Jane Made $419,762 with Social Commerce – And So Can You

If you haven’t heard of social commerce, it’s all the rage right now – if you listen to the right people.

Big names and global brands are investing in this new market, which is tipped for massive growth this year and further into the 2020’s.

But what is social commerce? Should everybody be doing it? And how do you make it happen?

What is social commerce?

This definition from Big Commerce sums it up pretty nicely:

“Social commerce sells products directly through social media networks. It differs from social media marketing as you’re not redirecting users to an online store, but offering them the ability to checkout directly within the network they’re using at that moment.”

It’s the Buy button on Facebook, the swiping up to purchase on Instagram. It’s the practice of making products and services instantly buyable from the social networks your customers browse while they’re not actively shopping.

On Amazon Live, while not a social network in itself, celebrities and influencers curate their must-have products and top deals watched by legions of fans. Instagram have had shoppable videos since 2018, allowing businesses to add five products per post, and YouTube has also released shoppable ad features.

What’s the point?

The point of social commerce is to reduce friction between browsing on one site and shopping on another. It encourages spontaneous decisions by allowing users to checkout in the moment, rather than redirecting them elsewhere (e.g to your website or sales platform).

It makes shopping easier – and therefore, more irresistible – when paired with an enlightening explainer video or gorgeous aesthetic reel.

Jane’s social commerce success

After the boutique marketplace Jane (the name of the brand) onboarded Instagram Shops, it saw $419,762 in incremental sales within the first nine months.

A staggering 80% of total social sales came from Instagram Shopping between July 2020 and February 2021, with $419,762 in incremental sales and 680,618 new visitors.

Jane’s Instagram profile served over 24,000 shoppable sessions, hyping up their products and getting more followers in the process.

The team also created shoppable product collections, including “drops” consisting of limited-edition products with pricing exclusive to Instagram. These drops became so popular that the team began doing a new drop weekly to capitalize on the excitement and attention.

So, how did they do it?

Among other events, Jane ran an Instagram Live featuring a specially selected set of Valentine’s Day items. As they pinned products onscreen live, viewers could add them to their bags and check out without ever leaving Instagram – and they kept watching.

Now, the brand continues to host Instagram shoppable livestreams on a monthly basis, because it was so successful.

How do I use social commerce in my business?

Set up Instagram Shopping by going to your business profile. Tap settings. Click on the Business option. Tap on Shopping. Press Done.

Next, add a photo, and tag up to 20 products within it. Make sure you use good, high-quality photos to show off your products and boost sales.

On Facebook, you can set up shoppable products and services on your business’ page. On Pinterest, you import your products onto your Business profile, create and organise product groups, then create ads to promote your product Pins.

It couldn’t be easier.

From then on, it’s about getting eyes on your products and on your livestreams, which is pretty much the same process as getting followers and interactions for any other reason: