Social Commerce Archives | Sprout Social

How to Unlock the Power of TikTok for Your Business

prasana — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 05:19:20 +0000

80 million people spend an average of 24 hours a month on TikTok. Your brand can use this new opportunity to revolutionize how you interact with customers to dramatically increase your brand’s visibility.

Brands that are truly “killing it” on TikTok are creating content that’s as entertaining as it is authentic–making the audience feel closer to the brand. This trends away from the often polished and perfect posts we’re used to seeing from businesses on other social media platforms.

This 45-minute discussion will cover:

How your business can gain value from TikTok
TikTok audience insights and its potential for your business
Impactful TikTok marketing tips you can begin implementing now

Featuring speakers from Sprout Social:

The post How to Unlock the Power of TikTok for Your Business appeared first on Sprout Social.

13 Ecommerce trends you need to know in 2023

Jamia Kenan — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 13:00:59 +0000

Today, it’s easier than ever to shop online with just a few touches on your smartphone. Not only is ecommerce a crowd favorite, but it intersects with the most popular social media trends of 2023.

Analysts predict US ecommerce sales to increase from the current 23% of retail sales to 31% by 2026. Brick and mortar stores aren’t going away, but modern consumers have more items on their shopping list for preferred brands online. Along with choice and convenience, consumers are concerned about price, brands who align with their values—and that’s just the beginning.

Marketers with sophisticated social presences and ecommerce managers need to keep up with the latest ecommerce trends because consumer behavior is constantly evolving. Product launches no longer take place solely in the physical space. The digital one is just as, if not more, important.

Let’s take a look at the top ecommerce trends you need to know about in 2023:

Accelerated use of mobile shopping
Social commerce continues to grow and evolve
Personalization is a preferred shopping experience
Artificial Intelligence will help brands learn more about shoppers
Zero-party data and privacy are on consumers’ minds
AR and VR enhance online shopping experiences
A rise in voice search
Businesses focus on optimizing for conversion
Subscriptions help retain loyal customers
Consumers are choosing brands that align with their beliefs
Consumers are increasingly mindful of sustainability
Livestream shopping
Conversational marketing

1. Accelerated use of mobile shopping

Mobile commerce is more than simply using your phone to buy items. It includes any purchasing activity (engagement with mobile ads, speaking with sales reps, browsing brands on a smartphone, etc) made on a mobile browser or app. And since mobile shopping intersects with other trending ecommerce features like live stream shopping, augmented reality shopping and in-app purchases, we predict its use will accelerate in 2023.

How to act on this:

Consider your current mobile shopping offerings and experiment with trending commerce features.
Pay attention to new ecommerce product features to stay ahead.

2. Social commerce continues to grow and evolve

Social commerce reigned supreme in 2022. But consumers’ wants are becoming more complex and they’re more selective with their purchase decisions, especially in a looming economic downturn.

Sprout’s social shopping report found 98% of consumers planned to make at least one purchase through social shopping or influencer commerce in 2022—and this trend isn’t slowing down. If you haven’t already started selling on social media, chances are high that your competitors already are or are planning to.

With the maturing of creator marketing, the natural next step is for platforms to help creators and companies sell to consumers.

Grove Collaborative utilizes Instagram Shop to offer customers a unique browsing experience and the ability to check out within the app. Along with photos, they include tutorial videos to illustrate how to use their products. Users can also send a direct message to Grove Collaborative if they have a question.

Why make someone leave Instagram if they can just click on a product tag and purchase something in less than a minute? In the buyer journey, it’s one less click for customers and that’s one less chance for them to abandon the cart.

In our Q1 2023 Sprout Pulse survey, 47% of consumers say they plan to use shopping features within a platform (Instagram Shops, Facebook Shops, TikTok Shopping, etc.).

Even across generations, consumers anticipate using in-app shopping features over the next year.

How to act on this:

Consider implementing new in-app shopping features on social media.
Meet your customers where they are. Which social shopping platform or feature do they engage with the most?
Reward social shoppers with exclusive in-app discounts and sales.

3. Personalization is a preferred shopping experience

B2C and B2B consumers alike are seeking custom ecommerce experiences and are more likely to remain loyal to retail brands that offer a personalized experience. According to the State of Personalization 2022, almost half (49%) of consumers say they will likely become a repeat buyer after a personalized shopping experience with a retailer.

Personalization can include product recommendations, offers and discounts and a cohesive retail experience across multiple channels (website, mobile and social). It can also include offering a variety of payment methods. If customers have a preferred payment method and it’s not available, they could easily abandon the website without completing their purchase.

Brands that are expanding their personalization efforts are reaping benefits. According to BCG’s Personalization Maturity Index, retailers that scale advanced personalization capabilities earn on average four times the revenue compared to those with less advanced features.

How to act on this:

Scale personalization efforts by offering product recommendations and exclusive offers.
Consider offering modern payment methods, like Apple Pay, or buy now, pay later services like Klarna.
Prioritize improving customer care across your social media channels.

4. Artificial Intelligence will help brands learn more about shoppers

With the rise of custom shopping experiences, artificial intelligence (AI) is growing quickly. AI can collect data on customers’ shopping behaviors. This can include how a customer shops, their preferences when browsing for a product/service and time of purchase. Brands can use this information to offer a personalized shopping experience.

It’s like your favorite sales associate, but with a techy twist. Instead of your favorite associate, AI can show a new shoe you might like or share details about relevant upcoming sales.

You may be familiar with the science fiction trope of an AI robot learning how to express human emotions. Well, we are not quite there yet—and perhaps we never will be.

But more practical use cases for AI and customer service are emerging. While not every AI scenario goes well, companies have tapped on AI to compose responses for more practical customer care engagements like searching for an item status. Using AI will improve efficiencies as customer paths are projected to become more complex over time.

As a bot learns how to communicate better, brands can also teach them how to provide more complex customer service, along with offering products based on a customer’s moods and preferences.

How to act on this:

Research best use cases for AI ecommerce.
Experiment with AI tools to get a hands-on learning experience.
Pay attention to industry news surrounding artificial intelligence and machine learning.

5. Zero-party data and privacy are on consumers’ minds

While some consumers want a personalized experience, others are concerned about their data and privacy rights. More consumers are aware that ecommerce sites collect data, but they don’t always know how this data will be used or whether the collection puts them at risk. There are mixed sentiments about the benefits of big data and how it impacts personalized shopping experiences.

In light of top companies like Google planning to end the support of third-party cookies in 2023, brands are beginning to adopt zero-party data. Collecting data directly from consenting customers is an attempt to avoid the issues that come with using third-party cookies.

Our Q1 2023 Sprout Pulse survey shows 63% of consumers are concerned about zero-party data while shopping online.

However, our Pulse survey also revealed over half (55%) of consumers are okay with brands using their personal information to deliver relevant content and offers, or if the recommendation aligns with their identity.

With the future moving toward zero-party data, marketers will have to learn how to balance the interesting dichotomy between personalization and data/privacy concerns.

How to act on this:

Consider adopting zero-party data and collect customer data in-house.
Identify and implement the appropriate security and privacy protocols to protect your customer data.
Be transparent with customers about how your brand collects, stores and uses their data.

6. AR and VR enhance online shopping experiences

Our Q1 2023 Pulse survey revealed 48% of marketers anticipate using Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) or Extended Reality (XR) technologies like the metaverse. Some 43% of consumers say VR/AR/XR will play a significant role in how they engage with brands over the next 12 months.

“Try before you buy” takes on a whole new meaning with augmented reality (AR) commerce, which uses 3D mapping to help customers try out products or preview experiences before making a purchase. AR has been a game changer across industries, especially fashion, beauty and home decor because it brings the product/service within the fingertips of customers. Brands don’t even need brick-and-mortar storefronts to take advantage of AR commerce.

A few advantages of AR ecommerce include:

Customers can get a feel for a product without seeing it physically in person
Helps customers who don’t have access to a store nearby due to time or proximity
Since customers can preview products and experiences without purchasing, their purchase decisions are more informed, leading to fewer returns
Offers consumers the ability to test on their own time, making this marketing and sales channel cost-effective

Some examples of AR ecommerce include virtually trying on glasses frames, placing a piece of furniture in a room to see how it’ll look and applying various makeup products to see what compliments your skin tone.

Within its iOS app, Target uses AR to improve the customer shopping experience. Common furniture items are able to be superimposed into customers’ spaces so they can actually picture how they’ll look. If customers are able to see how well a leather armchair fits into their living room, they’re more confident in their purchasing decision and less likely to return the item.

How to act on this:

Consider investing in AR ecommerce features through your brand’s app or an AR app like Snapchat.
Showcase how customers can use your brand’s AR offerings on social media.

7. A rise in voice search

In 2023, marketers are using emerging technologies like voice search to level up their social commerce strategies. Many consumers rely on smart speakers and voice assistants to complete daily tasks. Customers can explore a brand’s various collections, choose product sizes and colors and ask questions directly within their shop.

As more people adopt these systems, they will likely start using voice search to make purchases from clothing to food.

According to our Q1 2023 Pulse survey, 25% of respondents say they plan to use voice search in 2023, a 3% increase from 2022.

How to act on this:

Optimize voice search by using traditional search engine optimization and semantic strategy
Optimize product/service descriptions for search using natural speech like “who,” “what,” “where,” “why,” “when,” and “how”

8. Businesses focus on optimizing for conversion

In today’s economic landscape, consumers are spending less and less often. According to Shopify’s The Future of Ecommerce + Trends 2022 report, in a survey of global Shopify Plus merchants, 35% have seen shrinking average cart sizes, and 50% are seeing less site traffic and lower conversion rates.

With so many brands embracing multichannel marketing, marketers need to focus on optimizing for conversion on social media and search engine advertising. Gone are the days of identical messaging across traditional channels like billboards and postcards. Today, companies have to craft a cohesive brand presence while curating the appropriate messaging and content across various social channels.

