Generating ecommerce revenue with social commerce

Social commerce audience demographics by platform

Understanding the demographics of users on these platforms will help you tailor your campaigns and messaging more effectively. Below is an overview of the user demographics for each platform, based on the most recent data available from the Pew Research Center:

TikTok

TikTok is a platform with a strong appeal among younger audiences, especially Gen Z. Its popularity spans various income and education levels, with notable engagement from lower-income households and those with a high school education or some college experience.

• Age: TikTok has a strong presence among younger audiences. In the US, 59% of adults aged 18-29 report using the platform, with usage declining in older age groups: 40% for ages 30-49, 26% for ages 50-64, and 10% for those 65 and older.
• Gender: Usage is higher among women (39%) compared to men (26%).
• Household income: TikTok usage is highest among households earning less than $30,000 annually (37%) and $30,000-$69,999 (39%), with slightly lower usage in the $70,000-$99,999 (36%) and $100,000+ (26%) brackets.
• Education: TikTok usage is consistent among users with a high school education or less (37%) and those with some college (37%), but it decreases to 26% among college graduates.

Instagram

Instagram remains a favorite among younger and more affluent users, with a clear trend of increasing usage among those with higher education levels. Its appeal is particularly strong among women and households earning over $100,000 annually.

• Age: Instagram is predominantly used by younger adults, with 76% of those aged 18-29 and 66% of those aged 30-49 using the platform. Usage drops to 36% among ages 50-64 and 19% for those 65 and older.
• Gender: Higher usage among women (55%) compared to men (44%).
• Household income: Instagram sees the highest usage among households earning $100,000+ (58%) and $70,000-$99,999 (54%), with lower engagement among households earning less than $30,000 (41%).
• Education: Instagram usage increases with education level, starting at 41% for users with a high school education or less, rising to 51% for those with some college, and peaking at 57% among college graduates.

Facebook

Facebook boasts widespread usage across all demographics — with especially high usage among millennials — and maintains consistent usage among various income and education levels. Its appeal spans generations, making it a versatile platform for reaching diverse audiences.

• Age: Facebook maintains broad usage across age groups: 68% for ages 18-29, 78% for ages 30-49, 70% for ages 50-64, and 59% for those 65 and older.
• Gender: Higher usage among women (78%) compared to men (61%).
• Household income: Facebook maintains strong and consistent usage across all income levels, with percentages ranging from 65% in households earning less than $30,000 to 73% in the $30,000-$69,999 and $70,000-$99,999 brackets.
• Education: Facebook usage is stable across all education levels, ranging from 69% for users with a high school education or less to 71% for those with some college and 70% among college graduates.

Pinterest

Pinterest attracts a predominantly female user base and sees steady engagement across age and income groups. The platform resonates particularly with users who have some college education, and its appeal grows with increasing household income.

• Age: Usage is fairly even among adults aged 18-29 (43%) and 30-49 (43%), with a decline in older age groups: 33% for ages 50-64 and 22% for those 65 and older.
• Gender: Significantly higher usage among women (51%) compared to men (19%).
• Household income: Pinterest usage increases with income, with households earning less than $30,000 at 29% and rising to 40% in households earning $100,000+.
• Education: Pinterest usage is highest among users with some college (41%) and decreases slightly for college graduates (39%) and those with a high school education or less (29%).

Snapchat

Snapchat caters largely to younger users, particularly those aged 18-29, with a slight skew toward women. While usage is fairly consistent across income brackets, engagement declines among college graduates.

• Age: Predominantly used by younger adults, with 65% of those aged 18-29 using the platform. Usage decreases significantly in older age groups: 32% for ages 30-49, 14% for ages 50-64, and 4% for those 65 and older.
• Gender: Slightly higher usage among women (31%) compared to men (23%).
• Household income: Snapchat usage is relatively steady across income levels, with usage at 28% in households earning less than $30,000 and declining slightly to 24% in the $100,000+ bracket.
• Education: Snapchat usage is higher among users with a high school education or less (28%) and some college (32%) but drops to 22% among college graduates.

