Sprout Social analyzed more than 457 million messages across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to find out how retailers fared through the previous holiday shopping season and what brands can expect for 2022. We discovered social messaging frequency will increase on all platforms, brands need to improve their response rates and consumers will continue to turn to social commerce for holiday shopping needs. Let’s dive into the data.

A look back at social trends from the 2021 holiday season

Powered by online shopping, 2021 holiday retail sales were bright, growing over 14% compared to 2020.

The increase in sales correlated with an increase in social messages. Compared to an average of 2,477 messages received per month by retailers from January through October 2021, retailers received an average of 2,804 messages per month in November through December 2021. This represents an 13% increase in average messages received per month during the 2021 holiday season compared to the rest of the year.

The sheer volume of social messages received during November and December is a good reminder for retailers of all sizes to remain present and active on their social platforms.

As businesses prepare their teams for the surge in messages, they also need to have a plan for maintaining fast social responses and a consistent publishing cadence.

In November and December, retailers sent 32% more Twitter messages per month compared to the non-holiday months. However, retailers’ outbound organic messages on Facebook and Instagram dropped slightly during holiday months, pointing to poor response rates that can impact customer care satisfaction—and ultimately the bottomline.

Gearing up for the projected 2022 holiday season

During the upcoming 2022 holiday season, experts predict total retail sales will reach up to $1.47 trillion.

Retailers can expect a 7.5% increase in sales in brick-and-mortar stores and ecommerce channels alike—but some challenges remain. High inflation rates will force consumers to tighten their budgets. To plan for a more competitive holiday season, retailers need a foolproof social media strategy to deliver the best customer experience.

Looking closer at ecommerce, online holiday sales are forecasted to grow by 11-15% year-over-year, which underscores the importance of giving shoppers a superior omnichannel experience.

Given that consumers have grown reliant on the customized experience and convenience of digital shopping, we predict they will flock to social again this year.

To no one’s surprise, retailers can expect an influx of messages during the 2022 holiday season—so get your social (and social customer care) teams ready now. Sprout Social’s data science team projects retailers can expect on average 18% more social messages per month this holiday season compared to the non-holiday months in 2022.

Growth expected across all social channels

Retailers should expect to see a spike in messages received across all platforms during the holidays.

To maximize your reach and drive engagement, consider a combination of paid and organic social strategies. Paid ads on Facebook, for example, give retailers the ability to build custom audiences and target consumers who have previously interacted with your business in the past. Businesses can also run an Instagram Stories campaign to promote specific offers or tease special announcements—two creative ways to keep customers glued to your brand’s social feed.

As you gear up for the 2022 holiday season, it’s important to lead with the consumer and tailor campaigns around where your audiences spend most of their time online. For example, Instagram link clicks for arts and crafts retailers increased by 44% in November and December 2021—the most of all retail categories.

Response rates need to speed up

Brand response rates are on the decline. According to 2022 Sprout Social Index™, more than two-thirds of consumers expect brands to respond to their social messages within 24 hours. Despite more than half of marketers reporting their organization has a response time of two hours or less, we’ve seen significantly decreasing response rates from 2020 to 2022.

It’s essential to make sure your social team is prepared to handle the increased volume of messages by following social customer care best practices.

Some businesses may even consider reassigning a few customer service reps to help manage inquiries from social media—or at least have a system in place for social media marketers to redirect messages to the experts.

Once everyone’s gifts are unwrapped and holiday decorations are put away, retailers can use social listening to learn from their holiday experience and apply those insights toward their 2023 social strategy. With listening, retailers can glean information that can inform product development and even improve the customer experience year-round.

Social commerce continues to command attention

Social commerce sales are expected to increase by 25% in 2022. Retailers that want to remain competitive and profitable can’t afford to ignore social and its incredible value during the holiday season.

Since 2021, new social commerce tools have been introduced that have shifted the Twitter ecommerce landscape. Twitter Shops, Spotlights, Live Shopping and Product Drops provide new ways to convert brand enthusiasts to buyers on the app. Twitter also saw a 36% increase in holiday messages received last year, suggesting it could be the platform to watch for social commerce in 2022.

Other leading social commerce tools include Instagram’s Drops, shoppable content, clickable link buttons and TikTok’s expanding ecommerce options. Both platforms are ripe with opportunity for influencer and creator partnerships.

As we head into the 2022 holiday season, remember social commerce is an essential part of your larger omnichannel marketing strategy. According to Salesforce, successful brands will merge shopping experiences across both physical and digital spaces. A strong omnichannel strategy—where your social commerce, direct messaging, email strategy and customer experience collide—will guide consumers to purchase online and offline.

‘Tis the season to bring your social “A” game

Social is not only a place for brands to get in the holiday spirit, but also to drive holiday sales. Make sure to add UTMs and tracking tags to all holiday social content so you can show the direct impact on your business.

Beyond sales, how marketers approach social engagement and customer care across various platforms is crucial. The holidays are stressful, and providing shoppers with the best experience possible goes a long way in building customer loyalty and affinity that lasts beyond the holiday season.

Brands need a customer care plan in place that gives social teams the support they need to avoid social burnout during the busy season.

Social marketers are most likely managing the brunt of the inbound social messages—so equip them with tools, resources, additional team members and clear workflows to scale smoothly. Not only will this keep your social team in good spirits, customers will appreciate more personalized care and quicker response times.

Don’t lose sight of providing social customer care after the holiday season. Download this checklist to provide exceptional customer service on Instagram year-round.

About the data

All referenced data on social messages received and projected is based on 26,197 public social profiles (14,380 Facebook; 5,079 Twitter; 6,738 Instagram) of active accounts between January 1, 2022 and September 29, 2022. More than 457 million messages sent and received during that time were analyzed for the purposes of this report.

The messages analyzed included Facebook posts and Tweets directed to a brand via tagging or @message, posts and business reviews on public Facebook pages, comments on brand-created Facebook and Instagram content, and retweets with comments.

For questions about the data, please contact pr@sproutsocial.com.

The post Season’s greetings: Retailers can expect 18% more social messages during the holidays appeared first on Sprout Social.

With m-commerce on the rise, there are hundreds of specialized shopping apps for buying virtually any kind of product—from clothing and electronics to cars and houses.

In this post, we’ve listed some of the best shopping apps to help you save time, find the right products and services, and snag the best deals. Or, if you’re a marketer for organizations in these industries, consider partnering with these apps to gain awareness and loyalty from shoppers.

• Marketplace shopping apps
• Shopping apps for clothes
• Social media shopping apps
• Cashback shopping apps
• Grocery shopping apps
• Mystery shopping apps
• Car shopping apps

Marketplace shopping apps

Online marketplaces connect shoppers to sellers. Unlike other shopping apps, marketplaces rarely own any inventory.

They simply facilitate transactions by handling processes like product showcasing, payment, order fulfillment, shipment and delivery.

1. Amazon

Download on iOS | Android

Amazon is one of the biggest online marketplaces in the world. The e-commerce giant enables third-party sellers to sell new or used products in exchange for a percentage of their profits.

There are over 350 million products listed on Amazon, from apparel, jewelry, books, consumer electronics, kitchen utensils, furniture, toys and baby products to everything in between.

Amazon currently delivers to over 100 countries, and even offers same-day and overnight delivery in certain areas. Their mobile app makes it easy to shop on the go, and features like price comparisons, personalized ads, discounts and sales enable a world-class online shopping experience.

Shopping apps for clothes

Of all the items consumers buy online, clothing tops the list. Shopping apps for clothes have made it easier for shoppers to purchase fashionable apparel, shoes, bags and accessories from the comfort of their homes.

Features like customer reviews, detailed product information, organized categories, sizing guides, free delivery, and unique deals and discounts often make clothing apps seem like a more attractive option over brick-and-mortar stores.