How to act on this:

Prioritize customer care across your brand’s channels.
Include a call to action link or button in content.
Showcase testimonials and reviews across your channels.

9. Subscriptions help retain loyal customers

Brands are adopting subscription models to attract loyal customers while boosting profitability and retention rates. Subscriptions and/or memberships are becoming more popular due to economic instability and inflation.

B2C brands in particular are marketing subscription plans as an opportunity to save money, some even promising lifetime price rates as a registration incentive. Gated membership communities like Fabletics and Lululemon are rising as well. The model leans on FOMO, offering members VIP-style treatment with exclusive access to products, events, etc.

Got my @lululemon yoga mat & I’m so excited for yoga tomorrow! I told myself that if I went to yoga consistently for the month and used my unlimited subscription, I’d treat myself and voila 😌 pic.twitter.com/wQOho8QbCP

— AmandaLeigha† (@amandaleigha) August 2, 2021

These benefits are so attractive to customers that Lululemon expects 80% of customers to sign up for membership within the next five years, according to Shopify’s The Future of Ecommerce + Trends 2022 report. Lululemon also stands out because of how they promote their subscription and community. The athletic apparel retailer frequently interacts with customers on social, sometimes even surprising and delighting their customers with subscriptions.

Thank you @lululemon for the gift!! I will definitely be using these flashcards & the meditation subscription : ) pic.twitter.com/HqSBNpPrAF

— Kerri Lynn (@kerri_0011) December 20, 2015

How to act on this:

Reward subscribers with limited-time offers.
Market the benefits of your subscription service.
Engage with subscribers online to shape a sense of community.

10. Consumers are choosing brands that align with their beliefs

Consumers want to spend their dollars on brands that align with their beliefs. Our Q1 2023 Pulse survey reveals aligned values are a top priority for many consumers. They want to spend their dollars on brands that don’t just talk the talk, but walk it too.

For example, if an ecommerce brand values environmentalism, they could allow consumers the option to minimize the number of shipments an order is sent in. Beauty and apparel brands that champion diversity, equity and inclusion are expected to feature diverse models and offer inclusive sizing or foundation shades.

Our Pulse survey shows 77% of consumers are more likely to increase their spending with brands they feel connected to, a 57% increase from our 2018 Brands Get Real report.

Our Pulse survey also showed, across generations, consumers are more likely to spend on brands they feel the most connected to.

How to act on this:

Get creative with how you showcase your brand values.
Collaborate with like-minded businesses, content creators and influencers.

11. Consumers are increasingly mindful of sustainability

Staying true to the trend of consumers choosing brands that align with their beliefs, sustainability is becoming an important staple to shoppers. With factors like the environmental implications of fast fashion and emerging technologies like NFTs (which are known for having large carbon footprints), many consumers are becoming more aware of sustainability.

Consumers are looking for sustainable packing, pivoting from plastic and paying attention to brands’ environmental activism efforts.

How to act on this:

Evaluate how your brand can embrace sustainable business practices.
Consider how your product or service can be more eco-friendly.

12. Livestream shopping

Livestream shopping allows consumers to enjoy the best of social commerce and live streaming. Brands, influencers and creators can promote products/services while interacting with customers in real time. The experience is similar to shopping in a store with associates answering questions, but now it’s from the comfort of home.

Some 49% of consumers plan on watching live streams in 2023, according to our Q1 2023 Sprout Pulse survey.

Even traditional television shopping networks like QVC are embracing livestream shopping. Viewers can tune in via Facebook, Youtube and the QVC streaming app.

13. Conversational marketing

Imagine a customer starts a conversation with your brand on Facebook Messenger.

With the help of a chatbot or a live agent, the customer can get answers to their questions about your product/service. And they can even complete a purchase without leaving the platform. Conversational commerce is a lot more personalized and interactive on a one-on-one basis.

Our Q1 2023 Sprout Pulse survey reveals, some 26% of marketers plan to use conversational marketing in 2023, a 6% increase from 2022.

On top of text-based conversational commerce is voice shopping, like we mentioned before. Having a natural conversation with your Amazon Echo or Google Home that leads to a purchase is another example of conversational commerce.

Next steps for marketers

Consider optimizing conversational marketing efforts for conversion, like chatbot call to action prompts or using live agents with chatbots.
Implement chatbots on your brand’s website and social messaging platforms.

Evolve your emerging social commerce strategy

Keep an eye on these emerging ecommerce trends over the next year. New technology is helping ensure smoother customer journeys and a better brand experience, helping both the customer and the company.

Get ahead of the latest ecommerce trends with our social commerce strategy tool.

The post 13 Ecommerce trends you need to know in 2023 appeared first on Sprout Social.

How the Sprout Social Salesforce integration strengthens your team

Tim Clarke — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 14:58:11 +0000

There’s a reason more and more companies are linking their CRMs with social media management tools like Sprout Social: Optimizing your customer experience should be at the forefront of your social media strategy.

Through a global partnership launched in 2022, Sprout and Salesforce are ushering in a new era of social customer care. The Sprout Social Salesforce integration empowers your brand to deliver world-class social customer care—all without interrupting your team’s workflow.

The Service Cloud integration ensures Salesforce customers can manage all of their social customer care requests directly from within Service Cloud while enriching customer CRM profiles with social data to provide a holistic view of customer interactions.

Want to speed up internal collaboration and uncover valuable customer insights at the same time? Our Salesforce integration empowers your social, sales and support teams alike.

In this guide, we’ll break down exactly how the Sprout Social Salesforce integration works. We’ll also highlight how the integration streamlines tasks across your entire business and makes it easier to prove the effectiveness of your strategies.

Why you need to integrate your CRM with social media ASAP

The importance of social media integrations with your business’ tech stack can’t be overstated. And your CRM platform should be a top priority.

This is especially true as customers rely on social media as a research tool, support channel and place to sound off about brands.

Looking at the top challenges of B2B marketers, the growing need for social media CRM integrations is clear. These challenges include:

Engaging buyers at the right time in the right channel (57%)
Giving the sales team relevant content to engage target buyers (23%)
Dealing with internal data silos and inefficiencies (17%)

The Sprout Social Salesforce integration addresses all of the above.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s dive into some of the key upsides of linking your CRM with your social presence.

Create a 360-degree view of your customer

Empower your agents with a complete customer 360 view before responding. Sprout Social enriches your Salesforce customer CRM data with social data to provide a comprehensive view. With this integration, agents can engage in real time with the right context.

Sprout’s Tableau Business Intelligence (BI) Connector takes it a step further by combining social data in an omnichannel view, customized with the exact visuals and metric combinations companies need. This delivers rich data options and visualizations that give users a complete view of their customers, without requiring time-consuming work.

Monitor make-or-break moments in the buyer’s journey

CRMs help businesses assist leads and customers on the path to purchase.

And social media is where so many crucial moments happen during that journey.

This rings true for B2B and B2C alike. Let’s assume that the typical B2B buyer’s journey is around eight months. Social interactions are a given for folks doing their homework on a product.

Meanwhile, recent research from TikTok describes consumer behavior as an “infinite loop” in B2C. The modern path to purchase is far from linear when people are bouncing between so many channels.

As customers bounce between platforms and content, social media serves as a place to make valuable touchpoints along the way. This includes answering questions and publishing educational content to nurture leads.

The same rules apply to existing customers. Data from The Sprout Social Index™ 2021 notes the majority of people that follow a brand on social intend to buy from them (or buy again).

Earn (and track) more social sales

The growth of social selling speaks for itself.

Do activities such as customer care and content marketing contribute big-time to closing and retaining leads? Of course.

Still, they’re difficult to track without a CRM.

With integrations like those between Sprout Social and Salesforce, it’s so much easier to attribute sales from social. The ability to quickly answer questions and handoff cases between social, sales and support likewise makes it easier to respond to people quickly.

Gather meaningful customer insights you might otherwise miss

The more info you have about your customers, the better.

Consolidating touchpoints between social media and your CRM gives you a more in-depth understanding of your audience. And by tapping into Sprout’s Tableau BI Connector, your team can access all consumer data in one place to get a birds-eye view of how social media fits into the larger picture.

Fact: 90% of marketers say data from social enables them to differentiate their brands in the market and stand out from their peers. Also, consider how many people use social media as a place to sound off about brands.

These conversations and activities provide insights for sales and support, including:

Sales objections
Pain points and challenges
Wants and needs
Competitor advantages (and disadvantages)

With all of the above on hand, your team can approach leads and customers with a much-needed sense of confidence.

Reimagine the role of social in your business

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How does Salesforce integrate with Sprout Social?

Here’s a quick snapshot of the Sprout Social Salesforce integration and what you can do with it:

Create Salesforce contacts, leads and cases directly in Sprout. This means you can route social customers to support and sales without leaving Sprout or Salesforce.
Paint a complete picture of your CRM contacts with information and conversations via social media.
Tie your social presence to actual business results with analytics and reporting.

Respond directly within Service Cloud where agents work, reducing the need for multiple tools wrapped in a layer of governance and security.

As an added bonus, our Salesforce integration is available on all Sprout plans. Features and requirements below:

Requirements: Salesforce account
Data types: messages, contacts, tickets
Key functionality: create leads, edit contact information, create cases, edit cases, auto-sync

What entities are available with the Sprout Social Salesforce integration?

Below is a breakdown of all the entities that can be created and edited directly within Sprout:

Leads: Kick off the sales process by identifying potential customers through questions, comments and other social media interactions.
Cases: Route customer issues or concerns posted on social to your support team without leaving the platform.
Contacts: Beyond customers, you can keep track of social interactions with contacts such as company partners.

To learn more, check out this detailed breakdown.

Sprout + Tableau + Salesforce

We understand there are times when you need to take social data outside of Sprout to combine with other data streams (including customer care and other marketing data), and to further customize it based on your company’s own internal preferences.

With Sprout’s Tableau BI Connector, you can combine the power of social data with other business channels. The tool enables you to analyze data, create custom metrics and merge different data sources.

