Generating ecommerce revenue with social commerce.
Written by
Muhammed Al-Refai
Need help deciding which channels to integrate into your omnichannel strategy?
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Need help deciding which channels to integrate into your omnichannel strategy?
Businesses earn more revenue from social commerce platforms than ever before. In 2024, social commerce generated almost $700 billion in revenue, and experts predict this upward trend will continue.
Popular social commerce platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Snapchat are great channels for building relationships, sharing information, and cultivating brand loyalty.
The “commerce” in social commerce comes from the many tools that enable brands to advertise and sell directly to consumers who browse and engage with their favorite content, often in just a few quick clicks.
In this article, you will learn about the best social commerce platforms for ecommerce sellers, their available tools, their audience demographics, and some key components that go into a great social commerce selling strategy.
Social commerce refers to selling products or services directly through social media platforms.
Social commerce involves melding tools like native checkout, in-post product tags, discovery pages, and dynamic product ads (DPAs) with content creation, user engagement, and influencer marketing to create seamless shopping experiences.
Social commerce platforms are valuable because they naturally bring together product discovery, customer engagement, and sales in one place.
Every social commerce platform has its unique way of blending social engagement with shopping. Let’s take a closer look at the most popular platforms and their standout features:
TikTok is a fast-paced, trend-driven platform known for its viral challenges and creative short-form videos. Brands should focus on creating engaging and fun content that taps into popular trends, challenges, and user-generated content (UGC) to capture attention. TikTok videos, live broadcasts, and duets provide opportunities for brands to engage with users, participate in trends, and showcase products in innovative ways. TikTok Shopping integrates product links directly into videos and live streams, making it easy for users to shop within the app.
TikTok videos: Post short, creative videos (up to 30 minutes long) with music, effects, and editing tools to engage and entertain.
TikTok Live: Broadcast live video to interact with followers in real-time.
Creator marketplace: Partner with popular TikTok influencers to reach a broader audience.
TikTok Shopping: Integrate product links directly into your TikTok videos, allowing users to shop and purchase products seamlessly within the app.
Instagram is a highly visual platform with an aspirational, lifestyle-focused culture. It’s perfect for posting lifestyle images and videos, product highlights, and behind-the-scenes content. Instagram Shops allow brands to tag products in their posts, Stories, and Reels, enabling users to click on the tags for product details and purchases directly within the app.
Photo, video, and carousel posts: Share up to 20 images or videos up to an hour long.
Instagram Reels: Create short, 15- to 90-second videos that can reach a wider audience through Instagram’s dedicated Reels feed.
Instagram Stories: Use polls, questions, and swipe-up links to engage with followers and drive traffic to product pages with limited-time content that disappears after 24 hours.
Instagram Live: Broadcast real-time video to interact directly with followers, answer questions, and showcase products or events as they happen.
Instagram Shop: Create a customizable storefront where users can browse and purchase products directly through Instagram
Facebook centers around community engagement and discussions, where users stay connected with a wide network and participate in groups. Brands should focus on creating diverse content like promotional updates, stories, and live events to build stronger connections with their audience. Facebook Shops enables brands to tag products in photos, videos, and stories, making it easy for users to discover and purchase products.
Photo, video, and text posts: Share photos, videos, and text updates on your Facebook page or profile.
Facebook Stories: Post photos and short videos that disappear after 24 hours to share quick updates on your Facebook page or profile.
Facebook Live: Stream live video to interact with your audience in real-time, answer questions, and provide immediate updates or coverage of events.
Facebook Groups: Create communities around shared interests or topics where members can engage in discussions, share content, and build connections.
Facebook Shops: Set up a customizable online store on Facebook, allowing users to browse and purchase products directly through the platform.
Pinterest is a visual discovery tool where users search for inspiration, particularly in areas like DIY, home decor, and fashion. Brands should focus on visually rich content, including product images, lifestyle photos, step-by-step guides, and video content that provides value and inspiration. Pinterest Shopping allows brands to turn their pins into shoppable content, making it easier for users to purchase directly from pins.