2. ASOS

Download on iOS | Android

ASOS is a fashion shopping app home to over 850 brands and 85,000 products across categories like clothing, makeup, shoes and accessories.

The app makes it easy for buyers to shop for trendy looks all in one place. ASOS also offers free shipping and return options, and even lets users take pictures or upload photos of products to look for similar items.

The retail app currently ships to 240+ countries around the world and supports popular payment methods like PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, and major credit and debit cards.

3. ThredUp

Download on iOS | Android

ThredUp is an online thrift store where shoppers can find used fashion items pre-vetted by the company — some items are also labeled as ‘new with tags’. Find great deals on designer clothing, bags, jewelry, shoes and accessories.

You can find something that fits every budget. ThredUp also assists sellers with cleaning out their closets on consignment and shipping pre-loved products to the company. When an item gets sold, the seller gets paid in cash or credit.

Social media shopping apps

Social media is becoming the new shopping hub. In fact, recent data from Sprout Social shows 98% of consumers plan to make at least one purchase through social media in 2022.

The social media shopping apps below help consumers find, research, buy and review products without leaving their favorite social platforms.

4. Facebook marketplace

Download on iOS | Android

Facebook marketplace is the social platform’s native shopping hub. Buyers can connect with sellers in their area or other cities to find new and used products in various categories.

The biggest benefit of Facebook marketplace is that it’s convenient and free to use for anyone with a Facebook account. You can list and buy products with no hidden fees, interact with buyers and sellers via Messenger, and even complete checkout on Facebook’s main app.

5. Instagram shopping

Download on iOS | Android

Instagram shopping enables businesses to set up storefronts on the social media app. Other Instagram shopping features include product tags in photos and videos, product catalogs, product detail pages, product launches and checkout on Instagram.

Users can find shops, collections and Guides from the Shopping tab within the Instagram app. Because shopping is also connected to Instagram’s algorithm, users are able to see personalized brand and product recommendations on their Shopping and Explore tabs.

6. YouTube shopping

Download on iOS | Android

YouTube offers creators the ability to connect their stores on external e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify, and promote merch and other products by:

• Tagging them in videos and live streams
• Showing them in video end screens
• Displaying them in channel stores

Currently, only eligible creators can set up shop on YouTube. Additionally, viewers can only buy these products if they’re located in any of the specified countries.

Cashback shopping apps

Cashback shopping apps reward shoppers for buying products and services.

These apps typically have partnerships with brands, and pay customers in cash or loyalty points in return for their purchase through an affiliate link.

Most cashback apps are free to download and use, and can help consumers save tons of money on everyday purchases in the long run.

7. Rakuten

Download on iOS | Android

Rakuten is a cash back shopping app featuring over 3,500 brands. The app also has a browser extension that lets shoppers find deals online. Buyers earn rewards every time they make a purchase through Rakuten’s app, website or affiliate link.

Consumers love using Rakuten because of its wide selection of partners that include restaurants, ride-sharing services and retail stores.

The cashback app has 15 million+ members and has paid out over $2 billion in cash back rewards. Shoppers can receive cash back from purchases by check or PayPal.

8. RetailMeNot

Download on iOS | Android

RetailMeNot is another shopping app that offers coupons and cash back on products from 15,000+ brands—both in-store and online. The app also offers a free Chrome extension that applies codes automatically as you shop.

Once you’ve made a purchase, you need to wait approximately 45 days for approval. Then, you can easily redeem the cash you earned back from your RetailMeNot account using PayPal or Venmo.

9. Ibotta

Download on iOS | Android

Ibotta is a cash back and gift card shopping app at more than 5000,000 retail locations. The app also has a browser extension that lets shoppers earn cash back online. Buyers earn cash back every time they make a purchase through Ibotta’s app or affiliate link.

Ibotta features a wide range of shopping partners including grocery stores, retailers, restaurants and bars.

The cashback app has paid out over $1 billion in cash back savings. Shoppers can receive cash back from purchases by PayPal or gift cards to favorite retailers.

Grocery shopping apps

Grocery shopping apps help consumers buy groceries online via home delivery, store pickup or both. These apps often come with features like virtual shopping lists, the ability to check out nutritional information, and an organized selection of brands and products.

Grocery apps are huge time-savers as they eliminate the need for shoppers to commute and browse the aisles in a physical store. Some apps also offer exclusive discounts, bundles and deals to help shoppers save money on items they regularly buy.

10. Flipp

Download on iOS | Android

Flipp is not exactly a grocery delivery app. Instead, it helps shoppers find great deals, coupons and weekly ads from 2,000+ retailers so they know where to shop and what to buy.

Shoppers can also create digital shopping lists in the app and Flipp will find deals for those products. Or, you can manually clip deals to your shopping list to have them on hand while you shop.

Mystery shopping apps

Mystery shoppers (or ‘secret shoppers’) are paid by research companies and retail businesses to investigate or audit product offerings, customer service and in-store experiences.

With mystery shopping apps, users complete specific tasks and gigs to earn rewards. These apps are often used by people who want to make some extra cash on the side.

11. Shopkick

Download on iOS | Android

Shopkick is a mystery shopping app that works a bit differently. Instead of completing gigs and tasks, users earn rewards (or kicks) for scanning barcodes in select retail stores.

These rewards can then be redeemed for online gift cards or PayPal credit. Shoppers can also watch videos and learn about new products within the app to earn kicks.

12. Field Agent

Download on iOS | Android

Field Agent is a mystery shopping app that helps users (or agents) earn money by completing tasks like conducting audits and surveys, trying new products, leaving reviews, and collecting information about in-store products.

The app uses this information to help companies learn more about retail customer experiences and improve their products and services. Field Agent is currently available in 8 countries, including the US, UK and Canada.

Car shopping apps

Car shopping apps are online marketplaces that let you buy, sell trade, and finance new and pre-owned cars. While buyers may need to visit in-person before buying a car anyway, using a car shopping app can save them plenty of time.

Features like advanced search filters, built-in chat, photos and videos, car inspection reports and loan calculators help buyers narrow down their options and show up at meetings only for shortlisted cars.

13. CarGurus

Download on iOS | Android

CarGurus is a shopping app for new and used cars. It comes packed with features that make it easy for buyers to make the right choice. For example, their deal-rating algorithm analyzes thousands of points like price, reviews, location and accident history to find the best deals.

Additionally, CarGurus is also a great place for selling cars and finding financing. The smart tools that come with the app streamline the whole process. CarGurus is currently available in the US, UK and Canada.

14. Carvana

Download on iOS | Android

Carvana is a US-only app for buying, selling and trading cars online. You can easily find used cars that fit your budget using advanced search filters and personalized financing terms.

The best part about this app is you can buy your car online and have it delivered to your door. Carvana also offers delivery tracking and pick-up at one of their Car Vending Machines. All purchases are protected by a 7-day money-back guarantee, so buyers can easily return and get a full refund for vehicles that aren’t a good fit.

The future of shopping apps

Shopping apps have made it easier for buyers and sellers to connect in virtually every industry. Thanks to busy lifestyles, smartphones and the convenience of apps, consumers are increasingly choosing e-commerce over in-store shopping—especially when it’s on the go.

But what’s even more interesting is how online shopping is becoming a social activity over a transactional one. More shoppers are turning to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for product research and purchases.

Brands need to constantly look for creative ways to connect with customers on these platforms. Check out our social shopping guide to find tips and predictions about the future of social commerce.

The post 14 best shopping apps of 2022 appeared first on Sprout Social.

Sprout Social has partnered with Reuters to bring you a diverse panel of marketing and social media experts to discuss social strategy.

In this session, you’ll hear from marketing experts about how to extract real business value from social media marketing and how to focus your social strategy to meet your needs.