This seamless and customized view gives you a consolidated source of truth for wider business insights and performance.

The integration:

Consolidates wider business updates
Builds your perfect dashboard
Accesses data without the dev network

For Salesforce users, this ensures social data and insights are included in your 360-degree view of your customers.

4 key benefits of using the Sprout Social Salesforce integration

To wrap things up, let’s look at some of the specific benefits of using a Salesforce social media integration like Sprout.

1. Provide better customer care

According to The Sprout Social Index™ 2022, there are two specific actions brands can take to earn consumer trust over a competitor:

Respond to questions and concerns in a timely manner.
Demonstrate an understanding of customer needs.

Our Salesforce integration can help you in both departments.

Again, logging social activity means a more comprehensive understanding of your customers’ wants and needs. Not having to bounce between your CRM and social tools is a huge time-saver. In turn, you speed up your response time.

Not only that, our intelligent case routing feature improves agent productivity and optimizes the customer experience through automated case creation and routing. Ensuring that inbound messages reach the right agent speedily—right inside of Salesforce.

The end result: Responding to customers faster and coming up with better solutions to meet their needs. Doing so is a recipe for long-term loyalty and retention.

2. Align your marketing, sales and support teams

Consider that 36% of marketers say they struggle with cross-team collaboration.

When marketing, sales and support are aligned, each team is empowered to do their best work. There’s so much room for error if you only log your customers’ social interactions sometimes.

Think about it. If marketing or sales leave out key customer details in your CRM, your support team is left in the dark. On the flip side, marketing should be aware of sales objections and concerns to better speak to customers’ desires.

Here are some specific ways that Sprout’s Salesforce integration can help:

Save time by eliminating needless back-and-forth between vendors, managers and social managers.
Swiftly route cases to avoid bouncing between tools.
Provide each team the context they need to serve your customers.

3. Boost the value behind your marketing content

Learning what makes customers bounce or stick around is invaluable for marketers.

Tracking these touchpoints can lead to the answers you need to create more impactful content and more meaningful marketing messaging overall. This includes:

Blog posts
Social posts (think: how-tos, tutorials and content you share to nurture customers)
Reports, white papers and other lead magnets
Webinars

For example, marketers might learn that high price points are the most common sales objection among lost leads. This information encourages the marketing side to reframe their messaging and how they speak to their audience.

4. More meaningful attribution via analytics

Perhaps most importantly, social integration with your CRM highlights the ROI of your team’s efforts.

This is an ongoing struggle for marketers, in particular. Although social media is a must-have for businesses, determining its business impact can be tricky.

That’s where Sprout comes in. Through our marketing and analytics features, brands can see how social engagements correspond with dollars and cents. Proving how these interactions contribute to revenue reinforces the value of social to stakeholders.

And with our reporting functionality in Salesforce, you can keep track of your full omnichannel experience, including seeing which channels (e.g. phone, email, social) and social channels (e.g. LinkedIn, Twitter) cases are being created from.

Food for thought: Sales strategy is the number one use case for social data, especially as social has more impact on the bottom line. However, only 65% of marketers use social data for their sales strategy.

This speaks to the importance of integrating social with your tech stack to advance the sophistication of your customer care.

When you need to aggregate all of your marketing, customer care and social data in one place, Sprout’s Tableau integration will help you best tell the story of your brand’s success on social and beyond.

Ready to try the Sprout Social Salesforce Integration?

From customer insights to better service, the upsides of linking your social presence with your CRM are crystal clear.

Thankfully, getting up and running with the Sprout Social Salesforce integration can be done sooner rather than later. Our platform makes it a breeze to beef up your tech stack while bringing your team closer together.

If you haven’t already, we invite you to request a demo of our Service Cloud integration or get setup via the AppExchange.

Don’t forget to take a peek at our other business integrations to see how else Sprout can help you level up your company.

The post How the Sprout Social Salesforce integration strengthens your team appeared first on Sprout Social.

16 unexpected ways to use WhatsApp for business

Jessica Coleman — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 14:55:34 +0000

Conversational marketing is on the rise, driven largely by consumers’ increasing expectations for convenience and tailored digital experiences. In fact, 90% of global consumers say they’ll spend more with companies that personalize the service they offer.

Coupled with recent government- and self-imposed restrictions on in-person shopping, more brands than ever before are turning to WhatsApp and similar messaging platforms to interact with customers in meaningful ways.

Today, millions of brands are using WhatsApp Business to build personal connections with consumers at scale. In this article, we’ll establish the growing importance of WhatsApp across business functions (not just marketing), showcase the ways some brands are using the app and highlight a few innovative tips for making the most of the network.

The benefits of using WhatsApp for business
Inventive ways to use WhatsApp for business
7 WhatsApp Business account features to use
WhatsApp Business account vs. WhatsApp Business API
16 brands that demonstrate how to expertly use WhatsApp for business

The benefits of using WhatsApp for business

For brands that use WhatsApp to engage with customers, there are a number of clear benefits.

Expand your global reach. WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app worldwide, has upward of two billion active users across more than 180 countries. With a potential audience that large, it’s easy to engage with new prospects that may not yet be aware of all your business has to offer.
Improve the customer experience. Research from Zendesk found that leading companies offer customer support across twice as many channels as their peers. If you are looking to expand your opportunities to support customers, WhatsApp provides a seamless platform for doing so.
Enhance employee satisfaction. WhatsApp’s messaging capability can also be a win for your internal team as customer support personnel report that they are 50% more likely to want to engage with customers via messaging platforms versus more traditional methods because it affords them the freedom to multitask.
Increase profitability. When customer service is streamlined, operating expenses often shrink. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 40% of customer service will go from a major organizational expense to a significant profit driver as direct messaging streamlines sales pipelines.

Inventive ways to use WhatsApp for business

WhatsApp is more than just a place to answer one-off customer questions. Consider these ideas for integrating WhatsApp into your social media, sales or customer service strategies.

Optimize your profile: Use your WhatsApp business profile to share important information about your brand and provide answers to common customer questions.
Use digital catalogs: Create a digital catalog to help your customers discover your products or services.
Support customers: You can significantly reduce your reliance on call centers by outsourcing simple customer requests and queries to a WhatsApp-powered chatbot or digital assistant.
Share content via the Status feature: Use the Status feature to share content the same way you already do in your Facebook or Instagram Stories.
Develop creative marketing campaigns: Engage customers with an out-of-the-box marketing campaign.
Replicate core business processes: Identify key areas of your business that might be possible to replicate on WhatsApp.
Level up with ads: Use Facebook and Instagram ads that click to WhatsApp to initiate customer conversations that lead to sales.

7 WhatsApp Business account features to use

Once you create your WhatsApp Business profile, you’ll find a suite of tools you can use to scale your 1:1 messaging strategy on the platform. Here are seven that can help you make the most out of your presence on WhatsApp:

1. Quick replies

Quick replies are a great way to take some of the work out of addressing those frequently asked questions, like “when are you open?” or “is this in stock?”.

To set one up, all you have to do is click Quick Replies under the Business Tools section of WhatsApp. From there, you can create up to 50 unique replies that you can access via keyboard shortcuts.

A word to the wise: Start with 5-10 Quick Replies and add more as needed. That will make your new shortcuts easier to remember and use when talking to customers.

2. Automatic away messages

Adding 1:1 messaging to your strategy doesn’t mean you need to be available 24/7. You can use away messages to set appropriate expectations with your customers and to give yourself a break as needed.

Away messages can be triggered by a few different scenarios, including:

When a customer messages you outside of business hours
During specific periods, like holidays or extended closures
When receiving high volumes of inbound messages

When you set up an away message, be sure to clearly state when a customer can expect to hear back from you. Remove as much ambiguity from the situation as possible for an improved customer experience.

3. Contact and message Labels

You can use labels to organize inbound messages and contacts on WhatsApp, similarly to how you might use labels to organize your email inbox.

When it comes to creating a label strategy, it’s a choose your own adventure game. However, if you want to keep your social media response times low, we recommend that you create a label specifically for unresolved issues. This will help keep them top of mind as you work to find the answer to a customer’s question.

4. Catalogs and collections

Use your WhatsApp Business account to drive social commerce sales by creating an inventory catalog within the app. Aside from the product title, all additional fields—price, description, website link, product code—are optional, so you can make your listing unique to your sales process.

You can also use collections to sort your catalog for easier browsing. For example, you can create a holiday-specific collection or one that features products currently on sale.

5. Catalog links

Once you create a catalog, you can share items in your catalog in conversations with customers. All you have to do is find the item you’d like to share and click Send link via WhatsApp Business.

Use this tool if a customer is asking about a specific item or to provide alternatives for items that have sold out. You can also use it to send loyal customers updates on items that have gone on sale.

6. Cart

While you can drive customers directly to your site using WhatsApp Business’s catalog feature, you can also create a more seamless checkout experience by encouraging them to complete their purchase in-app using the cart tool.

All you have to do is enable the Add to Cart feature within your catalog and your customers can handle the rest from there.

7. Broadcast lists

If a customer adds your business to their address book on WhatsApp, you can add them to a broadcast list. These lists help you send the same message to multiple customers at once, saving you a lot of time and effort.

Use this tool sparingly and with SMS marketing best practices in mind. If you use it too often, you risk alienating customers who appreciate your business enough to consider it a personal contact.

WhatsApp Business account vs. WhatsApp Business API

If you’ve been looking into setting up a WhatsApp Business account, you’ve probably also come across information on the WhatsApp Business API (also known as WhatsApp Business Platform).

Think of this as the next evolution of a WhatsApp Business account, designed for medium and large businesses to manage conversational marketing at a wider scale. The WhatsApp Business API provides access to the tools listed above, along with advanced marketing and customer care features, including:

Multi-agent access
Profile verification
Multimedia message templates
Message variables for personalization
Interactive messages

Of course, advanced tools come at an advanced price point. WhatsApp Business API also has a conversation-based pricing model whereas WhatsApp Business Accounts are free. Businesses using the WhatsApp Business API receive 1,000 free conversations per month, with monthly rates increasing depending on the number of user- and business-initiated messages sent within the billing period.