Static Pins, Idea Pins, and Video Pins: Share different types of pins to inspire users with static images, idea pins with multiple pages of content, and video pins to showcase more dynamic content.
Rich Pins: Provide additional details directly on the pin, such as product information, recipes, or articles, to enhance user engagement and drive traffic to your website.
Collection Pins: Group multiple product-related pins together in a single post, allowing users to browse and discover more content around a theme.
Try-on product Pins: Use AR to let users virtually try on products, enhancing the online shopping experience and helping them make more informed purchasing decisions.
Pinterest Shopping: Enable users to browse and buy products directly through Pinterest, turning pins into purchasable items.
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Snapchat is a personal, time-sensitive platform where users share spontaneous content with friends. Brands can create a sense of urgency with time-limited posts and leverage playful lenses and filters to engage users. With Snapchat Stores, brands can enable audiences to browse and shop for products directly from their Snapchat profile.
Snaps: Send images or short videos directly to your audience, which disappear after being viewed.
Stories: Stories can contain a series of Snaps that last only 24 hours and play in the order they are posted.
Lenses: Brands can create custom selfie lenses and shoppable try-on AR experiences via Lens Studio. Lenses can respond to users' actions, like blinking, moving the camera, or opening their mouths.
Filters: Brands can create filters, which are usually static overlays that add effects or information to a photo or video after it has been taken. They can also be enabled based on a user’s location.
Snapchat Store: A brand with a verified public profile for businesses and a catalog will be able to include a Shop tab on their profile leading to their Store. With Stores, brands can create a new sales channel in their public profile, enabling Snapchatters to discover, browse, and shop products directly from their Snapchat profile from the Shop tab.
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 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 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 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 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 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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
Key elements of an effective social commerce strategy include the right approach to brand building, product data, and ad campaigns:
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.
Your product feeds power dynamic ads and shoppable posts, showcasing the right products to the right audience at the right time. Well-managed, optimized, and enriched 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 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.
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, 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 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).
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.
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.
List, synchronize, and optimize your product feeds for 300+ global channels.
Social selling is the practice of using social media platforms to connect with potential customers, build relationships, and drive online sales. It focuses on engaging with individuals through posts, direct messages, and content sharing, helping to create trust and establish a rapport. Instead of traditional sales tactics, this approach emphasizes providing valuable information, answering questions, and guiding prospects through their buying process directly on the platforms where they are active. Social selling is about using social media to make sales more personal and direct.
Social commerce trends, such as the rise of live-streamed shopping events and influencer partnerships, significantly influence how brands market their products. More online shoppers now look for interactive, engaging experiences. As these trends evolve, retailers must adapt their marketing strategy to stay competitive and capitalize on the growing opportunity in social commerce.
Product feed management is essential for using social commerce tools like DPAs, storefronts, and product tags to ensure accurate, up-to-date product listings across the social network you’re selling on.
A well-managed product catalog helps brands showcase new products, maintain pricing accuracy, and improve discoverability through social shopping experiences. A feed management platform will help you integrate your ecommerce platform like Shopify or BigCommerce with your social channels, allowing you to sync product feeds and order information.
Here are some popular social media marketing strategies that brands use:
Influencer marketing: Partnering with influencers and content creators to expand reach and build trust with their audience.
User-generated content (UGC): Encouraging customers to share photos, videos, and reviews to create authentic brand advocacy.
Shoppable posts: Leveraging features like Instagram Shop, Facebook Shops, and TikTok Shopping for in-app checkout.
Engagement and community building: Actively responding to comments, hosting Q&A sessions, and fostering online communities through groups or forums.
Live streaming and interactive content: Using live video to showcase products, conduct tutorials, or host interactive shopping events.
Paid social ads: Running targeted ad campaigns through platforms like Facebook Ads Manager and TikTok Ads to reach specific demographics.
Short-form video marketing: Using platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels to share bite-sized, engaging content.
Social listening and trend monitoring: Tracking conversations, trends, and customer sentiment to refine strategy and create timely content across the customer journey.
Chatbots and AI-powered messaging: Implementing automated chat support on Messenger and WhatsApp to assist customers and drive sales.
Muhammed Al-Refai