You will:

• Understand your audience and engage your community:
  Streamline your social monitoring and uncover actionable insights from social data to inform brand and business strategy
• Stand out in an over-saturated digital space:
  Create authentic, personalized, relevant content that cuts through the noise with impactful interactions that inspire and connect
• Measure performance, prove ROI and gain buy-in:
  Identify the key metrics and critical reporting you need to drive strategic decision-making across the business with rich social data and dashboards

Panelists:

• Bianca Shaw, VP of Enterprise Social Media and Digital Brand Reputation at Caesars Entertainment
• Michael Lamp, VP of Digital and Social at Hunter PR, a Stagwell company
• Emily Sly, VP of Global Marketing at Crocs
• Jamie Gilpin, CMO, Sprout Social
• Laurel Mintz, CEO and Founder, Elevate My Brand

The post Supercharge your Marketing Strategy with Social [Webinar] appeared first on Sprout Social.

Well, it looks like the future is here.

Mobile transactions are poised to make up more than 10% of all retail sales in the United States by 2025.

At a glance, this might not seem like breaking news. The concept of mobile shopping is pretty universal, right?

Checking reviews before buying in-store. Browsing brands on Instagram.

And of course, making impulse purchases on the go.

But just because consumers can buy from you via mobile doesn’t mean that your storefront is optimized. Not by a long shot.

Below we’ve broken down why brands need to prioritize mobile commerce and how to create a better customer experience.

What is mobile commerce?

Mobile commerce (also referred to as “mcommerce” or “m-commerce”) is a branch of ecommerce that covers any transactions conducted on a mobile device.

Beyond direct purchasing, activities associated with mobile commerce also include: engaging with mobile ads, communicating with sales reps via smartphone and researching brands on a mobile device.

The continued boom of mobile commerce goes hand in hand with the growth of multichannel marketing. Brands with a strong mobile presence can reach customers anywhere and anytime.

With consumers so glued to their devices, streamlining the process of smartphone shopping is a must-do for modern brands (see below).

What are some examples of mobile commerce?

Mobile commerce is about more than just “using your phone to buy stuff.” The broader definition of mobile commerce includes any purchasing activity made on an app or mobile browser. This includes:

• In-app purchases
• Mobile browser transactions
• Social commerce: researching or buying products directly from social media or social media ads (see below)
• Livestream shopping: where customers make purchases through real-time streaming via Amazon, Facebook or Instagram
• AR shopping: using camera apps to preview products in virtual spaces (think: the IKEA app for furniture or the EyeBuyDirect app for virtual glasses try-on)
• Conversational commerce: completing transactions with the assistance of mobile reps (through chat apps or social media)

4 must-know mobile commerce statistics and market trends

The amount of time and money spent on mobile transactions is staggering.

But don’t take our word for it.

Below are some recent mobile commerce statistics that highlight the dominance of smartphone shopping and why brands can’t ignore it.

1. Mobile commerce sales in the United States grew 41.4% in 2020 alone

From grocery orders and basic necessities to retail therapy and beyond, the COVID-19 pandemic saw mobile commerce explode.

The rapid growth of smartphone shopping isn’t just an anomaly for 2020, though. Consider that consumer behaviors from the early pandemic will likely continue — that means fewer mobile skeptics and ongoing reliance on smartphone shopping from the public at large.

2. Smartphone shopping will generate $295.41 billion in US sales in 2021, making up 82.2% of total retail mcommerce sales

With nearly $300 billion on the table, companies literally can’t afford to treat their mobile presence as an afterthought.

Keep in mind that these sales aren’t solely the result of allowing shoppers to make smartphone purchases. The popularity of mobile marketing tactics such as social selling, retargeting ads and mobile-only offers will continue to move the needle.

3. Over half of all retail ecommerce sales in Latin America will take place via mobile in 2022

Given that 80% of the world has smartphones in their hand, this shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

Either out of preference or necessity, embracing mobile commerce is crucial for the sake of expanding into new markets. This is especially true in regions where mobile network accessibility is greater than traditional Internet access.

4. Smartphone traffic continues to outpace desktops, with 55% of all web traffic coming from mobile devices

For those of us that almost exclusively shop via desktop, this might be an eye-opener.

Especially among younger consumers, smartphones represent the primary means of Internet access. This highlights how improving your mobile presence should be a priority whether you’re a merchant or not.

What are the advantages of mobile commerce?

The benefits of mobile commerce are well-documented for consumers and brands alike.

Below we’ve broken down some of the key benefits to consider.

For consumers

• Convenience. This is the big one. The ability to make purchases from anywhere, not stuck at a desktop or tied to traditional business hours, speaks for itself in terms of convenience.
• Immediacy. If you see it, you can buy it. Time-sensitive transactions such as emergency buys, last-minute purchases and flash sales can all be completed in a matter of seconds.
• Instantly find new brands to buy from.  In short, mobile commerce provides a quick and timely avenue for consumers to research products and mentally bookmark brands to buy from later.

For brands

• Less friction and fewer opportunities for customers to bounce. Mobile commerce both encourages and capitalizes on the consumer desire to buy ASAP. This ultimately results in a more efficient funnel and a speedier purchasing journey.
• Mobile makes it easier for shoppers to share purchases. From social media mentions to customer photo tags via Instagram, smartphones empower customers to shout out their favorite brands with less effort.
• Data! There’s so much to learn about re: customer behavior through mobile commerce. For example, when are your mobile shoppers most active? Which items and pages are they spending the most time on? Are they visiting you on social after they bounce?

For example, brands that have mastered ecommerce social media can use invaluable mobile data to:

• “Follow” their bounced traffic via mobile ads and personalized offers
• Go back-and-forth with customers and reference their past purchasing activity (hint: conversational commerce)
• Use social listening tools to understand customer compliments, complaints and concerns (see below)

What are some examples of mobile commerce in action?

So, how does mobile commerce work?

And what exactly makes it different than, say, desktop shopping?

Fair questions! Below are two mobile commerce examples that highlight what “good” mcommerce looks like in action.

A tap-friendly customer journey from start to finish

For smartphone shopping, the game is “less is more.”

Brands are tasked with driving transactions with limited real estate. Additionally, brands must put as much information and customer actions “above the fold.” The more shoppers have to scramble and scroll, the more likely they are to bounce.

This mcommerce example from Milk Makeup highlights how to win customers’ trust and answer all of their pressing questions by:

• Highlighting best sellers and positive reviews on both category and product pages
• Reminding shoppers multiple times what purchasing threshold they need to reach to receive free shipping
• Clear buttons and calls-to-action, particularly during the order summary and checkout phase

Seamless shopping from social media

Consumers are becoming more comfortable with the concept of making purchases that start from social media.

Below is an example from Soludos’ Instagram Shop that highlights how to do the same. This includes:

• Tagging products in photos without sacrificing style points or being too obtrusive
• A direct link from their Instagram Shop to their ecommerce store
• Consistent branding from their Instagram to their on-site product pages (including imagery)

3 ways brands can optimize their stores for mobile commerce

Despite the popularity of smartphone shopping, keep in mind that mobile purchases don’t happen by accident.

Brands need to take specific steps to ensure they aren’t freezing out shoppers on the go.

To wrap things up, let’s look at some actionable changes and improvements to consider for a better mobile shopping experience.

1. Improve mobile UX and site loading speeds

Slow site speed is a proven conversion killer. Meanwhile, many mobile sites are a total slog to get through.

From disappearing menus to crowded product pages, it’s easy to overlook the fine details of UX if you haven’t put your site under the microscope. Here are some basic UX tips from Google to consider, including:

• Highlighting main product categories on your homepage
• Including a homepage search bar to reduce needless browsing (see below)
• Implement “hamburger-style” dropdown menus to help direct traffic
• Not hiding product descriptions or requiring visitors to tap through to see them

2. Simplify the checkout process

Remember what we said about “less is more?”