16 brands that demonstrate how to expertly use WhatsApp for business

Brands are using WhatsApp in a variety of ways that expand their customer-facing and internal capabilities. The following examples highlight use cases in customer service, financial services, marketing, human resources and pipeline growth.

Customer service

1. Vodafone, a German telecommunications company, has embraced WhatsApp for customer messaging, reaching more than 200,000 customers via this channel each month. Their artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, TOBi, recognizes more than 250 customer needs and will only pass requests over to employees if it encounters an issue it is not equipped to solve. More than half of these interactions result in a solution for the customer, removing the need for live customer service support in many cases.

2. Estée Lauder was the first major beauty brand to use WhatsApp to offer personalized skincare consultations for customers. Liv, an AI chatbot, was developed in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to replace over-the-counter consultations customers previously had in department stores. These digital conversations help customers understand how to use the company’s products and gather tips for maintaining an effective skincare regimen.

3. Nissan Saudi Arabia, looking to engage younger customers and reduce its reliance on call centers, began using WhatsApp to handle inquiries and nurture sales. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, people under 30 years old make up nearly three-fourths of the population. To reach that market, Nissan developed an automated chatbot powered by WhatsApp that could answer simple customer questions without the need to transfer them to the call center. After the launch of the chatbot, leads increased 390% and inbound calls were reduced by 33%.

Financial services

4. One of Spain’s leading insurance providers, Mutua Madrileña, offers personalized messaging for customers via WhatsApp on more than 1,000 topics. In the first six months of using this new channel for customer support, the company had received nearly half a million messages, making up 23% of digital customer inquiries. In late 2020, the brand became the first insurer in the country to allow customers to submit automobile accident claims via their WhatsApp virtual assistant, resulting in a process that is now 30% faster.

5. WhatsApp banking is also a thing. Many banks, primarily in Europe, the Middle East and Asia are using the app to make banking simpler and more convenient for customers. India’s ICICI Bank and Pakistan’s HBL Bank both use the app to answer customer questions and to conduct basic transactions.

6. Mukuru, one of the largest money transfer providers in Africa, realized more than $1 million in reduced SMS costs after implementing customer service via WhatsApp. It also improved the reliability and security of wire transfers for the financially excluded communities it serves across the continent. With WhatsApp available, consumers can reduce their dependence on mobile banking apps that traditionally use more unpredictable unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) protocols that don’t require an internet connection. Since the introduction of WhatsApp, the brand’s customer satisfaction has jumped from 65% to 80%.

7. Tikkie, a Dutch peer-to-peer payment app (similar to Venmo or Zelle), created their own set of 11 stickers for their WhatsApp users. The stickers allowed customers a fun way of communicating with each other to thank someone for paying or to remind them to do so.

Marketing campaigns

8. Absolut Vodka, a Swedish spirits brand, used WhatsApp to publicize an in-person product launch event in Argentina. Customers were encouraged to message a chatbot doorman named Sven to try to convince “him” they deserved one of two available tickets. This campaign resulted in more than 1,000 messages from 600 individuals over three days.

9. Carrefour Group, a French-based big box store chain, uses WhatsApp to provide digital coupon catalogs to its client base. These offers were previously printed, but the company wanted to offset those costs and have better targeting capabilities based on customers’ locations and preferences. By inputting their zip code into a chatbot, customers can be directed to their nearest store and also receive tailored deals straight to their phone. According to Meta, 45% of users now engage with the digital catalog versus 10% who open the catalog via email.

10. The Brazilian arm of Hellmann’s, a mayonnaise brand, launched a campaign via WhatsApp to provide its users with on-demand cooking advice delivered by culinary professionals. The campaign, called WhatsCook, allowed customers to converse in real time with chefs to get detailed instruction, answers to their questions, or specific assistance for preparing their meals.

11. Adidas’ 100% Unfair Predator campaign, launched via WhatsApp, helped the brand engage with a core set of customers: footballers. Users were allowed to chat with Adidas to request a professional athlete join their local teams for a single game. For the lucky teams chosen, Adidas-sponsored players showed up in the company’s new Predator20 Mutator shoes.

Human resources

12. BASF Group, a German chemical production company, uses WhatsApp to engage potential recruits. Anilina, a digital career assistant in the form of a chatbot, helps to answer candidates’ questions quickly and on the spot. For more involved conversations, candidates can reach out to representatives Monday through Friday via WhatsApp chat.

13. Logistics company Deutsche Post DHL Group allows candidates to apply to open positions directly from WhatsApp, eliminating the need to fill out lengthy and cumbersome online forms. The company deployed the chatbot to reach their target candidates where they are via a more user-centric application process.

Pipeline growth

14. French newspaper Le Monde used WhatsApp’s status feature to target customers in French-speaking African countries. The company posts content to its status, which is viewable for 24 hours (similar to an Instagram Story), three to four times a day. About 20% of the brand’s follower base typically consumes this content, and over time, Le Monde Afrique has grown its WhatsApp followers by 10,000.

15. Triya, a Brazilian beachwear brand, uses WhatsApp to converse with its customers and also to send order information like receipts and tracking information. After doubling down on their presence on the app, the company 5Xed their annual sales.

16. Centaline Property, one of Hong Kong’s largest real estate brokerages, uses WhatsApp to qualify leads more quickly and increase their sales pipeline. The company integrated the network with its property recommendation engine to allow leads to be funneled to the appropriate agent, along with each customer’s information and communication history. The use of key WhatsApp features like List Messages and Reply Buttons help Centaline Property personalize their outreach, resulting in a 27% increase in sales conversions.

How will you use WhatsApp for business?

Conversational marketing is here to stay. The majority of customers expect it, and companies that strategically engage their audiences via channels like WhatsApp are better positioned to take advantage of the growth it makes possible.

If you’re looking for even more opportunities to use social messaging to build stronger customer relationships, this interview with Martha O’Byrne-O’Reilly, head of messaging developer partnerships at Meta, should give you some ideas.

The post 16 unexpected ways to use WhatsApp for business appeared first on Sprout Social.

Twitter ecommerce: How to embrace the next social shopping frontier

Bani Kaur — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 14:00:27 +0000

People no longer just Google things they want to buy. They find answers through social media trendsetters, conversations in DMs and suggestions from their network. The shopping tide is changing to social commerce, which is predicted to grow three times as fast as traditional commerce between now and 2025.

But where does Twitter fit into the social commerce landscape, and who is buying on Twitter?

To answer this, we reviewed Twitter’s latest ecommerce features and looked to brands mastering them. We also explain how you can leverage these features to sell on Twitter and best practices to get started.

This guide will cover:

Twitter ecommerce features you need to know
Examples of Twitter shopping in action
4 tips for getting started with Twitter ecommerce

Twitter ecommerce features you need to know

Twitter has rolled out four ecommerce features: Shops, Spotlights, Live Shopping and Product Drops.

1. Twitter Shops

Merchants can use Twitter Shops to showcase up to 50 products from their online stores. A Twitter shop is accessible via a “View Shop” button on your profile. This free, mobile-first feature aims to convert brand enthusiasts to buyers on the platform.

However, the payment option for these shops isn’t hosted on Twitter. The checkout link will take customers to your website or app, where they’ll fill in their details to complete their purchase.

2. Shop Spotlight

The Shop Spotlight is a carousel on your profile that features five products in your Twitter Shop. Shoppers can swipe through the carousel and tap on products to learn more.

Shop Spotlight is a part of Twitter’s larger effort around Professional Profiles, expanding the dedicated space for businesses and creators with ecommerce features that drive engagement and revenue.

3. Live Shopping

Host a Live Shopping broadcast for followers to buy alongside—like an infomercial. The engagement and shopping options are displayed below the video stream, which include:

A “Shop” banner and tab on the event’s page featuring all the products from the broadcast.
The “Latest” tab where new products show up as they appear on the live stream.
A live Tweet discussion about the product(s) that takes place underneath the live stream.

Come shop live with me and @Walmart right now at the link below!https://t.co/0Hru6GzyiU

— Jason Derulo (@jasonderulo) November 29, 2021

4. Product Drops

Product Drops are to Twitter shopping as trailers are to movies. Show potential customers a sneak peek of products and drum up anticipation before they officially launch. You can also track which user profiles engage with the drop to inform future advertising and marketing initiatives. Early brands testing this feature include Dior, The Home Depot and Union Los Angeles.

To our US clients on iOS devices, click the "reminder" button for a product drop alert! You will be notified when the Dior by Birkenstock mule is made available, so keep an eye on the launch.#DiorBirkenstock https://t.co/rR5AQeN47F

— Dior (@Dior) June 10, 2022

Product Drop Tweets show up as regular Tweets on a user’s feed. Users can also set a product reminder, notifying them when it goes on sale.

This Twitter shopping feature is currently limited to iOS in the US.

Now that we’ve covered Twitter’s ecommerce features, let’s look at ways you can use them to expand your brand’s presence and generate revenue on the platform.

Examples of Twitter shopping in action

Whatever your product or service, direct-to-consumer brands can benefit from integrating their creative content streams—videos, live streams or carousels—with Twitter’s ecommerce features. Whether you’re an established brand or just starting out, the platform’s ecommerce features make it easy to begin.

Let’s look at brands selling out fast on Twitter:

Trixie Cosmetics

Founded by drag start Trixi Mattel, Trixie Cosmetics sells premium cosmetics in vibrant, whimsical packaging.

Trixie’s Twitter strategy is distinct through their use of scavenger hunts, quizzes and behind-the-scenes content to drive engagement while featuring their products. To get their audience to actually buy, Trixie uses Shop Spotlights to launch new collections and builds hype around them through Tweets.

