The role of social networks has today gone beyond the family or friendly circle, and extends to various areas, particularly business. This development gives way to a new means of marketing, online sales . In this sense, the place of social networks in e-commerce is of capital importance given the number of users constituting potential customers. This article develops the challenges of social media for e-commerce .
What is e-commerce?
The term e-commerce represents the different commercial transactions that take place remotely over
the Internet. It is also called e-commerce and online sales .
Exchanges take place through digital media: computers, tablets, smartphones, etc. With the evolution of e-commerce, mail order sales have now become distance sales and are increasingly moving towards m-commerce or mobile commerce.
E-commerce represents an opportunity for merchants to the extent that it extends the customer area , adds a distribution channel, increases sales time, improves the profit margin by reducing fixed costs, develops customer relations, facilitates purchasing, etc. Indeed, e-commerce is particularly functional for consumers. They have access to more offers, at more advantageous prices and with the added bonus of more time to learn about the product.
The role of social networks in e-commerce
Understanding the role of social networks in e-commerce means understanding its usefulness.
Create a community of consumers
With social networks, it is possible to create a community . This fact makes it possible to unite and build customer loyalty around the brand. Thus, social media strengthens the credibility of the brand and consumer confidence in it.
Improve customer service
Social networks facilitate interaction between the brand and the consumer thanks to the immediacy of responses to customer requests, the viral effect of a publication, or even the promotion of products with intelligent functionalities. Social media thus makes it possible to facilitate communication between the seller and the consumer at any time.
Better understand customers
The billions of users themselves feed social networks with personal information. This makes these platforms a relevant source of information on customers allowing the creation of a more personalized, more refined and therefore more effective approach.
Convince consumers to buy
Social networks have a strong influence on the customer's purchasing decision. The content produced on these channels is more relevant and has more visibility thanks to its permanent connection with customers. Moreover, in 2017 , investments in digital exceeded those made in television.
The importance of social networks in e-commerce
Thus, social networks represent a lever in their own right for developing an e-commerce activity. As of 2017, 83% of e-retailers choose these platforms for commercial purposes. In March 2017, 8 million businesses had a business account on the Instagram platform. In July, this figure rose to 15 million . And towards the end of that same year, 25 million businesses had an account on this photo and video sharing platform. These figures reveal the growing interest that e-commerce companies have in social networks. This rapid evolution can be explained by the strong added value that these platforms represent for their activities.
The success of their online store does not only depend on the quality of the products sold, but also on the increase in traffic to their site. Social media is an excellent traffic vector and a way to face international competition by communicating with a large audience, because 48% of the world's population uses social networks, or 3.7 billion people .
In addition, putting social at the center of the strategy allows both access to valuable data concerning consumers, to facilitate the purchasing process by facilitating access to the product, and to reach a target. increasingly connected. The figures are decisive: more than 2/3 of French people are registered on at least one of the social platforms and spend nearly 1.5 hours per day ; 1/4 of Internet users say they consult social networks to find information on a product or service before purchasing; 62% of Internet users have already shared information about a product on social networks after purchasing it, and 56% of Internet users assure that publications from loved ones influence their purchasing action. “social media” strategy is thus a real consumer relay.
Which platforms for which objectives?
E-commerce businesses use social networks for three main objectives: to make their brand known, to disseminate their promotional offers and to promote customer relations. However, it is important to emphasize that social networks do not broadcast the same message. In this case, it is necessary to determine the target in advance, as well as the message you wish to convey. We will take the example of three mainstream social networks.
It is the most used tool with 33 million active French users per month and 2.45 billion users worldwide . It allows companies to create and relay content (competitions very adapted to the viral mode of the Internet), to carry out surveys and advertisements, to program event activities (live, story, etc.), to communicate with their audience. It thus promotes: the development of brand awareness, the promotion of products, and the animation of the community.
It is a platform that requires a lot of availability, because it requires great responsiveness. It is mainly used to communicate during events or to provide technical support . It's an interesting platform, with 12 million monthly active French users and 145 million users worldwide. Twitter is banking on influencer notoriety. In this sense, it is more judicious for your brand to create a relationship with a blogger who will test your products initially, and who will then relay the products once he is convinced of them.
Focus on the “visual” , highlighting the images of the products. This platform is used by 17 million active French people per month, and by 1 billion people around the world. It is very appreciated, and even essential in the world of fashion, decoration, gastronomy, tourism, etc. In short, in areas where the visual aspect is essential. Thus, the applications most frequently used by brands are: putting catalogs online , disseminating photos taken in situations, and displaying technical descriptions.
Beyond simple animation tools, social networks constitute real opportunities for online businesses and are becoming real sales platforms in their own right.