The fewer head-scratching moments and bottlenecks during your checkout process, the better. For starters, you should:

• Require fewer form fields to collect customer information
• Reduce the number of confirmation screens between adding a product to a cart and completing a purchase
• Allow users to checkout using a guest account
• Accept as many payment options as reasonably possible
• Make shipping costs crystal clear prior to checkout

For example, having to create a new account is among the most common reasons for cart abandonment (second only to surprise shipping costs).

Check out how brands like ASOS allow shoppers to use a variety of guest logins and payment processors for the sake of convenience. This is the sort of seamless shopping experience mobile stores should strive for.

3. Prioritize selling on social media

Instagram and Facebook Shops. Social ads. Product-centric content.

As noted in our guide to social commerce, businesses of all sizes are committed to selling through social platforms.

Again, mobile commerce is all about reaching customers whenever and wherever.

Through social media, you can create a brand new avenue to sell to an audience that’s already engaged and familiar with you. Doing so is a low-hanging opportunity to boost sales and customer satisfaction at the same time.

Are you prepared for the future of mobile commerce?

Listen: mobile shopping is here to stay.

If anything, all indicators from ecommerce research and consumer behavior signal that mobile commerce has nowhere to go but up.

The sooner you get on board and optimize your storefront, the better.

And with the tips above and tools like Sprout Social, you can use your social media data to attract more mobile shoppers and create a top-tier customer experience.

If you haven’t already, check out our guide on how to build a social commerce strategy to understand how you can step up your social selling ASAP.

The post Mobile commerce: What it is and why you should care appeared first on Sprout Social.

If you’re familiar with the movies, you may be rightfully confused. After all, Bella’s costume design is purposefully simple. She’s meant to go unnoticed. It’s what makes a 17-going-on-107-year-old vampire falling in love with her all the more interesting. But thanks to the combined forces of Netflix and social media, teens are flocking to thrift stores to find everything you probably wore back in 2010.

This is yet another trend that was born without the help of any designer or magazine. It started online, and it marks a major change in the world of fashion. Creators are the new tastemakers and their inspiration can come from just about anywhere. Even a vampire romance movie from 2008. Here’s why.

How social influences fashion trends

Social media has changed the way we consume information and naturally, that applies to fashion. In the past, style inspiration was limited to what was seen on screen or in magazines. Now, thanks to highly visual mediums like Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok, fresh fashion ideas are available at the swipe of your finger.

Anyone with a smartphone and a sartorial vision can become a trendsetter. Even major brands are taking note. Earlier this month at New York Fashion Week, popular TikTokers joined celebrities and journalists at shows like Tom Ford, Tommy Hilfiger and more.

3 social-first fashion trends that made waves in 2021

Social can turn everyday consumers into stylists with massive followings. Through outfit of the day (OOTD) pics, outfit idea videos and must-have product reviews, they’re driving peer buying habits faster than most media outlets can keep up with.

To better understand this phenomenon, here’s a quick rundown of three trends that started online rather than the runway.

The Twilight renaissance

The look: Henleys, boot cut jeans and lots of layering. If it looks like Bella Swan might have worn it in the 2008 film adaptation of Twilight, it fits the vibe.

The source: Bella Swan-core is a direct result of what is being called “the Twilight renaissance.” In July, Netflix added all four Twilight films to its catalog, resulting in a huge resurgence in popularity for the franchise.

Using Sprout Social’s Advanced Listening tool, we analyzed 336 Tweets from July 1, 2021, to September 21, 2021, that referenced Twilight and key terms like “style” or “fashion.” More than half of these messages  (54%) have a positive sentiment, 25%  neutral and 21% have a negative sentiment (mainly held by skeptics of the trend’s longevity). The topic holds the power to create conversation, with over 54,000 engagements and an overall engagement rate of 161%.

Crochet and yarn crafts

The look: Cool and colorful handmade crochet looks taking inspiration from classic ‘60s patterns and modern silhouettes.

The source: The pandemic caused crochet to take off in a major way, as time spent in lockdown freed up time for people to practice more tactile hobbies. According to the 2021 Pinterest Predicts report, there was a 155% increase in searches year over year for “crochet basics” from 2019 to 2020. The trend is here to stay and even the most craft-averse style aficionados are into it. The Zoe Report called it the defining trend of summer 2021, but crochet looks are already dominating spring 2022 collections.

The men of the ‘90s

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The look: The normcore looks served by Chandler Bing, Jerry Seinfeld and Frasier are inspiring a new generation of men to rock understated basics with 90’s flair.

The source: ‘90s TV classics continuously shuffle around streaming services, as they compete for the exclusive offerings needed to attract new customers. When a service loses or gains the rights to a fan favorite, it drives an uptick in social conversations that brings the show back into the zeitgeist. We’ve seen it happen when Netflix lost Friends to HBOMax in late 2019, and again when HBOMax released the Friends reunion special.

3 trend forecasting tips for retail brands

Keeping an eye out for relevant social media trends that align with your brand is a full-time job (or department) in itself, but we know a lot of brands aren’t there yet. If you’re interested in creating a trendspotting process for your brand or want to refine your current practices, here are some tips to get started.

1. Follow the memes

Memes work for more than just quick laughs during work breaks. If you dig deep enough, they can be powerful trend forecasting tools too.

Before people were searching “Bella Swan fashion” on Pinterest, they were sharing memes. Throwaway lines from Twilight were inspiring jokes across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more.

Memes drive trends because they usually require some amount of cultural knowledge to be in on the joke. As more people create content poking fun at pop culture, it encourages others to check it out so they can be in on the joke. In Twilight’s case, as people continued to revisit the films, they left with more than comedic relief. They got style inspiration.

2. Stay in tune with your audience

The internet is home to countless communities, each with its own interests and trending topics. Even the world’s greatest social media manager could not possibly keep up with everything trending online, all the time.

That’s why it’s important to find and follow creators who align with your target audience. Think of it as your trend swipe file. This will help you identify and adapt the trends that will do the most for your brand.

Urban Outfitters does this by using viral style hacks to promote their products. To put their own spin on the DIY silk scarf tops that have dominated Pinterest and TikTok since early this summer, the brand recreated the trend using crochet square scarves.

This creative iteration on a style craze pushes the envelope on what was already popular with their target audience. It highlights the versatility of their products while encouraging consumers to look at them in a new light.

3. Use a social listening tool

Passive scrolling can offer some indication of your audience’s next big thing, but if you really want to pressure test your ideas, you need a social listening tool.

With social listening, brands can zoom out and assess the larger social conversations that are happening around their industry and audience. Gathering this cultural context will help you assess where you fit in the larger conversation, providing inspiration for messaging, product styling, inventory decisions and more.

Tools like Sprout Social’s Advanced Listening can help you uncover even the micro-trends your target consumers are invested in to help shape future products, collections and campaigns. All you need to do is identify the keywords that are starting conversations in your industry. From there, you can dig into insights by sentiment, demographics, date and more.

Spot the next big trend before it breaks through

Learning how to proactively spot trends on social is the key to maintaining relevance with your target audience. If you want to get a sneak peek at what your fans will crave next, download this social media listening map. This fail-proof framework will help you zero in on the insights to look for, so you can find tomorrow’s trends today.

The post The Twilight renaissance: Why retailers need social media for trend forecasting appeared first on Sprout Social.

But social media usage is on the rise, with 76% of consumers reporting they used social media more in the last year and 63% purchased on it. Recent data like this from the Sprout Social Index 2021™, UK & Ireland report should serve as a wake-up call for retailers sceptical about what social media is worth.

Whether it’s a digital or in-person purchase, social followers signal potential business for brands of all shapes and sizes.