MOVE, WE’RE GAY 🌈 Celebrate the joys of homosexuality with this stunning lip gloss bundle ($96) that included 6 of your old faves plus new arrival, Hi Gay! (a sheer gloss with rainbow reflect glitter✨) available Friday at 10am pt! pic.twitter.com/8i21e1lqqg

— Trixie Cosmetics (@TrixieCosmetics) June 1, 2022

By leveraging Twitter’s full stack of features, Trixie is able to create a seamless brand and buying experience, building brand credibility and authenticity while promoting products. Look at your current Twitter strategy and identify ways to expand upon it with Twitter ecommerce tools.

Use Live Shopping to host tutorials with influencers or share behind-the-scenes content, like Trixie’s warehouse tours and customer spotlights.

Twitter Spotlights can double as pop-up sales introducing limited-edition products, seasonal specials or influencer collaborations to ignite excitement and give a special reason to buy now.

Arden Cove

Arden Cove is a brand selling theft-resistant travel bags and accessories—empowering women to travel without the fear of being pick-pocketed.

Their consistent posting schedule paired with proactive customer engagement allowed them to integrate Twitter Shops seamlessly. With special discounts available through their Twitter Shop, customers can enjoy a unique experience while shopping in the app. Plus, their live streams amplify special products and give customers the chance to interact directly with the brand.

Less than 30 min away from our Livestream #Giveaways!

We are decorating a cake to close out our anniversary week, and sharing fun stories from running or business for the last 5 years.

RSVP here 👇https://t.co/YB8uMnfF3t

— Arden Cove (@ArdenCove) October 17, 2021

Skip the shipping madness & order early!
Check out the great #BlackFriday deals we have on our amazing Anti-theft Water Resistant Travel Bags & Accessories

— Arden Cove (@ArdenCove) November 20, 2021

Arden Cove creates compelling content that keeps their audience engaged throughout their buying journey, from inspiration and aspiration to conversion. Focus on converting your aspirational Twitter content into direct sales. Spark interest with live streams featuring your products or Q&As with experts, then drive excitement with Product Drops of coveted items. The previews, reminders and limited-time offers will encourage conversion.

All I Do Is Cook

This brand sells ready-to-eat African food products, using Twitter to inspire their audience with recipes that incorporate their ingredients. All I Do is Cook takes it a step further by selling their recipe ingredients directly to customers via Twitter shopping features.

Their structured Twitter Shop is segmented into categories—such as Snacks, Sides and Stews and Soups—to help buyers effectively navigate products.

Get it here https://t.co/JswyNTJMTg

— All I Do Is Cook (@AllIDoIsCookUS) July 27, 2022

Their strategy features a guided approach that ushers customers to their products based on interests, reducing friction on the path to conversion. Turning their Twitter Shop into more than a store, but a shopping guide.

Organize your products to make everything easy to find, then layer in other Twitter features so your customers can quickly find the latest products.

Now that we’ve seen how brands are creatively strategizing for Twitter ecommerce, the next question is: How do you get started?

4 tips for getting started with Twitter ecommerce

Before you dive in to your first sale, here are some things to keep in mind when building your Twitter ecommerce strategy:

1. Start small

Don’t feel the need to incorporate all of these features at once. Identify which would make the most sense for your audience and brand. Consider who follows you on the platform and what they’d be most interested in purchasing. Then start with offering products that align with those interests.

If you have more than 50 products to sell, Twitter Shops can double up as “Bestseller” or “Last few pieces” lists for popular items that sell fast.

Twitter Spotlight is well-suited for featuring signature products that are integral to your brand’s identity, such as the Louis Vuitton tote or MAC Cosmetics’ Ruby Woo lipstick.

2. Collaborate with influencers

Twitter has its own band of influencers who are trusted by their communities. Find influencers who echo your values and collaborate with them to host Live Shopping events or co-tweet Product Drops to expose your brand to a larger audience.

3. Integrate ads

Twitter’s algorithm places ads where it makes the most sense in a feed—between actual conversations about products. This is why Product Drops can integrate naturally with Twitter’s conversational ads. Remember to create your ads and Product Drop content in the same brand style for a consistent experience.

4. Align with trends

Twitter is one of the epicenters of conversation around the latest news and trends, and users are also not afraid to share their opinions about brands and products on the platform. Listening to these conversations can uncover content and promotional opportunities relevant to your target customers and products. Leverage Twitter listening data to unearth relevant trends and weave them into your Product Drop content, live streams and more.

Embrace Twitter ecommerce

Twitter ecommerce is not limited to brands that are already popular on the platform. These features can help brands of all sizes start selling directly on the platform. Find your niche and nurture your community with the content and products they want and need.

To learn more about expanding your ecommerce strategy on Twitter and beyond, read our 2022 Social Shopping Data Report.

The post Twitter ecommerce: How to embrace the next social shopping frontier appeared first on Sprout Social.

8 social selling metrics to measure success

Jenn Chen — Wed, 18 May 2022 15:42:53 +0000

Social media is quickly emerging as the go-to channel for salespeople seeking new prospects. According to LinkedIn, 78% of social sellers outsell their peers who don’t use social media.

At its most basic level, social selling comes down to leveraging social platforms to find the right leads and build important relationships. By building your own social selling strategy your sales team can be a step ahead of the competition. But don’t let all that strategizing go to waste. You need to know which metrics to pay attention to when you’re measuring the success of selling on social media.

In this article, we’ll walk you through 8 social selling metrics to pay attention to.

1. LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index (SSI)

You can’t talk about social selling without mentioning LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index (SSI). The index provides a score on a scale of 0-100 based on what LinkedIn determines as the four most important “pillars”:

Create a professional brand
Focus on the right prospects
Engage with insights
Build trusted relationships

By focusing on these four areas, the company found that a high SSI correlated with 45% more sales opportunities and 51% are more likely to hit quota.

2. Inbound connections and network growth

By 2025, Gartner expects “80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers to occur in digital channels.” Social selling is all about building relationships. If you build up your professional brand with thought leadership in mind, you’ll find that people will actively seek to have a connection with you.

But, you can’t establish thought leadership without a network. Network growth by itself is a vanity metric, meaning you could have hundreds of followers across your social media platforms but only a small percentage have the potential of being the right prospect.

If you look at both inbound connections and network growth together, you’ll understand how wide your network is and how influential it may be.

To find the right connections, you need to be right where the buyers are. On social media, this may involve joining professional groups and interacting with industry leaders. By regularly posting and engaging with potential leads, they’ll begin to positively associate your name with the brand. This will help you build a valuable network.

3. Content engagement rate

One of the ways to establish thought leadership is by sharing content that’s relevant to your audience. To know if your content is resonating with them, look at your engagement rate performance.

If you use software to execute your employee advocacy program, this metric should already be available. Drill down to team or individual performance depending on how granular you want this metric to be. Sprout’s Employee Advocacy platform offers reports like this and much more.

To get the most out of your content, look at what other B2B buyers are using for distribution. One study on B2B buyer content preferences found that 71% of survey respondents used LinkedIn to share business-related content. After email, two more social networks are used by 43% of respondents.

4. Follower engagement rate

While content engagement rate looks at what you post, follower engagement rate tells you how interested your audience is.

The easiest way to calculate this is to divide the number of total engagements you have by your total follower count. However, this is a rough calculation because the engagement count includes both followers and non-followers. For example, if your post went viral, you’d receive comments and shares from people who don’t follow you.

Using employee advocacy and social selling tools, you can look at how engaged your current followers are.

5. Prospect referrals

Referrals are gold for any business.

More than 75% of B2B buyers prefer to use recommendations from their professional network. Exploring your network’s 2nd-degree connections on LinkedIn is one way to seek out potential leads. If you can, ask your connection to refer you or mention the connection in your first message. Even mentioning the mutual connection increases the likelihood of an appointment by 70%.

To track this metric, use your social selling tools or ask your salespeople to input their lead sources into your CRM.

6. Click-through rate

The click-through rate (CTR) or link clicks metric is measured for content that you post.

When you’re sharing content like informative articles, link clicks are part of the content engagement metric. Looking at link clicks specifically tells you how engaging a piece of content is. They could’ve only read the headline and hit the like button. But if they clicked through? That engagement is worth even more.

To track this, you have a few options. You can use a URL shortener to create unique links, telling you exactly how many times each link was clicked on. To determine CTR, you’ll need to divide it by the number of views or reach the link received.

A more straightforward solution is to look at your social selling analytics. One of the benefits of Sprout’s Employee Advocacy platform is being able to curate content for your employees to share. Once they do so, metrics like CTR are automatically tracked at both the content and individual post levels.

7. Number of conversations started

We already mentioned inbound messages, but what about the ones you send?

Not every social media post is going to generate leads. But with time, you build trust. And trust is a big component of social selling. The conversations you start on social media may lead to conversions later in the sales cycle.

Using a tool like Sprout, you can quickly calculate the number of outbound messages that you send. But even better, you can view your conversation history to fully personalize each interaction.

One way to start conversations is to use social media monitoring. Use relevant keywords to surface people to follow and keep track of conversations to watch.

8. Message response rate

This one is simple: the faster you respond, the more connections and qualified leads you make. With proper training, your salespeople should be able to navigate the social selling software easily.

The message response rate metric is calculated in Sprout automatically. The analytics will tell you how quickly someone is responding, broken down by the hour and day of the week.

Social selling vs. social media marketing

While both take place on social media, social selling and social media marketing are not the same thing. Social media marketing usually comes from the brand, while social selling is from the salesperson.

The goals can also differ. Social media marketing goals involve growing brand awareness and engagement at the brand level, while social selling is very focused on the sales cycle. Each post you make and each connection you reach out to is intentionally done to build a relationship that leads to sales.

Track your social selling metrics

Social selling has become a powerful tool for many industries in today’s business world. As businesses become increasingly opposed to outbound selling methods, social selling helps to create relationships that establish trust and repeat conversions.

