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Over the last few years, social commerce has emerged as a game-changing sales channel for Amazon sellers. The meteoric rise of social media and mobile has opened new opportunities to promote products and facilitate shopping for digital-first audiences. 

Savvy Amazon brands are increasingly leveraging platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest for social commerce. Strategic product showcasing, social advertising, and influencer partnerships allow brands to drive awareness, consideration, and ultimately sales through their Amazon listings.

According to recent surveys, nearly half of online shoppers now regularly make purchases directly through social platforms. And one-third of shoppers say they’ve purchased a product after seeing it on social media. This shift in consumer behavior is a boon for nimble Amazon sellers embracing social commerce.

In this post, we’re going to take a look at how you can use social platforms to supplement and amplify your core Amazon business. We’ll define what social commerce means for Amazon-native brands, break down effective social strategies, and highlight some of the latest trends to leverage. 

With the right social commerce approach tailored for Amazon’s ecosystem, brands can dramatically expand their reach, better compete against larger players, and future-proof their business in an increasingly crowded marketplace. The opportunity awaits for sellers ready to strategically harness the marketing might of social platforms.

What is Social Commerce?

Social commerce involves leveraging social media’s networks, communities, and influencers to promote products and enable seamless clicks through to Amazon detail pages for transactions. 

Whether it’s shoppable posts, optimized product images and videos, or strategically seeded giveaways, social serves as a marketing channel to get products in front of more interested shoppers.

That’s why, for brands selling on Amazon, social commerce represents an immense opportunity to amplify reach and sales. Social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok offer dedicated Amazon sellers a way to directly engage with target audiences, create awareness, and drive traffic to their Amazon listings. 

This is a subset of ecommerce uniquely suited for Amazon sellers looking to expand beyond sole dependency on Amazon’s on-site traffic and search. Social commerce compliments the core Amazon business by driving new awareness and interest that converts at the point of purchase on Amazon. 

Introducing Amazon’s New Partnership With Meta

As reported by Marketplace Pulse, Amazon and Meta have partnered and are adding a feature allowing users to link their Facebook and Instagram accounts with Amazon. That connects a lot of dots for ecommerce shoppers (and sellers). 

As I wrote in this article, by enabling the sharing of precious data for ad targeting, they’ve thrown open the door to full-throttle, foot-on-the-gas-pedal ecommerce. 

This is a big piece of news and something that looks like it’s going to have the potential to move the bar for a lot of Amazon sellers. 

With – at least – one fewer click before reaching the Buy Box, it’s going to greatly simplify the purchase process and is bound to elevate conversion rates across the board. 

Key Elements of Social Commerce

Social platforms like Instagram and Pinterest have become a daily destination for product discovery and inspiration for today’s consumers. As an Amazon seller, you need to tap into these powerful social channels to drive awareness of your brand and products. 

With strategic social commerce initiatives, you can connect with customers beyond just your Amazon presence. This opens up new opportunities to grow awareness, engagement, and sales.

Here are three ways social commerce can help you reach customers:

1. Increase Discoverability Through Hashtags and Influencers

Leverage popular hashtags and connect with influencers on social media to get your products in front of interested audiences. When users are browsing topics like #amazonfinds or following influencers in your niche, your branded posts have the potential to capture attention and drive traffic.

2. Encourage Social Sharing and Peer Recommendations 

Make it easy for happy customers to share their purchases on social media through share buttons, tags, and messaging. User-generated content and recommendations are highly trusted forms of social proof that can propel sales.

3. Provide an Omnichannel Experience 

Meet customers where they already spend time online by enabling seamless shopping through social platforms. From shoppable posts to integrated stores, social commerce allows for browsing, checkout, and payment without leaving apps like Instagram or TikTok.

The Power of Social Commerce for Amazon Brands

Implementing social commerce as part of your Amazon selling strategy can provide a range of benefits beyond simply driving sales. Here are some of the key advantages:

Expand Your Reach with Increased Visibility

By consistently engaging audiences on social platforms, you can grow brand awareness and get your products in front of new targeted groups organically. If you’re trying to capture sales, why not start with the largest net possible? 

Boost Engagement through Interactive Experiences 

Social platforms allow you to showcase products through live demos, AR technology, real-time chat, and other interactive formats that – as we approach 2024 – increasingly resonate with an audience that wants to be entertained while they shop. 

Refine Your Strategy with Data-Driven Ads

The audience analytics and targeting capabilities on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram enable you to optimize ads and spend for results. As mentioned above, Amazon’s recent partnership with Meta is going to dramatically increase data transparency for ecommerce sellers. 

That’s a big win! 

Earn Trust with User-Generated Content

One goal of ecommerce sellers involves creating a strong enough connection between your product catalog and shoppers that first, they become buyers, and second, they feel so connected to your brand that they’re inspired to leave a great review. 

One strategy that’s on the rise is the use of micro influencers and user generated content (or UGC) in Amazon marketing strategy. When followers authentically share user photos, reviews, and experiences with your products, it builds credibility and referral power.

Understanding Social Commerce Terminology

Social shopping

Refers to product discovery, research, and sharing that happens on social networks. Consumers browse products, read reviews, get recommendations from peers, share finds, etc. directly on social platforms.

Social advertising

This involves brands promoting products through paid ads targeted to specific audiences on social platforms. Ad types include video ads, carousels, Stories ads, etc. The goal is generating awareness and sales.

Social selling

This involves brands and salespeople directly selling products through social networks. They engage audiences by sharing demos, providing advice, driving referrals, and enabling transactions through tools like in-app stores.

In-app social commerce

In-app commerce allows consumers to complete the entire shopping experience within a social app itself, without having to visit an external site. Payment, checkout, and support can all happen in-app through integrated third-party platforms.

How Canopy Management Can Help

For Amazon-native brands, implementing social commerce is a critical piece of an omnichannel sales strategy. Relying solely on Amazon’s internal traffic is no longer enough in today’s competitive marketplace.

Embracing platforms like Instagram and TikTok provides new avenues to creatively engage shoppers, drive product discovery, and increase sales velocity for listings. The trends are clear – consumers want to discover and buy products through social channels.

Clever Amazon sellers are getting ahead of this shift by proactively reaching out to Amazon agencies for help building their brands on social networks. If you’re looking to future-proof your business and amplify your ecommerce brand’s staying power and profitability, it’s time to reach out to Canopy Management. 

As shopping activity continues migrating onto social feeds, brands need strong foundational presences ready to capture interested shoppers in the moment. The winners in tomorrow’s Amazon environment will be those who complement their core business with social commerce today.

Canopy Management is a full-service marketing agency for Amazon and Walmart sellers. Our team consists of former Amazonians, multi-million dollar sellers, and award-winning experts. 

When you consider the many ways that Canopy Management can help you grow your business, you’ll see why selling on Amazon is much easier “under the Canopy.”

• Strategic Growth Planning
• Listing Copywriting Optimization
• Listing Photography
• Product Videography
• Advertising Management
• Customer Service
• Demand Side Platform (Amazon DSP)
• Amazon Posts
• Full Service Management
• Amazon Review Aggregation