For retailers, social media is more than an accessory, it’s a through-line for the customer experience.

Maybe someone’s learning about your brand for the first time. Perhaps you’re looking to reach former or current customers. Either way, retailers need to create a social customer journey that encompasses all of the actions above versus only acquisition or attention.

Social media for retail: How to create a compelling customer journey

The beauty of social media for retail is that you can engage with people at just about any point of the customer lifecycle.

But therein lies the challenge of social media marketing for retailers, too.

To make the most of your campaigns, it’s crucial to understand the tactics and strategies that are proven to work among today’s top retailers. In this guide, we break down social media for retail and what brands need to do to map out that ever-so-important customer journey.

1. Adopt an omnichannel social presence to support discovery

Retailers can’t afford to stick to a single social platform.

While putting all of your efforts into one channel might keep you from spreading your resources thin, doing so also means leaving money on the table. Literally.

And yes, recent stats point to just how important Instagram is for retailers today in terms of social selling. That said, there’s more to social media for retail than the ‘gram. In fact, the Sprout Social Index 2021™ found titans like Facebook (55%), Instagram (54%) and YouTube (49%) rule British and Irish consumers’ social media habits. There’s also significant consumer activity on emerging platforms like TikTok (32%) and Snapchat (29%).

Let’s take a quick dive into how retailers can spread their social presence across multiple platforms while taking advantage of each channel’s strengths and best practices.

Sweaty Betty has the ultimate recipe for drawing people in. Its fitness inspo vibe and engaging exercise tutorials capture Instagrammers’ attention and keep them coming back. This timeless brand also combines eye-catching aesthetics, and a polished influencer marketing strategy to turn their posts into traffic-generating machines.

Sweaty Betty reinforces its Instagram strategy with empowering and motivational content on channels like Pinterest to capture even more of its audience online. The result? Sweaty Betty turns their social media footfall into site visitors and then cold, hard, cash.

To ensure that you’re hitting up every segment of your potentially fragmented audience, it’s important that you have a strategy for promoting content between platforms. Sprout can help with that through social scheduling that not only lets you cross-promote content, but time your promotions based on optimal engagement.

2. Supplement your existing marketing campaigns to convert prospects into customers

This might seem like a no-brainer, but so much of social media for retail means finding ways to mesh your social presence with existing paid campaigns. Especially, since business’ top three social media goals (brand awareness, upping community engagement, and increasing web traffic) match all the social media platforms’ makeup.

So, whether you’re running a promotion, launching a product or pushing time-sensitive offers, you can’t afford for your followers to be in the dark or assume they’re going to learn about your promos elsewhere.

Some brands might be wary of pushing products too hard on social media. That said, nearly two-thirds of consumers say social posts by brands influence their purchasing decisions.

Also, consistently publishing coupon codes, offers, and discounts is fair game for encouraging impulse buys. If nothing else, striking product photos are prime Instagram content that doesn’t come off as “salesy” if they’re presented with some creative flair.

Speaking of cross-promotion, consider that any given retailer’s email list is their bread and butter for encouraging repeat business. With an engaged and social following, brands have more opportunities to nurture customers and keep them in the loop about their latest promotions.

Even coffee brands are in on the action. Nespresso also uses a multi-pronged marketing approach. Its team implements email marketing while putting its Instagram feed at the forefront with customer-centric and inspirational content.

3. Gather feedback from your social customers

Of course, social media for retail isn’t just as simple as blasting offers and deals. Although customers are more than happy to follow retailers in pursuit of a sale, your long game should be to sell your brand beyond your products.

This means figuring out your brand identity and making connections with customers. Perhaps one of the easiest and most effective ways to do so is through asking questions.

What sort of products do people want? What sort of content do they want to see? Whether through Instagram Stories or question-based posts, picking people’s brains is easier than ever. Additionally, question-based content encourages replies and interactions which are like candy to modern social algorithms.

The feedback gathered from customers can not only inform your content and product strategies but also serve as a break from purely promotional content. Retailers like Wilko do an awesome job of asking playful questions while subtly featuring their products at the same time.

4. Boost retention by dedicating time to social customer service

Food for thought: in a day and age of online shopping and fast-paced transactions, there’s one thing that can set your brand apart from the rest—unbeatable customer service.

Customer support has become so crucial to social media success that the Sprout Social Index 2021™, UK & Ireland report found that being known for putting customers first is the number one trait consumers say makes brands the best on social.

Effective social media for retail means listening and responding to customer concerns with care. This means both personalising your replies while also responding in a timely manner (another top customer expectation). These factors make a huge difference in customer satisfaction.

As noted in our guide to Twitter customer service, 60% of people expect a response within an hour. 

Don’t think of responding to such concerns as customers being needy, though. The ability to respond with grace spells good news for your brand as you strive to keep customers around for the long haul. Check out how John Lewis manages to address a reasonable concern while still scoring a “Like” and a potential sale on Facebook.

In fact, John Lewis’ stellar customer service on social media is an extension of its consumer-focused reputation. Social customer service isn’t just about addressing questions and complaints. 

Customer care also means giving customers shout-outs to highlight their positive experiences. As noted by our data, that’s the top reason why customers reach out: capitalise on those moments and let them serve as social proof for your brand.

The more you’re able to highlight your satisfied customers, the better. Why? Because poor customer service was cited as one of the top reasons consumers unfollow businesses on social.

The takeaway here is that customer service can’t be an afterthought for retailers. Through consistent monitoring and social listening, you can make sure those precious mentions don’t fall by the wayside.

5. Listen for trends to influence your product and content strategies

Speaking of listening, social media retail trends are constantly changing.

Brands are constantly experimenting with new ways to engage with followers. At the same time, competitors and new products are constantly flooding any given retail space which speaks to the need for brands to have a strong pulse on their industries.

Sprout’s social listening suite includes a query builderwhere brands can easily monitor mentions, hashtags, and industry-related keywords to better track what customers are buzzing about.

More advanced listening features in Sprout can also help retailers monitor their brand sentiment and mentions to ensure healthy, positive growth in engagement over time.

goldmine of business intelligence on social media. It’s all a matter of making sure you’re listening, though.

6. Curate user-generated content to promote your brand advocates

Easily one of the biggest needs when it comes to social media for retail, brands need to be on the hunt for user-generated content (UGC).

Even big retailers like H&M use UGC to show off their products and create a strong community around them. Customer photos are noted to increase conversions and engagement among social followers. Your customers want to talk about their latest purchases, granted you give them a chance to do so.

Meanwhile, Monsoon and Lush Cosmetics use a branded hashtag to entice customers to post their photos.

Whether it’s for an influencer marketing campaign or simply encouraging UGC, retailers these days are expected to create their own hashtag to encourage organic promotion on behalf of their followers. Doing so provides yet another avenue for customers to engage with your brand and vice-versa.

7. Make social shopping as seamless as possible

Encouraging purchases directly from social media is more than possible. However, it’s not as simple as dropping product links and walking away.

If you want to increase your social media conversion rate<, you’re going to need to make shopping a seamless experience

For example, let’s look at how easy In the Style makes shopping their Instagram feed. When you click “View Shop” you’re greeted with a sleek catalogue. Each item also comes with a product description and essential terms breakdown along with their social-specific landing page which makes it a cinch to browse products.

Ideally, you want to keep your customers moving from Point A to Point B rather than bouncing between a bunch of links and redirects. Even if you don’t use a third-party tool for social shopping, making your social landing pages scrollable and mobile-friendly is a must-do.

Additionally, note that social platforms are constantly rolling out new shopping and advertising features tailored for social media for retail. For example, the roll-out of Instagram Checkout signals how networks are trying to make it easier for brands to encourage purchases. 

8. Inspire long-term loyalty by remarketing to current and former customers

Of course, we can’t talk about social media for retail without discussing paid ads.