Additionally, B2B marketing and sales don’t need to be overwhelming. If you’re already using social media for B2B marketing, then it’s time to turn your social data into a revenue driver.

The post 8 social selling metrics to measure success appeared first on Sprout Social.

How to use Google’s Business Messages to engage with your customers

Mary Keutelian — Mon, 16 May 2022 15:58:33 +0000

Online customers don’t have the luxury of walking up to a salesperson and asking an important question—but they still expect a fast response when they’re seeking information. Google Business Messages can help businesses meet that expectation.

Google’s Business Messages is the real-time chat feature in Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business).

And as research shows, 75% of consumers now prefer to engage with a brand over private messaging channels versus traditional channels.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

How Google’s Business Messaging works
5 benefits of Google’s Business Messages
How to set up Google’s Business Messages on desktop
How to set up Google’s Business Messages on mobile
How to manage Google’s Business Messages
7 Google’s Business Messaging best practices
4 Google’s Business Message examples

What is Google’s Business Messages?

Google’s Business Messages is a free real-time chat service that helps people get in touch with your business straight from your Google Business Profile listing on Google Maps and Google Search.

Think of it as Google’s equivalent to Facebook Messenger:

It makes it easy for customers to contact your brand to ask questions or raise concerns.
It helps build their trust in your brand and enhances their customer experience.

As a result, people can contact your business directly instead of clicking through to your website and looking for an email address or phone number.

How Google’s Business Messaging works

When users search for a business by name in Google Search or Google Maps, they’ll see a Google Business Card. That card contains buttons users can click to call the business, visit the website or get directions. If a business has set up Google’s Business Messaging, users will also see a “Message” button.

Source

Having a direct line from a Google search listing opens a new avenue for business owners to connect with potential customers.

Before you can use the messaging feature, you’ll need to create your free Google Business Profile.

5 benefits of Google’s Business Messages

Here are five reasons Google’s Business Messages improves the customer experience:

You’re available when customers need you

Google’s Business Messages lets customers communicate with you from your Google Business Card. Instead of going to your website first or searching for your social profiles, they can chat with you directly via the message button.

Integrate and automate customer touchpoints

You can integrate Google’s Business Messages with the social media management software or messaging service you’re already using via the API. For example, if you use Sprout Social, you can automate your communication in Google’s Business Messages with chatbots to enhance the customer journey. To note, you can create up to five welcome messages in GBM to help start the dialogue with customers.

Provide personalized on-demand support

With Google’s Business Messaging, you can share rich media like photos and carousels, providing a more personalized experience for customers when responding to queries. Adding visuals to your conversation is an effective way to eliminate miscommunication about a product and address their questions.

Reduce response and resolution times

According to the 2020 Sprout Social Index™, 79% of consumers who reach out to brands on social media expect a response within the first 24 hours. Maintain multiple conversations at once in Google’s Business Messages and help reduce customer wait times for responses and increase resolutions.

Increase foot traffic and revenue

If you have a brick-and-mortar location, the ability to respond to inquiries in real-time can help you provide directions or parking information for customers, which in turn could mean more customers coming through your door. Don’t pass up an opportunity to engage with a potential customer.

How to set up Google’s Business Messages on desktop

If you’re getting started on Google My Business, here’s how to set up Google’s Business Messages on desktop.

Step 1. Sign in to your profile

Log into your Google Business Profile by clicking the button in the top right corner. Follow the prompts to access your Business Profile.

Step 2. Select Messages in the menu options

In the left menu screen, select Messages.

Step 3. Turn on messaging

You should see a blue button in the top-right corner of the screen that reads Turn on messaging. Click that and you’re done! Customers can now message your business directly from your Google Business listing on Google Maps or Search. It’s that simple!

Step 4. Customize

Remember to customize and personalize messages to your customers. Whether it’s a warm welcome message or setting up an automated chatbot system for after-hours queries.

Turn on notifications so you don’t miss any messages. Google will deactivate the chat or messaging feature from your listing if you consistently don’t respond in a timely manner.

How to set up Google’s Business Messages on mobile

Let’s look at how to set up Google’s Business Messages on Android and Apple mobile devices.

Step 1. Download the Google My Business app from Google Play or the App Store:

Note: The Google My Business app will be deprecated this year, so Google will have to develop a workaround.

Step 2. Enable messaging

Sign in, go to Customers, then Messages, then click Turn On. Now the Message button appears in your Google Business listing.

You’ll get an email from Google confirming the message button is activated.

Step 3. Customize your welcome message

Choose Edit welcome message and enter the greeting you want people to see when they start chatting with you:

How to manage Google’s Business Messages in Sprout

Here’s how to add Google’s Business Messages in Sprout so that you can respond to your customers quickly.

Connect your GBM profile to Sprout

Follow these steps to connect your Google’s Business Messages profile to your Sprout account:

Step 1. Log into Sprout, select your name and choose Connect a Profile to launch the Profile window:

Step 2. At the prompt, Create Google Business Messages Profiles, click the Next button on the lower right.

Step 3. Complete your Google’s Business Messages profile, including:

Your company name
Your logo
The agent’s name
Welcome message
Live chat timeframes

Then click Next.

Step 4. Review your information for accuracy and agree to the terms of use. Click Submit. Within five business days, the Sprout team will review your brand information for approval.

View and schedule Google’s Business Messages in Sprout

After connecting your Business Messages profile, you’ll begin to see new messages arrive in your Smart Inbox.

With all your messages across all your social profiles, as well as Google’s Business Messages, you can manage them in a single inbox. Whether it’s just you or a team of social media specialists, you can filter and manage your messages with ease.

If you have multiple locations or storefronts, you can now add additional locations to your existing Google Business Messaging profiles in Sprout. With many digital interactions between business and customers happening through Google’s Business Messages, it’s important that you can communicate with them regarding their preferred location — all in a single tool.

7 Google’s Business Messaging best practices

Follow these seven best practices below for the best experience with Google’s Business Messaging.

1. Create a welcome message

When people click on the Message button in your Google Business Profile, they’ll see your welcome message.

Craft a welcome message that thanks customers for contacting you and asks them how you can help.

2. Use a shared inbox

It’s good practice to use a shared inbox that multiple people can monitor for messages and notifications. Make sure you control permissions so that only the most qualified team members can field the inquiries.

3. Reply within 24 hours

Seventy-nine percent of consumers who mention or message a brand on social media expect a response within 24 hours. Google supports that sentiment and may deactivate chat for businesses that don’t respond to inquiries within 24 hours.

It’s possible to use saved responses for quick replies to common inquiries, but you’ll also need service agents to resolve complex or unusual customer service issues. Keep in mind that inquiries may be coming from multiple channels, so you’ll need a tool like the Smart Inbox to ensure you’re seeing (and responding to) every message.

4. Enable notifications

It’s important to turn on notifications to know when you have a new message. Then you can ensure you’ll keep the message button active on your profile by meeting Google’s requirement for a 24-hour response time.

5. Be concise

When you respond to a query from a customer, be clear, concise and conversational in your response. If needed, you can ask for or provide additional information during a brief Google’s Business Messaging exchange.

6. Use visuals

Besides text messages, you can also use visuals, like photos, in Google’s Business Messages. Sometimes, visuals are a more effective and efficient way to answer a question.

In the example image above, Google illustrates how businesses can use images to provide additional context—in this case, the agent shares an image carousel featuring the hotel rooms with the best views.

7. Never ask for personal information

You should never ask for personal information over Google’s Business Messages, such as:

Credit card numbers
Social Security, passport or other government identification numbers
Login credentials, like passwords

Exchanging sensitive details via messaging could compromise the privacy of customer data. And it’s also considered a violation of Google’s messaging guidelines.

Make customers aware that it’s your policy not to ask for such personal information so that they can spot any suspicious requests.

Google’s Business Message examples

Now that we know how to use the feature, let’s look at four examples of brands using different Google’s Business Messages.

1. Woolworths, the largest supermarket in Australia, uses Google’s Business Messaging to help customers search for products and check availability at their local store:

2. Walmart lets customers quickly find information about store hours, and pick-up and delivery options, using quick-reply chips for many frequently asked questions:

3. Mattress Firm helps customers shop for a new mattress by sharing videos and product information on Business Messages:

4. DISH (Satellite TV) has reduced average handling time for customer support requests by more than 22%, using Business Messages:

How do I publish posts on my Google’s Business Profile?

Because Sprout is integrated with Google My Business and Google’s Business Messages, you can publish posts to your Google My Business Profile from a single platform, as well as maintain other social profiles associated with your business.

To publish posts to your Google Business Profile in Sprout, open Compose, then choose one of your Google My Business locations. Add the text or image that you want to include.

Click the dropdown arrow next to the send button and select your Post Type: What’s New? or Event. The What’s New? post type will require you to input text, but uploading an image is optional.

For an Event, create an Event Title and select the Start and End dates. You can also choose a call to action from a dropdown list, by clicking on Button Type:

After you’ve built your post, you can save it as a draft, publish it immediately, schedule a publication time or add it to the Sprout Queue.

Manage Google’s Business Messages with Sprout Social

You’re now ready to start engaging with people via Google’s Business Messages.

Give your customers a chance to connect with a live agent and improve your customer trust and loyalty by responding to Google’s Business Messages via Sprout. Remember to turn on notifications and be concise, clear and friendly in your communication. And try to respond as quickly as possible.

Ready to start managing your GBM in Sprout? Try a free 30-day trial of Sprout Social today.

The post How to use Google’s Business Messages to engage with your customers appeared first on Sprout Social.

Social commerce trends and misconceptions: What leaders need to consider

Gerard Murnaghan — Mon, 02 May 2022 17:49:52 +0000

When you think about social commerce trends, what comes to mind? As a consumer, you probably think about the convenience of being able to buy directly from your favorite social media app. But when it comes to your own business, the concept can be intimidating.

