paid advertising over organic content. Smaller businesses will have a difficult time competing with those that have bigger budgets.
What are the best social media platforms to sell on?
Below you will find two of the best social media platforms to sell your products.
This is the largest platform on the planet, with 2.9 billion active users. This makes it an ideal option for those who are looking to have people to discover their content, paid or organic. Features like the Facebook Marketplace, Facebook pages, and Facebook groups, makes it more enticing to sell on the platform.
Another Meta product is ranking second concerning selling on a social media platform. With 2 billion users, short form video content about your product or service has the potential to be discovered by someone. The features that make this a good platform to select are the Shoppable Posts, Instagram Shopping, and Instagram Stories for the promotion of the product.
Final thoughts
We expect social media as a purchase location to get better over time. It may be great as a secondary option to a website. As for right now, social media shouldn’t be considered a primary option to selling products online.