With social algorithms seemingly cracking down on purely promotional organic posts, running ads allows retailers to appeal to customers without running the risk of spamming them.

The good news is that retailers can personalise and target their advertising like never before. Brands can run campaigns to prospect for new customers or reach out to returning customers simultaneously.

For example, brands like PrettyLittleThing and Look Fantastic use Facebook and Instagram’s dynamic ads to reach former customers or they’re looking to reactivate. Such ads serve as a cost-effective way to reintroduce your brand to customers and are likewise noted for their high ROI. 

9. Don’t forget your physical packaging

If you’re a retailer, you have a distinct opportunity to make a lasting impression on your customers in person.

This can be done by combining your social presence with your physical packaging if possible. From stickers and business cards to quite literally wrapping up your products with your social handles, there are tons of creative ways to couple social media with in-person promotion.

Even something as simple as a branded business card snuck into your shipped orders is a smart move. Retailers can’t be shy about promoting their social presence and in-person creatives are one of the most meaningful ways to do it.

10. Increase your customer lifetime value over time

The end-game of social media for retail is to nurture customers and encourage them to become long-term shoppers.

In other words, you can’t afford to solely focus on acquisition. Growing your follower count is nice, but ask yourself: is your social presence resulting in long-term engagement and purchases?

If someone is willing to follow your brand, they’ve already signalled their interest to make a purchase. This highlights the need to promote offers while also connecting with a diverse content calendar. As noted by the examples above, retailers have a ton of creative options available for regularly engaging their target audiences.

At the same time, think about how you can increase what your social following is worth over time. Ramp up your efforts during the holidays where consumer spending is at an all-time high. Run influencer marketing and UGC campaigns.

Try your hand at social ads. And along the way, make sure you’re keeping a close eye on engagement via social analytics. By tracking your growth and engagement by the numbers, you can better understand what’s encouraging purchases from your followers over time.

How are you using social media for retail?

There’s no denying that retailers have their hands full in terms of their social presence. But as we said, retailers have the most to gain from social media at large.

From uncovering new customers to increasing the value of the ones you already have, the amount of creative business opportunities available to retail brands on social media is seemingly endless. And with the help of tools such as Sprout Social, brands can run and monitor their campaigns by the numbers to win more customers along the way.

There’s never been a better time to go all-in on your social media to drive more traffic, build a solid community and secure more sales.

Interested in more tips for creating a social-first customer experience? Download this checklist for providing exceptional customer service on Instagram today.

The post How to master social media for retail and win more customers appeared first on Sprout Social.

The direct-to-consumer (DTC) model is still relatively new when compared to brick-and-mortar retail shops. For those that are solely based online, an investment in social media comprises a significant part of the marketing budget. When companies like Warby Parker and Casper first launched, the DTC model was fresh and unique. Nowadays, nearly every retail segment has a DTC brand and the competition is heavy with new brands.

In 2010, ecommerce sales made up only 4.2% of total US retail sales. One decade later, the number is now 11.8% and it’s only steadily climbing. In 2020, as the pandemic continues to prohibit retail companies from opening their stores, having an ecommerce marketing strategy seems more needed than ever.

Why use social ecommerce?

For DTC brands that exist solely online and retailers shifting to an online-first presence, you need all the tools in your arsenal to push sales on your website. You can’t rely on foot traffic so social media replaces this tactic.

Social commerce features have rapidly emerged to allow selling directly from social platforms such as Instagram and Facebook Shops, reducing the number of clicks to sale and allowing customers to shop on the same social networks they are increasingly researching and discovering products on.

Social commerce contrasts with social selling, which includes relationship building and interactions that take place on social media before a sale, including research, word-of-mouth, direct interactions with the brand and more.

Ecommerce sales are heavily influenced by the online world, and it makes sense for brands to use social media to drive them. At least 72% of US adults use some type of social media. Since your customer is very likely already on social media, you want to go where the customers are.

There are many ways to approach social commerce and selling and as some brands have demonstrated, there isn’t one “right” way.

Use organic and paid strategies

On social media, a combination of organic and paid strategies is usually the preferred way to go.

According to the Sprout Social Index™ Above & Beyond, consumers find brands on social media in a variety of ways. Forty percent of consumers find new brands from their personal network, 35% from influencers they follow and 32% from word-of-mouth. Two of the three methods of discovery are from organic strategies, but all have the potential to be conducted through paid social as well.

We’ll go into a little more detail on some of these strategies but here are some examples of what organic and paid social  strategies look like for ecommerce.

Organic social media strategies for ecommerce

• Presence of and use of product reviews on your social media accounts
• Adding relevant hashtags to increase the discoverability of your brand
• Personalized interaction with customers on your accounts and theirs
• Providing excellent social customer care
• Using user-generated content to further your social proof
• Use social listening to improve your product and discover new customers

Paid social media strategies for ecommerce

• Paid advertisements and post boosts
• Using lookalike audiences and website visitors to supplement your advertising
• Running influencer marketing campaigns
• Creating a brand ambassador program
• Forming brand partnerships
• Creating a referral or affiliate program
• Running advertisements and boosts of any of the organic strategies mentioned above

Set up social ecommerce channels

Shopping within a network is easier than ever on Instagram and Facebook. Use these platforms’ features to make shopping and product discoverability on social media a seamless experience for your customers.

Instagram and Facebook share the same backend operation for shopping. After loading in your product catalog or linking your website’s ecommerce platform (such as Shopify and WooCommerce), you’ll be able to start tagging products on your posts.

When products are shown on Instagram posts, they can be tagged, allowing customers to view purchase details with a tap. Clicking on the tagged product will lead you to the product’s website page for you to purchase. The browser pops up within Instagram so when you close out or finish your purchase, you can go right back to browsing.

Pinterest, a network known to consumers for discovering and researching new products, has its own Shop feature. Once your website’s product pins are enabled, pins show the price and are listed in the Shop section of your page. Parachute is an online-only, DTC home goods brand that utilizes both product pins and promoted pins on Pinterest.

Use social proof

Word-of-mouth and reviews are still tried-and-true tactics for encouraging purchases.

BrightLocal found that 82% of consumers read online reviews of local businesses, 91% of consumers say positive reviews make them more likely to use a business and 76% trust online reviews as much as recommendations from family and friends.

For networks like Facebook that allow reviews to be turned on, it makes business sense to allow your customers to leave reviews. Ask for more reviews from your customers on a continuing basis and you’ll be supplemented with social proof. Reviews are even better when they’re managed and responded to from the brand.

Another way of boosting your social proof is to use an influencer marketing strategy. Warby Parker highlights notable customers in their Wearing Warby blog series, and also repurposes this content on their social feeds, including through an Instagram Stories highlight.

Use social listening

Social listening can benefit all departments of your company. But for sales specifically, you can use social listening to identify gaps in your competitor’s strategy and see what your industry’s customers are talking about. These discussions can lead to new products, strategies and better customer service.

For an online-only company, social listening is imperative because you rely more on interactions and online activity to guide your strategies. Which leads us to setting yourself apart from others in an increasingly crowded social space.

Find your authentic voice & be unique

Five years ago, DTC brands in the furniture retail segment were few and far between. Now, there are dozens of mid-century furniture manufacturers alone vying for your social attention. The same story has been repeated with DTC brands specializing in dozens of different market segments. How do you set yourself apart when the field is so crowded?

One way to do this is to find a brand voice that is authentic to your company. Paired with brand visuals, this is one of the first steps to getting noticed. Next, identify what makes you unique and different from others in your field. It could be your company’s story, a specialization or even your customer service.

Research has found that 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience. If all of your products are similar to your competitors’, then providing excellent social customer service can set you apart from the pack.