So, we talk ourselves out of it. We convince ourselves that social commerce is just a trend—even though we know how much we enjoy it first-hand as consumers. We tell ourselves it will be too expensive to implement—even if we haven’t done any research on the cost. We say it’s too complicated, that our business is either too small and lacks the resources or is too big and couldn’t handle the logistics—despite the fact that we see companies of all sizes that have done it successfully on a regular basis.

These are self-limiting beliefs. It’s fully possible for you to have a smart social commerce strategy without spending all of your Q1 earnings or hiring a team of round-the-clock developers. The possibilities and opportunities are limitless. Your beliefs should be too.

Reframe the context around social commerce trends

There’s a large roster of companies that have set out to make you believe creating a delightful social commerce experience is an expensive, burdensome process. That myth is where they make their money.

Or maybe you believe social commerce is just a fad. Even if it is, 98% of consumers plan on making a social shopping purchase in 2022. That’s the kind of opportunity your business can’t afford to miss out on.

Maybe you’ve invested a lot into brick and mortar stores and aren’t ready to give those up. Social commerce doesn’t mean throwing out your in-person experiences. It gives you the opportunity to holistically enhance your customer experience—whether they want to shop in person, online or a combination of both.

The question isn’t whether it’s too complicated to implement social commerce or whether social commerce trends are here to stay in your industry. The question is, how does the cost and discomfort of trying something new compare to the cost and discomfort of doing nothing?

Whether or not you move forward with social commerce, that decision will have implications on your brand reputation, customer retention, revenue and competitive threats. You need to weigh out whether or not your business can afford not to get into social commerce. Simply establishing whether your beliefs are true for your business or not is a win.

Craft a social strategy that works for you

Social commerce isn’t going away. More than two-thirds (68%) of consumers purchased through social in 2021. Whether you’ve established that you need to start building out your social commerce strategy yesterday or you need more time to wait and see, the opportunity is there and growing.

If you’re not ready, that’s fine. Social commerce is still going to keep moving and you might feel more ready in a few years’ time. But if you are ready, here are concrete steps you can take to get started.

Gather inspiration

Start looking for inspiration from other brands pursuing social commerce. Maybe it’s a brand you’ve bought from. Maybe it’s a competitor. What are they doing well? What could be a little more seamless?

Learning from others is a key piece of creating any new strategy and there are plenty of businesses to learn from: 86% of executives report that social commerce is a large part of their marketing-driven revenue plan. Take notes on what others in your industry are doing and brainstorm ways to build on their strategies.

Tap into your team

Ask yourself who you know with expertise in this world. Chances are, there’s a social commerce evangelist somewhere in your organization who is dying to share what they know.

Identifying people who have an appetite for social commerce and giving them the tools and permission to execute their vision is an excellent way to fast-track your social commerce plans. If you don’t have anyone in-house, reach out to your network, executive communities or even professional associations.

Brick-and-mortar and social #commerce are helping to fuel #ecommerce growth as #retailers and brands plan to comp the COVID surge.🦸

In fact, @Salesforce predicts commerce platforms will increase 30% in 2022.

More from my chat with @leticia via @NBCNewsBusiness 👇 https://t.co/VFJDNBS4pg

— Rob Garf (@RetailRobGarf) March 22, 2022

Define your audience

Different audiences gather in different places. Your customers will buy on the platforms where they feel most comfortable and you need to meet them where they are. The tactics you use will differ based on which platforms you invest in. With social commerce, it’s better to invest in the channels your audience uses—and the way they use them—than to cast a wide net.

Once you know who is buying, you can start to map out their purchase journey to create a truly frictionless experience. Does your audience want extreme personalization? Where are they finding your products? What do you want them to do after you buy? Defining this journey early will help you shape a successful strategy that taps into evolving social commerce trends.

Assess and adjust

Setting clear goals and expectations is crucial for any type of initiative, but it’s essential for emerging trends like social commerce. First, you have to recognize the difference between social marketing and social commerce. Social marketing drives eyes to what you want them to see—whether that’s a product page or more information about your product or service. Social commerce prompts the customer to buy directly from their favorite social platform. Social marketing is informational, while social commerce is a direct revenue stream.

With that in mind, you have to be sure to measure each strategies with the metrics that matter—even if the same team handles both. Once you’ve started testing and learning, you can adjust your tools, processes and team resources to make sure your business is positioned to win.

Going beyond our limits

Moving past your self-imposed limits can be scary. But in this fast-paced e-commerce environment, we don’t have the luxury of self-doubt. Even if you determine that social commerce isn’t right for your business right now, you owe it to yourself to push past your initial apprehension.

If you’re ready to engage with social commerce, this interview guide can help you and your team collaborate on a sound strategy.

The post Social commerce trends and misconceptions: What leaders need to consider appeared first on Sprout Social.

8 Ways to Make Money on Instagram in 2022

Jenn Chen — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 18:25:55 +0000

Creating fresh and fun content on Instagram takes time and as some like to say, “time is money.” To support creators and businesses, Instagram offers them several ways to monetize their accounts.

Social media networks are heavily investing in the creator economy. Meta announced that it plans to invest $1 billion into the creator economy by the end of 2022. For influencers and content creators, this means that you can get paid for your creative work.

On the business side, the tools provided to you by these networks allow for easier partnership collaboration with brand creators. In this mutually beneficial relationship, everyone wins in the creator economy.

In this article, we’ll discuss eight ways to make money on Instagram. As a business, it’s important to be familiar with these methods so you can use them in your own marketing campaigns.

Sponsored posts and branded content
Brand ambassador programs
Instagram Shopping
Affiliate and Creator Shops
Badges
Subscriptions
Reels Bonuses
Instagram Ads

But first, set up your Instagram Professional Account

Before you get started on any of the monetization opportunities listed here, you need to turn your account into a Professional one. Professional Accounts are either Business or Creator Accounts. Switching your account to this type allows you access to features like the Professional Dashboard and Insights. Both provide data on how your content and account are performing.

Keep in mind that some of the methods listed here are still rolling out.

To see which tools are available to you, use Instagram’s mobile app and navigate to your Professional Dashboard to the “See All Tools” menu item to get a list of all the tools available. As you start using them, you’ll also be updated with information on releases and updates.

Source: Instagram

1. Sponsored posts and branded content

Businesses pay influencers to create brand-centric posts or content. On Instagram, branded content is set apart by having the “Paid Partnership” label. This label gives post-performance data to both the creator and tagged business partners.

Influencer marketing is one of the most common and familiar ways that businesses use to make money on Instagram. It’s the platform of choice for 72% of creators, making it a great place for a brand to get involved in the creator economy. With 75% of brand marketers planning to dedicate a budget for influencer marketing, it’s also a strategy that you don’t want to get be left behind on.

Instagram’s new branded content features include the ability for creators to list the preferred brands they want to partner with. And in return, brands can discover new collaborators. Finding the right influencer for your brand can be a challenging step, which makes this search capability a valuable tool.

Source: Instagram

How much do Instagram influencers make?

Influencer rates vary based on several factors including follower counts and industry specialization. According to one report, the breakdown is as follows on Instagram:

Nano-influencers (1k-10k followers) earn $10-$100 per post
Micro-influencers (10k-50k followers) earn $100-$500 per post
Mid-tier influencers (50k-500k followers) earn $500-$5k per post
Macro-influencers (500k-1m followers) earn $5k-10k per post
Mega-influencers (1m+ followers) earn $10k+ per post
Celebrities can earn over $1 million per post

Tips

If a creator’s post is performing well, a business can turn it into a Branded Content Ad. Mixing it with a brand has been shown to be over 90% more likely to drive cost-effective action than either tactic individually.
Use analytics reports like the ones offered by Sprout to measure campaign performance. Tag scheduled campaign posts and incoming messages. After doing so, the messages’ performance is compiled in the Tag Performance Report.

2. Brand ambassador programs

Influencer marketing and brand ambassador programs are not the same. Influencer marketing relies on a one-off post or a few posts from someone, while a brand ambassador program asks for regular promotion. Ambassador programs often have other perks like product previews and affiliate links.

The business benefit of a brand ambassador program is that you receive content on a regular basis from a reliable source. Contracts are longer, so the brand ambassador also has a consistent income stream.

FUJIFILM uses brand ambassadors to promote its X-Series cameras and Chenille Rojas is one of them. In addition to a dedicated profile page in the X-Photographer area, she has the role in her Instagram profile. Posts that are part of her brand ambassador responsibilities are tagged with #fujifilmx_creator.

Tips

Use our brand ambassadors guide to create your own program.
To identify accounts that might be good brand ambassadors, think about who your brand evangelists are.

3. Instagram Shopping

Social commerce is expected to reach over 100 million people in the US by 2023.

If you have digital or physical products to sell, setting up Instagram Shopping opens the door to several opportunities. With this feature enabled, you can tag your products on your posts, in your captions, and in Stories and ads.

Source: Instagram

To extend your Shop’s reach, utilize the Shopping Partners feature. This allows accounts to link to your Shop, tag its products and provide post insights to the Seller.

Additionally, if you join in on the livestream shopping trend, you’ll be able to tag products and sell directly to customers while doing an Instagram Live. Creator @NikitaDragun hosted a Live Shopping event that attracted 43k fans to watch and 5k products added to shopping bags.

Source: Instagram

Tips

Don’t know where or how to start? Use our Instagram Shopping guide to learn how to set up Shop and attract new customers.
Review the benefits of shoppable content and read expert predictions for what’s next for social shopping.

4. Affiliate and Creator Shops

In the affiliate program, creators are able to tag products in their posts and can also set up a shop of recommended products. Brands can also set custom commission rates, create affiliate campaigns and view performance insights. On top of the brand commission, Meta will make an approximate commission match and will pay $40 for each new piece of affiliate content.

Creator Shops appear in a similar format to a brand’s own Shop with a few key differences. Creator Shops can feature multiple brands. Its products are denoted with the “eligible for commission” label.

