Social Commerce Guide: Start Today with Expert Tips
Social commerce is the process of promoting and selling products directly within social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Here’s why (and how) your ecommerce company should get started.
Data shows 82% of consumers use social media platforms to discover and research products — and now, they don’t even have to leave the platform to make a purchase.
This is thanks to social commerce. While not a new concept, it’s rapidly transforming ecommerce, with social commerce sales projected to exceed $150 billion by 2028.
For ecommerce businesses, this isn’t just another trend; it’s a powerful way to boost brand awareness, build trust, enhance the customer experience, and drive sales.
This guide will highlight how to get started with social commerce, with expert insights from Kaleigh Myers, Senior Paid Social Media Manager at HawkSEM.
Social commerce is a particular type of online shopping where social media platforms are the sales channel. (Image: Unsplash)
What is social commerce?
Social commerce is the purchasing and selling of products directly through social media platforms or apps like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest.
With shopping features integrated into the apps, users can complete the purchase journey without navigating to a separate site.
Now, social media channels can lead the consumer through the entire shopping journey, from product discovery to conversion.
Social commerce vs. ecommerce
Ecommerce is an umbrella term for any form of online shopping through a brand’s website, apps, or mobile platforms.
Social commerce is a particular type of online shopping where social media platforms are the sales channel.
Not all social commerce sellers need their own ecommerce site. However, those that do can leverage social commerce to increase traffic to their website.
Social commerce vs. social selling
Social commerce is the selling and purchasing of products through social media platforms, whereas social selling is the lead generation technique of engaging with a prospect directly through social media.
Benefits of social commerce
Social commerce benefits ecommerce businesses by increasing brand visibility, engagement, and sales through a more seamless and personalized shopping experience.
Here’s a closer look at social commerce’s benefits:
1. Improved brand visibility
Because shopping is integrated directly into a user’s content feed, algorithms can surface products to new audiences through shares, engagement, and effective targeting.
2. Personalized shopping experience
Social platforms use demographic data and user behaviour to deliver product recommendations that are tailored to each social media user’s interests.
3. Built-in trust signals
Reviews, likes, comments, and influencer endorsements are built into the platform, giving shoppers the confidence to purchase products faster.
4. Higher engagement
Brands can build stronger relationships with their target audience by interacting directly with shoppers through comments, DMs, and livestreams. Users can also share their experiences with posts, tags, and reviews.
5. Seamless shopping experience
From new product discovery and browsing to research and purchasing, potential customers can follow every stage of the customer journey without leaving their favorite social network.
6. Influencer and UGC opportunities
Partnering with influencers or creators helps brands expand reach quickly while adding credibility through authentic voices.
7. Increased sales
With a faster path to purchase, social commerce can lead to higher conversion rates than traditional ecommerce techniques.
8. Built-in analytics
Social platforms provide real-time data on customer behavior, such as clicks, saves, shares, and purchases. These metrics help ecommerce businesses refine their marketing strategies.
Types of social commerce strategies
Social commerce is more than just shoppable videos or online stores. Here are key social commerce features and formats to choose from:
1. Shoppable posts and ads
Social media content (images, video content, carousels) with tagged products that users can purchase directly.
(Image: Instagram screenshot)
2. In-app checkout
The ability to buy products within the social platform, without being redirected to another website.
3. Influencer and creator partnerships
Collaborating with influencers or amplifying authentic user-generated content helps brands tap into trusted communities and drive word-of-mouth growth.
4. Livestream shopping
Real-time product demonstrations and Q&As create an interactive experience that can help address concerns and encourage impulse purchases.
Best social commerce platforms
There are a whole lot of social commerce tools to choose from. We tapped Myers for her top platform picks:
1. TikTok
“TikTok is looking at 35.8 million buyers in 2025 and doubling down on increasing their focus on ecommerce advertising features — making the TikTok Shop easier to use and any piece of content monetizable,” Myers explains.