Use analytics to guide your ecommerce sales

We mentioned social listening before but there are additional analytics you can take advantage of when approaching social selling. Using social media data to inform your sales plans on an ongoing basis will only help your ROI.

From social media analytics, you can find a multitude of ecommerce-related data:

• Website clicks
• Profile visits
• Social shares from your website
• Mentions from customers
• Ad offers and click throughs
• Mentions of new products or campaigns

Some analytics, like Instagram impression from the Explore page, are part of an organic ecommerce social strategy. Others, like website clicks or social-only offers, are more specific analytics that can help define your social ROI.

Conclusion

There are many tactics an ecommerce or DTC company can use on social media. But what most would agree with is that a social media presence is necessary to elevate your marketing. Social media helps your customers discover your brand, look at reviews, receive referrals from trusted sources and shop.

Because the online landscape is constantly changing, it’s important to check in on your social selling strategy and look at new data relevant to your industry. COVID–19 has only pushed brands further into the ecommerce sphere and those retailers who are adapting to the changes are the ones who will be most successful online.

The post How to set ecommerce social media up for success appeared first on Sprout Social.

Being attached to the Kardashian-Jenner empire certainly didn’t hurt sales, but that doesn’t mean you can disregard her simple yet effective promotion strategy. Despite having promoted the launch for weeks to upwards of 40 million followers on Instagram alone, Jenner launched her site with just 5,000 units of product. The lip kits sold out in under a minute, largely due to the disparity between the hype around the product and the amount available.

This buzzy sales tactic—where retailers create demand around limited edition products or small collections by building hype in the days and weeks leading up to the launch date—is known as a product drop. Made popular by streetwear brands like Supreme, the strategy has been adopted by major retail staples like Nike, Levi’s and more.

This year, Instagram announced a new feature called Drops which allows brands to create and promote their own product drops through their Instagram Shop. This opens up a world of opportunities for ecommerce and retail brands looking to attract new audiences and convert them from a single platform.

What are Instagram Drops?

Instagram’s latest social commerce feature is designed to help brands build hype around upcoming product launches. Named and modeled after the product drop trend, Drops allow consumers to browse, discover and purchase upcoming releases through the Instagram Shopping tab.

Once a Drop is posted, brands can promote the launch using product tags in posts, Stories, Reels and more. If a buyer is interested in an upcoming release, they can set a reminder that will trigger a notification 15 minutes before the product is live and available for purchase.

Will Instagram Drops work for my brand?

Research from Sprout’s How to Reach Digital Natives report found that both Gen Z and Millennials want to see brands make more use of Instagram. It’s the top social network among Gen Z audiences and the third most popular among Millennials. If your brand is targeting these coveted demographics, Instagram Drops can be a great way to make the connection.

Drops will work for any brand that has Instagram Shops enabled. To create a Drop, businesses must first set up an Instagram Shop with Instagram Checkout, so shoppers can make purchases directly within the app. Currently, Instagram Checkout is available to eligible US-based businesses only.

If your business is eligible and has an Instagram Shop set up, Instagram Checkout can be set up manually within the Instagram Commerce Manager. Alternatively, if your business uses one of Instagram’s partner ecommerce solutions, you can speed up the process by connecting the two platforms.

Once your Instagram account meets the requirements needed to support a product launch, a Drop can be set up within the Commerce Manager.

How to plan a successful product launch with Instagram Drops

Planning your first Instagram Drops launch will require time and thoughtful collaboration with multiple stakeholders. To make sure everything goes smoothly, start planning four to six months ahead of the intended product release date. This will give you time to meet with the right people and build excitement around your product.

Understand your audience

Instagram Drops are designed to create intrigue. To maintain an air of exclusivity and importance, brands should use them as a tool to promote unique launches that align with the interests of their Instagram audience.

Find out what matters to your Instagram followers by using the filtering Sprout’s Post Performance Report to view the posts that are performing best on the platform. This will help you understand which products and visuals make the biggest impact with your followers, providing some strategic insight into which items might make a splash with a Drops launch.

Loop in your customer care team

While social commerce has gained momentum with younger audiences, it’s still a new method of shopping for many. The Instagram Drops process is user friendly, but brands should prepare for a potential uptick in customer questions through the platform.

Connect with your customer care team to outline a strategy for managing Instagram DMs regarding upcoming launches and in-app purchases. Work closely with them throughout the launch to identify frequently asked questions that might be worth addressing through Story Highlights or a feed post. Once the launch has concluded, hold a post-mortem to figure out what went well and what can be improved upon for your next launch.

Forty-seven percent of consumers say that strong customer service is what makes a brand best-in-class on social, according to the Sprout Social Index™, Edition XVII: Accelerate. Ensuring that customers have a good experience with their first Instagram Drop purchase can help guarantee they will engage with more social commerce initiatives in the future.

Diversify your visuals

Instagram Drops allow retailers to provide more dynamic visuals than the standard product page on a website. Check out this example from Nars Cosmetics. For this Instagram exclusive launch, they included standard product shots, promotional videos and creator testimonials to give shoppers a well-rounded view of the makeup bundle’s value.

Brands can also include product tags in Stories or Reels to add to the item carousel. As you plan your visuals, consider how you can use Instagram’s photo editing tools to create a more cohesive brand experience.

Generate buzz with your promotion strategy

The key to a successful product drop is hype. Your goal is to create as much excitement and urgency among your fans as possible. In the days leading up to the drop, share content that showcases its value and exclusivity to encourage more people to set launch reminders.

Brands can also lean on their influencer marketing strategy to help expand awareness in the days leading up to the drop. Recently, Facebook announced plans to introduce a native affiliate tool on Instagram. This feature will allow creators to share products available through Instagram Shops with the potential to earn commission based on how much revenue they drive. Soon, tapping into the followings of popular creators and influencers will be easier than ever. Outlining a creator collaboration strategy today can pave the way for easier feature adoption tomorrow.

Start planning your first Instagram Drops product launch today

With social commerce, your customer experience can now be abbreviated to a single channel. To learn how you can infuse delight at every stage, from awareness to checkout, download our guide to creating a high-impact Instagram strategy today.

The post How to plan a successful product launch with Instagram Drops appeared first on Sprout Social.

Known as Viya to her fans, the Chinese influencer makes a living selling her fans everything from cosmetics to mattresses to houses to doorbells. But instead of pushing products through sponsored posts or links, Viya is selling millions of dollars worth of stuff through her video livestreams.

A cross between a video stream, variety show and group chat, livestream shopping is the next big thing in interactive social commerce. In China, livestream shopping is already worth an estimated $66 billion and influencers like Viya regularly attract viewers in the millions to their streams. The pandemic further accelerated the popularity of livestream commerce. In the first half of 2020, there were more than 10 million ecommerce live-streaming sessions online and by March there were 560 million people watching live-streams in China.

Retailers and social platforms outside of China are eager to capitalize on this new commerce opportunity, with brands like the Home Depot already testing out their own livestream experiences. As retailers increasingly experiment with shoppable live video, here’s what marketers need to know about the latest social ecommerce trend.

What is livestream shopping?

Much like watching a home shopping network, livestream commerce operates in a similar fashion. There’s a host, typically an influencer or celebrity, who highlights a product on the stream and viewers can purchase said product during the broadcast. It’s also referred to as live shopping, shopstreaming or retail live streaming.

But unlike QVC, livestream shopping builds on social commerce and enables viewers to engage with the program host through features like a chatbox or poll. Viewers can ask the host questions about the product during the livestream or chat with other viewers for their feedback and opinions. Audiences can also interact with the stream in real time using Likes and reactions, helping brands further strengthen their relationships with customers.

A better way to shop from home

Livestream shopping first emerged in China in 2017 on platforms like Taobao, Weibo and WeChat, with estimates suggesting the value of live shopping to account for 20.3% of China’s total online shopping GMV in 2022. It remains a popular form of ecommerce, with roughly 265 million Chinese shoppers making a purchase from a livestream in 2019 alone.