Brandy Gueary is a digital creator and designer who features the “View shop” CTA button on her profile which leads to two shops: her recommended products and her clothing brand. When someone purchases a product via her Shop link, she’ll receive a commission.

Both the affiliate program and Creator Shops on Instagram are being tested and may not be available to you yet. Learn more about the affiliate program for creators and check if your business is eligible.

5. Badges

Badges are available to Creators for Instagram Live videos as another way for fans to show support for their favorite streamers. Supporters who purchase Badges have heart(s) displayed next to their username. In addition, they unlock special features like being added to the creator’s badge holders list.

Because this is still a relatively new feature, keep an eye out for expanded availability and updates from Instagram.

Badges are also available to some creators. Learn more about the program from Instagram.

6. Subscriptions

Content creators who have a highly engaged fanbase may want to take advantage of Instagram’s Subscriptions program. With this program, creators can set their own monthly rates and allow fans to sign up through their profile pages. Subscribers will have access to exclusive content and benefits like Lives, stories and badges.

For creators, subscriptions offer the ability to earn money by releasing exclusive content. It rewards your most engaged supporters and provides consistent income to creators.

Creator @AlanChikinChow’s profile displays a “Subscribe” button, which then leads to more info on what you receive for $0.99 a month.

Subscriptions are available to select Creators. Learn more about the Subscriptions program and how to enable them.

7. Reels Bonuses

As part of Instagram’s push to encourage creators to make more Reels, it introduced Reels Bonuses to a select group of Creators. The amount of money earned is based on reel performance but Instagram has not yet published any data to back up the success of this feature, however, according to this media company earnings range from $600 to $35,000.

This feature is still being tested so you may not have access to it yet. Read more about Instagram’s Reels Play Bonus Program.

8. Instagram Ads

Sometimes you have to pay to earn more money. Thankfully, Instagram ads offer a wide selection of customization features from placement to audiences, making earning money very accessible. Some of the newest placements include boosted posts linked to WhatsApp, Reels and in-stream videos.

Here you can see clothing brand Feroldis running a sponsored Reels ad.

Source: Instagram

In-Stream video ads are also available to some long-form video creators. These ads appear in videos that are longer than one minute and provide brands with access to high-intent audiences.

If you’d prefer more control over your ad placement, consider boosting Branded Content posts like mentioned earlier. Or, promote your own high-performing posts.

Tips

Make sure your Instagram ads’ creative assets are optimally sized for best performance.
Explore all the placements and formats that Instagram offers.

Time to monetize your Instagram account

Instagram is constantly updating its monetization efforts to support creators. What does this mean for brands? With new tools and features, brands have more opportunities than ever to work with influencers and content creators.

When 71% of monthly mobile Internet users strongly associate Instagram with following influencers and celebrities, brands that tap into this potential may reap significant benefits. Partnering with creators may expand your brand awareness and with these new tools and give you in-depth access to content performance.

Running multiple campaigns across several networks can get complicated quickly. Sprout Social can help you with campaign management, leaving you with more time to plan and engage.

The post 8 Ways to Make Money on Instagram in 2022 appeared first on Sprout Social.

6 masterful examples of brands selling on Facebook Shops

Jessica Coleman — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 13:30:19 +0000

A few years ago, we were more selective about when/where we checked out. Today, ecommerce has become an almost daily occurrence—a trend quickly evolving into social commerce.

In 2020, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest revamped their shopping tools to help retailers capitalize on this trend. And product-based brands are flocking to this new technology in droves, with 73% of businesses currently selling on social platforms.

In the following paragraphs, we’ll take a look at six examples of notable brands that are taking advantage of Facebook Shops to reduce friction in the buying process and drive sales.

How social commerce is changing the game

Until recently, once we clicked on a product link, we had to first determine if it was secure and then dig up our wallets, pull out our physical credit card, and enter in all the required information before completing a purchase. These days, the advent of tools like ApplePay, PayPal, GooglePay, and others have streamlined the process even further — making the barrier between you and that cute pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing tantalizingly low.

The emergence of social commerce has made this slippery slope even slipperier by infiltrating the online spaces where we spend the majority of our web-surfing hours. A recent survey found that 46% of consumers anticipate using social platforms’ in-app shopping features more this year.

What are Facebook Shops and how do they work?

One of Facebook’s latest features, Shops are free virtual storefronts that allow businesses to streamline the customer experience by either linking them to the business’s existing website or, in the U.S., by enabling checkout directly from Facebook.

Many common ecommerce platforms (e.g., Shopify, OpenCart, GoDaddy, etc.) integrate with Shops, making set up a breeze by allowing brands to quickly import their catalogs. Businesses can then link to products in their content, run sales, and offer assistance via Messenger or WhatsApp.

Sprout’s integrations further simplify the process, helping brands add product links to their content and maximize their reach with organic post targeting.

6 Facebook Shop examples you can learn from

At this point, you might be wondering how you can hop on the bandwagon to expand your reach. Take a cue from the following cutting-edge brands that are making the most of Facebook Shops.

1. David Outwear tags individual products in their in-feed posts

David Outerwear is a men’s clothing retailer, focused on leather jackets, coats and accessories.

They primarily promote their products on Facebook by tagging them in their content. This is a simple, no-frills tactic that any product-based brand can execute.

As potential customers scroll through their feeds, if an image catches their attention, they can quickly ascertain the price and product details without having to leave the platform. Not only does this facilitate a better user experience, but it also pares down the customer journey to the most essential elements.

You can tag featured products when you create a post or retroactively tag them in existing posts. Facebook recommends tagging fewer than five products per image.

Classic shapes prove a golden rule – The supreme excellence is simplicity! 🙌🏻 #styleinspiration

Posted by David Outwear on Thursday, January 13, 2022

2. PinkTag goes live to showcase their products

PinkTag is a Louisville, Kentucky-based online women’s clothing boutique.

They host Facebook Lives several times a week to showcase their products, engage with customers, and offer discounts.

Integrating livestream shopping into your social commerce strategy is a no-brainer for retailers that want to support their customers through the buying process. This option might make sense for your brand if your products are complex, nuanced or especially high-ticket. Engaging with customers in real time gives you the opportunity to address objections, answer questions, and generally highlight your products’ unique selling points.

This format allows brands to create product playlists that customers can interact with to purchase directly from the live-streamed event.

Meta says they expect brands to generate $500 billion in revenue from Live Shopping events by 2023.

3. Rothy’s organizes their Facebook Shops storefront with collections

Rothy’s is a trendy sustainable shoe brand that offers men’s, women’s and children’s styles.

They use collections to organize their robust Facebook Shops product catalog. Collections give brands the opportunity to curate specific, related products to make browsing and buying easier. For high-end brands that want to offer an exceptional customer experience, these sets of featured products can go a long way.

If you’re looking for a way to make your Facebook Shops storefront more user-friendly or feel more like your website-based experience, consider whether you might start using or expand your repertoire of collections.

4. Pixie Mood drives social commerce engagement with tagged video posts.

Pixie Mood is a cruelty-free women’s accessory brand that specializes in vegan leather and other sustainable materials.

They regularly use videos to promote their products in the Facebook feed.

With Facebook Watch, you can share the same kinds of product-centric videos your audience is accustomed to—but with the added benefit of linking viewers directly to the featured-for-sale items.

Video has long been at the top of social media trend lists—and for good reason. It consistently gets the most engagement on Facebook. So why not funnel all those good vibes toward your products?

Shop something sweet for less! New Winter Sale styles are moving quickly and won't be in stock forever. Act fast if you want a great deal on your next favourite vegan bag! 💓⁠⁠🍬 Rae Crossbody in Chocolate⁠🛍️ Winter Sale

Posted by Pixie Mood on Monday, January 10, 2022

5. John Lewis & Partners goes grassroots with user-generated content

John Lewis & Partners is a UK-based department store and home decor retailer that regularly shares content created by their audience. User-generated content (UGC) is a significant trend in social media these days, with major brands like Starbucks, Wayfair and others leveraging the power of their customers’ voices to expand their reach and engage their customers authentically.

If you’re looking to increase your audience’s trust in your brand or product, UGC might be the way to go. More than three-quarters of people say they trust content created by “average people” more than content created by brands.

Proof that stylish grey sofas and dramatic indoor plants belong together🌴📸: @bamaluzhome#JLHomeProduct code 🔎:Barbican Medium 2 Seater Sofa, Hatton Light Grey – 87132671

Posted by John Lewis & Partners on Wednesday, February 9, 2022

6. MeUndies employs a hybrid approach for featuring products

MeUndies is an online retailer of sleepwear and undergarments for both men and women.

While some brands choose to only link customers from Facebook to their own website to purchase items and others rely exclusively on their Facebook product listings, MeUndies offers the best of both worlds. They link featured products to their Facebook catalog, but also share the associated website URL in their posts.

In doing so, they give customers the option to shop in whichever way feels most organic or comfortable for them. If your brand caters to a wide variety of ages or customers with different levels of tech-savviness, offering both options ensures the best chance of closing a sale.

🅜🅨 🅕🅤🅡🅡🅨 🅥🅐🅛🅔🅝🅣🅘🅝🅔⁠⠀It simply doesn't get any cuter than matching with your pooch. 🐾💖 Our V-Day print, Drawn to You, is…

Posted by MeUndies on Friday, February 11, 2022

Follow the lead of some of the best Facebook Shops

As social media shopping expands in popularity and ROI, other social platforms are expected to begin offering their own versions of these social commerce tools. Brands that don’t want to be left playing catch up should ensure they have a strategy in place now. Following the examples of the brands listed above can give you a leg up on the competition.

If your business wants to engage with and convert more customers in the online spaces they organically occupy, Facebook Shops should be a major component of your strategy. When you’re ready to execute, learn how Sprout can help by uniting your social, commerce and customer care workflows all in one place.

The post 6 masterful examples of brands selling on Facebook Shops appeared first on Sprout Social.