How brands benefit from social commerce

From expanding reach to enhancing loyalty, social commerce provides distinct advantages that help businesses grow and stay competitive in the digital marketplace. Here are the key benefits of social commerce channels, along with examples of what brands do to reap those benefits:

Reach large, diverse customer segments

Social media platforms attract billions of daily active users, making them fertile ground for discovering and engaging potential customers. For example, TikTok boasts over 1 billion active users globally, with many actively engaging with branded content and shopping features. This scale allows you to tap into an expansive audience that traditional channels might not reach, providing a cost-effective way to boost visibility and sales.

Additionally, social media algorithms help businesses connect with users already interested in their niche, creating opportunities to drive organic discovery. A well-executed product video or UGC campaign can expose your offerings to thousands — or even millions — of users who might not have otherwise encountered your brand.

In-platform advertising tools enable segmentation by demographics, interests, and behaviors, allowing you to create more tailored campaigns that resonate with specific customer segments.

Ecommerce brands often use DPAs to show unique ads to customers based on their previous activity. For example, a furniture retailer can retarget potential buyers with ads showcasing matching decor for sofas they previously viewed on their ecommerce site.

Build brand awareness, engagement, and loyalty

With social commerce, you have more flexibility in the ways you can showcase your branding and interact with customers, compared to marketplaces like Amazon or ad channels like Google.

From the everyday content you post to the way you customize your storefront, you have the opportunity to build out your brand’s visual identity and personality to foster more recognition and trust. For example, a home decor brand might organize its Instagram Shop by room themes, showcasing its stylish aesthetic and functionality.

Social commerce platforms also enable businesses to engage with customers in real-time, fostering relationships and boosting brand visibility. Responding to comments, hosting live shopping events, or featuring UGC allows brands to actively participate in their audience’s experience, keeping them top of mind and setting the stage for future conversions.

You can use polls, quizzes, or giveaways to foster a sense of connection, making your customers feel seen and valued.

Offer convenient, frictionless buying

Social commerce streamlines the buying process by enabling transactions directly within the platform, eliminating the need for customers to navigate multiple steps to complete a purchase. Features like Instagram Checkout or Pinterest’s Buyable Pins simplify the journey, reducing drop-off rates and improving conversion rates.

For you, this convenience means capturing ecommerce sales at the moment of interest. A user scrolling through their feed can see a product, tap to learn more, and complete the purchase — all within a few clicks. This frictionless experience is particularly powerful for impulse buys and product launches, where immediate access drives results.

Generate social proof with UGC and influencer marketing

Social commerce thrives on peer influence, making it an ideal channel for generating social proof. Reviews, comments, and UGC help build trust by showcasing real customer experiences. For example, a clothing brand might benefit from this by encouraging customers to share photos of their outfits by tagging the brand and using a specific hashtag to create a gallery of authentic testimonials.

Brands can also amplify social proof through collaborations with influencers or micro-influencers. A single recommendation from a trusted figure in your niche can inspire confidence and drive sales.

Creative campaigns, such as challenges, can quickly gain momentum, exposing your brand to a massive audience. For instance, a beauty brand might launch a tutorial challenge, encouraging users to create and share their content using branded products for the chance to win a $200 gift card.

When users actively participate in your promotions, they become co-creators of your marketing efforts, amplifying reach while fostering deeper engagement with a broader community.

Creating a successful social commerce strategy

Key elements of an effective social commerce strategy include the right approach to brand building, product data, and ad campaigns:

Brand building

An effective social commerce strategy starts with strong brand building, which focuses on creating meaningful connections with your target audience. Unlike other channels, where product features and benefits take center stage, social commerce emphasizes audience engagement and building a distinct, relatable brand personality:

• Leverage UGC and collaborate with content creators to build trust and credibility.
• Maintain consistent branding across all platforms, including tone, imagery, and color palettes.
• Utilize platform-specific features such as tagging, direct messaging, and customizable storefronts.
• Experiment with creative formats like short video reels, live streams, and interactive polls.