While still relatively new in the US, the livestreaming market is expected to surpass $25 billion by 2023. Amazon and Facebook already enable shoppable livestream events on their platforms with brands like Petco and Sephora taking advantage of the new functionality. Facebook, for example, launched Live Shopping Fridays where consumers can enjoy shoppable live videos from beauty and fashion brands.

Other brands are leveraging video-first platforms to host their livestreams. Since the start of the pandemic, Bloomingdale’s has hosted a number of shoppable events over Zoom while Nordstrom launched its own livestream channel, taking inspiration from China’s embrace of video shopping.

The benefits of livestream shopping

Aside from profit, there are several reasons why brands should seriously consider livestream commerce as part of their strategy.

For starters, video shopping can help brands build stronger relationships with their audience. The interactivity of livestream shopping allows viewers to engage with a brand by leaving comments or asking questions in real time. After hosting a spring 2021 livestream, Aldo noted a 308% engagement rate and registered 17,000 pageviews on its website in the first five days after the event.

Livestream shopping can also help buyers make more informed purchases by showing the products in action, giving consumers the details they need before clicking the checkout button. Research shows returns are 50% lower when a product is bought off a livestream compared to traditional ecommerce channels. Someone shopping for jeans, for example, could ask the host questions they have about sizing, color and styling directly on a livestream. Or someone buying makeup can ask for a tutorial to ensure the product they see is something they’ll actually use.

Finally, video shopping allows for a seamless customer experience. Data shows 84% of consumers say a brand’s video has convinced them to make a purchase and 96% of people have watched a video to learn more about a product or service. With livestream shopping, brands can nurture the buyer journey from awareness to decision, and customers never have to navigate away from their viewing platform.

3 types of livestream shopping platforms

Brands itching to experiment with livestream commerce have a few platform options to choose from, including:

1. Social media platforms with shopping capabilities. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok lead the way when it comes to livestream shopping, already playing host to names like Walmart and Abercrombie & Fitch. For brands just starting out with video shopping, leveraging social platforms where they have a presence and their audience already lives makes sense. Data from the Sprout Social Index™, Edition XVII: Accelerate shows 78% of consumers follow brands on Facebook, meaning there’s a good chance brands can reach a chunk of their target customers via Facebook Live Shopping. And for maximum efficiency, marketers can also repurpose their livestreams on these platforms to drive sales opportunities with their existing audience.
2. Dedicated commerce platforms and apps. Ecommerce sites like Amazon are also getting into the livestream shopping game, adding an interactive and personal aspect to their existing platform. Consumers already flock to ecommerce sites for their shopping needs; a livestream component can further drive sales by helping shoppers make smarter decisions. Dedicated livestream shopping platforms like TalkShopLive and Buywith are also popping up, giving brands even more options to experiment with live selling.
3. Self-hosted shopping platforms. Retailers that want complete control over all aspects of the shopping experience have the option of building their own streaming platform. Nordstrom, for example, launched its own livestream shopping channel, giving customers access to employees and brand partners across the beauty and fashion categories. On one hand, building a shopping platform from scratch enables brands to customize every part of the experience and ensures buyers aren’t distracted by other featured content. On the other hand, brands also need to find a way to attract customers to a brand new, self-hosted platform.

Livestream shopping is just getting off the ground in the US, but expect the trend to become mainstream in the next few years. As brands explore new avenues to sell to their audience, marketers should pay close attention to how social livestreams increasingly influence the buyer journey. With livestream shopping, brands can foster a sense of community and trust among their target audience that is more valuable than just social or digital commerce alone.

Ready to drive real business results with your social media video content? Download this worksheet to learn how to get the most out of your social video today.

The post Livestream Shopping: When social commerce and video collide appeared first on Sprout Social.

When MeUndies was founded in 2011, it was the first brand to offer an online underwear subscription. By the end of 2020, the brand had sold 16 million pairs of underwear. Between the brand’s Instagram shop, product tags, ads and rich influencer network, Instagram has long been, and continues to be, a fundamental part of that business growth. Such a robust social commerce strategy needs a customer care strategy to match.

When TK Lynch joined MeUndies as the Social Media Support Coordinator, he built a dedicated customer care strategy tailored for social. “Our philosophy is that if any problems come up for our customers, we want our brand to feel like a friend who’s on their side,” said Lynch. “We want to create an experience that doesn’t feel like you’re dealing with a customer service representative. Social allows us to create a customer experience that’s personable and casual, while still being effective.”

MeUndies’ customer care strategy encompasses social channels, but Instagram is where their customers most actively seek support, especially via Instagram Direct Messages (DMs). Until recently, Lynch and his team managed Instagram DMs and Story Replies natively, which created a host of issues. But now, with the help of Sprout Social’s Instagram messaging features, MeUndies’ team delivers customer care with greater efficiency, flexibility and accountability.

The need for speed

The Sprout Social Index™ Edition XVI: Above & Beyond found that 40% of consumers expect brands to respond within the first hour of reaching out on social media. TK initially had the same expectation for MeUndies. When he joined the team, the goal for the social customer care program was to respond within one hour for all message types, across all channels.

When the team handled Instagram messages natively, agents had to manually log responses and calculate response time in a Google Sheet, which was cumbersome. Now, Sprout’s Smart Inbox collects all inbound Instagram direct messages, mentions and comments in a single stream.

To say they’re crushing their initial one-hour to response goal would be an understatement. Between February 1 and March 31, 2021, alone, MeUndies received over 12,000 inbound Instagram messages, 24% of which were direct messages, and maintained an average first reply time of 19 minutes.

They no longer have to manually calculate those metrics either. “Having Instagram DMs in Sprout has really enhanced our customer support efforts. Our response metrics are all calculated within Sprout, which gives a clearer picture of how we are doing on Instagram and how that stacks up against our other social channels,” said Lynch.

Collaboration tools everyone can get behind

MeUndies often has three agents, along with Lynch, working to resolve customer service inquiries on Instagram at the same time. When the team was still doing so natively, they had to be careful not to duplicate efforts or overtake another agent’s conversation.

Previously, there were no time stamps on individual messages and no visibility into which agent sent each message. Customers would see read receipts, so in instances where MeUndies needed more time to craft a response, it would appear as if they’d left the customer on read. Those are all issues Sprout’s Instagram DMs integration solved.

“Now, we can easily see who has responded in a long message history. Our team members can also easily assign messages as Tasks to themselves or another agent if their shift is ending,” said Lynch. “Even the little things like collision warnings in Sprout, which tell us when another agent is typing a reply, are critical to us. These features have made an immense difference in the overall quality of our customer care.”

Message tagging is also highly valuable to MeUndies as it helps the customer experience team track different inquiry types and gives leadership across the organization visibility into what is happening on social.

“We tag everything. So, if someone asked us about billing issues that we’ve resolved on Instagram, for example, we could easily pull the Tag Report and share that data with them,” said Lynch. “We’re also in the process of syncing this with our entire company so that data funnels into a centralized system. That’s going to give leadership a really good top-down view, and they quickly see how our customers on social relate and differ from customers reaching out on our other support channels.”

Underwear and customer care for every body

With Sprout Social, MeUndies’ Instagram customer care strategy is more seamless, consistent and personalized. “Our mindset at MeUndies is to embrace being unique. We carry that passion over to social. We never just copy and paste responses even if there’s a standard answer,” said Lynch. “Now that our workflow is integrated into Sprout and we’ve eliminated manual processes, we can focus on what really matters: providing the best customer experience possible.”

Learn how your business can benefit from Sprout Social’s customer care and messaging capabilities. Request a free hands-on demo today.

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