Like and buy: How to strike gold with social commerce
Social platforms provide brands with a unique window to meet shoppers where they are most engaged. Find out how brands can build a profitable social commerce strategy.
Social media is nothing new to online fashion brands, but the arrival of Instagram direct response ads could impact revenue possibilities significantly.
First, let’s think about the influence that social media has on shoppers. Social platforms are places where shoppers can connect with one another. I just checked out on Amazon the other day and a message popped up, encouraging me to share my purchase on Facebook.
That’s a genius move for the retailer because McKinsey estimates that 20-50 percent of purchases are the result of word of mouth. While social recommendations might not be as personal as a recommendation from a close friend, they’re still pretty close.
So the question here is: how can retailers cash in on social media, and Instagram in particular?
Instagram direct response ads: pros and cons
Instagram is an interesting social platform for a few reasons. It is image-based (which makes it a perfect fit for fashion brands) and it’s rather strict on where links can be placed.
It gives users the opportunity to put a live link below their bios, but links within captions or comments aren’t clickable. Sure, this makes spamming less likely, but it is also kind of a pain when trying to encourage viewers to become customers.
Regardless, it’s still an attractive app, with 300 million users who spend over 21 minutes on it each day. Earlier this month, Instagram announced that it would soon introduce “direct response” ads.
Not only that, but they will also have call to action buttons, such as “sign up,” “learn more,” and, you guessed it, “shop now.” Don’t forget that Instagram is owned by Facebook, meaning that it has access to a ton of demographics data.
Therefore, these new Instagram ads will by hyper-targeted, using a large amount of data beyond the basic information that Instagram requires for its accounts. The only problem is the layout of Instagram. Its single feed makes it tough to have multiple ads without blatantly disrupting the user experience.
On top of that, getting Instagrammers to shop can be a bit tricky.
Think about it: they open the app to see pictures of their friends’ lunches, cousins’ vacations, and cat videos. Sure, a large number of users follow brands, but getting them to click through to buy, instead of just continuing to scroll down their feed, is quite the feat.
Michele Schuh, media director at Old Navy, however, is optimistic. She told Adweek, “It’s an ideal platform to shop on as it’s so visual and fashion oriented. We’re thrilled that Instagram is now offering users the ability to click directly through to a product, creating instant gratification without any cumbersome steps.”
Schuh isn’t alone because there are certainly numbers to back up her opinions about Instagram. Engagement on the platform is much higher than other social sites.
While the top 25 most engaging brands on Twitter only see a 0.07 percent engagement rate per post, the top 25 on Instagram see a 3.31 percent rate — that’s over 47 times more engagement! Of course, Instagram and Twitter have inherently different types of content, but it’s still a positive sign for brands’ success rates on Instagram.
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Instagram tips for retailers
So what’s a fashion brand to do? Well for starters, now’s the time to figure out the types of images that your followers like the most.
Do they want to feel like they’re the first to know when you post images of new products you’ve launched? What about celebrities that are wearing your styles? Even try crowd sourcing images of your followers wearing your clothes. This will make your account more relatable and engaging for your average follower.
Once you’ve built up your following and have a distinctive Instagram style, it’s time to get to selling. Social commerce is heating up and Instagram is a big opportunity that fashion brands need to explore.
Luckily fashion brands aren’t the only ones that can benefit from Instagram, especially with the handful of new call to action buttons that can relate to a number of industries.