(Image: TikTok)
With a young audience ready to impulse buy, brands are flocking to TikTok.
“70% of TikTok’s user base is under 35,” says Myers. “But on average, these users spend up to 26 hours per month on the platform, which is more time spent on YouTube on average.”
2. Meta (Instagram + Facebook)
“Meta has recently started pulling back on their focus with ecomm purchases, taking away Meta Shop checkout options,” says Myers.
However, “Instagram is still a great platform for product discoverability, while Meta’s ad platform is best for retargeting and continuing to show up to users after engaging with an ad.”
It’s also important to look at the numbers:
“Instagram’s primary user base consists of Gen Z and Millennials, with over 60% of users being under 35, although it maintains a broad appeal across age groups,” Myers explains.
Facebook has the largest overall active user base, but younger demographics are less engaged, with Millennials and Baby Boomers being the most engaged demographics on the platform.
(Image: Facebook screenshot)
“By using Meta’s platforms together, both organic and paid, you can build a full omnichannel experience of product or brand announcements through eye-catching content, influencer campaigns, or user-generated content,” says Myers.
One way to do this? “Tagging products directly in organic content can provide valuable insights into product engagement,” she adds.
3. Pinterest
Pinterest allows you to get in front of users based on what they are searching for.
“This channel is the perfect marriage between social media scrollable inspiration with the high-intent searchability of paid search ads,” says Myers.
(Image: Pinterest screenshot)
“You also can repurpose content developed for SEO purposes on your website into Pinterest to increase traffic,” says Myers.
The rise of shopping on social media
While social shopping is a booming ecommerce movement today, the term “social commerce” was technically coined in 2005 by Yahoo! Then, it simply described online shopping with social features like ratings and reviews.
Here’s an overview of how social commerce became the powerhouse it is today:
Social commerce tips
Are you ready to start your social commerce strategy? Don’t forget these top tips from our expert.
- Consider a holistic approach
- Choose the right platform for your audience
- Optimize your profile
- Create shoppable content
- Leverage live streaming and chats
- Explore UGC content and influencer marketing
- Find ways to stand out
- Use retargeting
1. Consider a holistic approach
Just like search engine marketing, a well-rounded social commerce plan involves both paid ads and non-paid efforts that keep search engine optimization (SEO) best practices in mind.
“A strong organic strategy can relieve the stress of your paid strategy,” says Myers.
“If you are able to engage with your audience organically, grow your followers, and produce beautiful posts that users click on, engage, or share, that will help your ad strategy significantly (across all channels).”
Outside of creating compelling virtual storefronts and shoppable ads, post organically and thoughtfully to stay top of mind with followers.
Apparel brand Richer Poorer has its own unique hashtag in its Instagram bio to encourage UGC. (Image: Instagram screenshot)
2. Choose the right platform for your audience
Before launching into a social commerce campaign, make sure your platform matches your audience.
If your target audience is Gen Z or Millennials, TikTok and Instagram are probably more effective than they would be for a Boomer audience.
3. Optimize your profile
Treat your social media profile like your ecommerce website. Or, in other words, treat it like a digital storefront — not just places for content. To do this:
- Use consistent branding: Use a clear, recognizable logo as your profile picture, write a compelling bio, and keep branding consistent with your website.
- Include important business information: Make sure your profile information is filled out completely with up-to-date information.
- Add a clickable link in bio: This should include product collections, promos, or bestsellers.
- Showcase social proof: Reviews, testimonials, and customer stories should be added to posts and highlights.
- Use keywords for discoverability: Using keywords in bios, captions, and hashtags can help profiles rank in social and Google searches.
- Engage with your audience: Respond to comments and DMs. To encourage more engagement, leverage polls, Q&As, and interactive stickers.
- Post a mix of content: Make sure your profile isn’t full of promotional content alone. Include content that is educational and entertaining as well.
4. Create shoppable content
When it’s time to create shoppable content, here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Choose your products: Highlight bestsellers, seasonal items, or products that are visually appealing.