Product data

Your product feeds power dynamic ads and shoppable posts, showcasing the right products to the right audience at the right time. Well-managed and optimized product feeds provide a better shopping experience for your customers and enable you to squeeze more value out of every listing:

• Optimize product titles for specific platforms, balancing brevity and essential details like brand, size, and color.
• Use high-quality product images with simple backgrounds and consistent lighting to highlight key details.
• Ensure accurate product categorization to improve search visibility and ad targeting.
• Utilize feed management tools to automate updates for inventory, pricing, and product attributes.
• Use DPAs and collection ads to create more targeted campaigns.

Ad campaigns

Ad campaigns on social commerce platforms are most effective when tailored to audience needs and purchasing behaviors. Understanding your target audience and crafting personalized, sequenced messaging helps nurture potential buyers through every stage of the purchase journey.

• Use audience data to segment and personalize campaigns based on interests, demographics, and behaviors.
• Adopt a sequenced messaging approach: introduce your brand, showcase products, and encourage conversions with compelling calls to action.
• Partner with creators to produce authentic content that resonates with your target audience.
• Continuously measure and optimize campaign performance.

Examples of brands using social commerce successfully

Brands often use social commerce platforms in conjunction with other selling channels (like their website and marketplaces). Here are three examples of social commerce used successfully as a part of an ecommerce strategy with the Feedonomics platform powering multichannel product feed management.

Ovative

Case study: Ovative

Ovative, a digital marketing agency, partnered with Feedonomics to streamline feed management and optimize product data for a luxury fashion company managing three distinct brands. Facing challenges such as consolidating disparate platforms, improving product data quality at scale, and testing new strategies, Ovative implemented a unified approach to feed-driven product ads across channels like Facebook, Google, and Criteo.

Through the Feedonomics platform, Ovative performed tests on Facebook DPAs — like directing users to homepages instead of product pages or swapping product images with lifestyle shots — via changes in their product feeds.

Additionally, they used Feedonomics to segment products by profitability and customer acquisition rates to fine-tune their campaigns.

Using these techniques and others highlighted in the case study, Ovative identified high-performing strategies and scaled paid media budgets by over 200% for one brand while boosting total revenue by 153%.

Euro Car Parts

Case study: Euro Car Parts

Euro Car Parts partnered with Feedonomics to improve its product data management and enhance its advertising efforts on Google and Facebook.

Euro Car Parts used Feedonomics to create custom labels and for A/B testing to target specific customer segments during peak demand periods, like seasonal promotions or product-specific campaigns.

By grouping products based on profit margin, the company found a 44% reduction in customer acquisition costs and an 88% uplift in return on investment.

They also used Feedonomics to test personalized product titles, which resulted in a 7% uplift in CTR and a 22% improvement in return on ad spend (ROAS).

New Balance and Brave Bison

Case study: New Balance and Brave Bison

Digital marketing agency Brave Bison worked with New Balance, a global sports footwear and apparel brand, to scale its digital advertising campaigns while improving ROAS. However, its existing feed management tool lacked the speed and flexibility to optimize product listings effectively at scale.

By consolidating feed management with Feedonomics, the brand was able to create a unified strategy across its channels like Google Shopping, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok.

Brave Bison improved data accuracy by updating product listings more frequently, preventing issues like out-of-stock ads and inconsistencies across platforms. The agency leveraged A/B testing to refine product titles, custom labels to optimize bids, and supplemental feed data to ensure timely promotions across all of its channels.

As a result, New Balance saw a 95% increase in ROAS, a 22% boost in revenue, and a 15% rise in conversion rates. Additionally, cost-per-click (CPC) decreased by 26%, and overall ad spend efficiency improved, making it possible to scale campaigns without sacrificing performance.

Conclusion

Social commerce channels are powerful tools for driving ecommerce revenue, expanding and improving upon traditional ecommerce models. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Snapchat offer innovative experiences that seamlessly integrate user engagement, product discovery, and purchasing.

The unique approach to selling afforded by these channels enables brands to build stronger connections with consumers, enhancing brand loyalty and trust in ways that traditional ecommerce methods often can’t.

By focusing on effective strategies around branding, advertising campaigns, and product feed management, businesses can capture the growing wave of social commerce sales and drive sustained growth.

Social commerce FAQs