Social Commerce - Making Money just through Social Media! 💸
An average Indian internet user spent 2 hours and 36 minutes daily on social media in 2020. Let’s assume, you start using social media when you’re just 15. You will be spending nearly 6 years of your life on social media! Imagine your mom reading this <music intensifies> 🤳
This is where Social Commerce comes into the picture. Here, you can just start your business without any e-commerce website or catalogue. No need to learn anything extra, just BE extra. ✨Social media is pretty much everything you need.✨
“Social..” what again? 🤔
Commerce. Social Commerce. Imagine buying YOUR favorite product from YOUR favorite brand directly from YOUR Instagram! Crazy, right? THAT is Social Commerce. 🛒 It revamps social media beyond its conventional role of just showing you products to directly pushing you to purchase it then and there, without leaving the social media platform.
How do I build my website then? 😕
You don’t need to. Platforms that you already use are just enough! To name a few Social Network Platforms.
- Short-form Video & Image Platforms
- Snapchat
- Chat-based & Text-based Platforms
But how do I know that it’s working for me? 🔍
The success of these platforms is measured by the degree to which potential consumers interact with the company's marketing through engagement. In simpler words, the number of retweets, likes, shares, comments and direct messages tell you how interested someone is in your product or service.
Is it as easy as it sounds? What if I get stuck somewhere? 🙅♀️
So many businesses & individuals like you use these platforms for selling and to even make a living.
- Facebook provides digital “growth training and tips” kits to kickstart your business.
- Facebook and Instagram allow you to use stickers — “Buy Now”, “Order Now” and “Book Now” — on your stories
- Additionally, they also allow you to tag a “Paid Partnership” status to enhance your reach and credibility through influencer marketing
- Even WhatsApp offers a “Catalogue” section in the app
- Snapchat has already added a store to its iOS app
So no more of those “Swipe Up” stories when you can just use “Buy Now”! 💁♀️
The most common format of social commerce in India is social reselling; Bulbul, SimSim, GlowRoad and Meesho to name a few. They operate through free, downloadable apps that primarily focus on the increasing number of mobile users looking for extra income; and they aptly refer to their users as “resellers”.
Why not e-commerce then?
Here's the difference between e-commerce and social commerce.
Psst! You can always scale up to e-commerce! 😉
Won’t it take forever to start?! 🐌
JUST A FEW TAPS — is all it takes to set up your social business! With basic tools and services available for free, you can start right away! Need some geeky stuff? Here's a step by step process to open shop on social media.
Step 1 - Upload Product Details (image, details, price) on existing Social Media Account.
Step 2 - Figure out how you'd like to take orders, from where you'd like to accept money, and how you would deliver it to the customer.
Step 3 - Accept order and start delivering.
Step 4 - Make sure there is a feedback process setup for your customers, be it social media DMs, E-mail or Chat Support.
Step 5 - Be prepared with a Returns/ Refunds/ Replacements mechanism.
And voila, you're ready to enter the world of social commerce!
Three words, seven letters, one line — GO FOR IT! 💨
If you were looking forward to starting your own business or selling something online, and now that you have reached this far, THIS is the SIGN OF THE UNIVERSE. 🌍✨