- Use high-quality visuals: Professional photos or videos that clearly show the product in action, as well as more organic UGC content to build authenticity.
- Add product tags: In posts, Reels, Stories, or videos. Be sure to include prices and product names.
- Include a clear CTA: Use natural, action-oriented language to get users to shop or buy now.
- Write compelling captions and descriptions: They should be concise and describe the product and its benefits.
5. Leverage live streaming and chats
Livestreaming, or live social shopping, is gaining popularity in the U.S., providing a sense of urgency while giving sellers a direct channel to interact with potential customers in real time.
Some ways to use live streaming effectively include:
- Q&As
- Product demos
- Live-only promotions and discounts
- Influencer collaborations
- Save and republish livestreams as Stories, Reels, or highlights
Additionally, chat features offer a personalized experience, with recommendations, support, and ongoing engagement with cart abandoners and inquiries.
Together, livestreaming and chat allow you to replicate the in-store shopping experience online.
6. Explore UGC content and influencer marketing
Using social media influencers to promote your content can be another important part of a well-rounded social media marketing campaign.
Many businesses are now shifting their focus from influencers with followers in the multi-millions to more micro-influencers (10k-50k followers) and nano-influencers (1k-10k followers).
Smaller influencers are often more in touch with their audiences as there are fewer people, allowing for more interactions and engagement.
7. Find ways to stand out
“Social Media is a passive marketing channel,” says Myers. “Users are scrolling through posts and posts and posts — your content or ad needs to stand out from those posts.”
Whether it’s teaming up with a known influencer, utilizing bright colors and eye-catching photography, or using trending sounds with your own flair, “the content needs to stand out to our target audience for them to click through and purchase.”
8. Use retargeting
Keep showing up to users who visited your website. “If you sell seasonal items — during their in-season, retarget users from last year and users who visited the related pages in the last 60 days,” says Myers.
“If you sell high-cost items ( more than$200), continue to get in front of users who showed interest and add more value to the product with each ad, testing different messaging to see what converts those high-intent users.”
If you sell to a niche audience? “Use audience-specific content (blogs, messaging targeting a specific demo) with traffic ads to increase high-quality traffic to your website and retarget with category options, products, testimonials, etc.,” she recommends.
Social commerce trends
Social commerce is evolving fast. Here are some top trends Myers has noticed:
Everything can be an ad
TikTok pays creators between $0.40 and $1.00 per 1,000 views through the Creator Rewards Program, which amounts to $400 to $1,000 for 1 million views.
“If users are over 18 with 10,000-100,000 followers, they can apply to the rewards program, tag a product in their post, and earn money from that post,” says Myers. “They pay out more for videos over 1 minute, so users tend to make videos around 2 minutes long to get higher payouts.”
In other words? “TikTok has made anything monetizable,” says Myers.
“And everyone’s now an influencer, so customer experience should be as special to each customer as it would be to a celebrity influencer because any piece of content can blow up and go viral now.”
Meta wants to hold the reins on targeting
“With Meta Lead Generation, App Install, and Shopping Campaigns, many interest filters are now considered ‘suggestions’ within Meta,” says Myers.
“This is especially important for niche target audiences (for example, if you are targeting professionals rather than all people for your products).”
Creative and retargeting are becoming more and more important with paid social. Because of this, your creative needs to speak directly to your target audience.
The takeaway
As social commerce continues to evolve, it’s important to stay up to date with the latest trends and marketing experts.
If your ecommerce business doesn’t have the resources or expertise to tackle social commerce strategies, consider reaching out to an agency for help.
HawkSEM’s experts are well-versed in all the nuances of both paid social and social ecommerce.
We’ve helped brands like Swimsuits Direct and Grayson Living achieve more than 5 times their return on ad spend and double year-over-year SEM revenue.
Looking to take your online sales to the next level? Get in touch.
This article has been updated and was originally published in March 2021.
