13 Oct 3 Social Buying Options to Drive Social Commerce During the Holiday Season
With the holidays right around the corner, and with social buying options on social networks increasing on a weekly basis, I wanted to recap a few of the more promising social buying options your brand might want to consider if driving eCommerce sales during the holiday season is a priority.
Option 1: Video Carousel Ads on Facebook
For many clients, we’re seeing nice click through rates to eCommerce from Facebook Carousel ads. With the announcement from Facebook that video can now be added to the Carousel, brands have more options to explain or showcase a product, or series of products, before users click through to buy.
Idea: Consider how to help users with gifts around the holidays. A gift basket “How-To” video could be followed by a Carousel of product shots from the products included in the tutorial. Or a brands could have an influencer create a showcase and talk about their favorite products from a brand, with the products to follow. The possibilities are endless.
Option 2: Twitter Buy Button
The most recent expansion of the Twitter Buy Button with popular commerce platforms like Bigcommerce, Demandware, and Shopify may make the Twitter Buy button even more available for brands to leverage this holiday season. It’s ease of use for the consumer is also attractive, with just a few quick steps to make a purchase.
Idea: Consider testing the Twitter Buy Button with an attractive product at an attractive offer. Think more about how to activate your followers to make an impulse buy rather than a considered purchase, and what levers you need to encourage them to make the purchase from Twitter (exclusivity is key). Black Friday and Cyber Monday are both good days to consider leveraging this offering, as users may feel they are getting a more exclusive deal.
Option 3: Pinterest Buy Button
Pinterest buy buttons don’t require a media spend, although one is certainly recommended to boost visibility. Given many users go to Pinterest for gift inspiration, it’s in most brand’s interest to start the integration process with their existing eCommerce platform in advance of the holiday season. Currently Pinterest integrates with 5 platforms, including Bigcommerce, Demandware, IBM Commerce, Magento, and Shopify.
Idea: Create category-themed gift boards on Pinterest. Ensure content on these boards is a mixture of driving direct purchases (using buyable pins), but also includes content that inspires and provides an assortment of gifting ideas. These gift boards could also be personalized to the type of person someone may be gifting for, to provide even more context and inspiration many Pinners may need before making a purchase.
With many of these “buyable” options, brands need to go ahead and start exploring eCommerce platform integration sooner rather than later in the holiday season. Ensuring this integration is set up in advance of the busy season will allow brands to test and learn before a very critical time period.
All of this said, brands should think of their social strategy leading up to and during the holiday season from a holistic perspective. In the frenzy of these new opportunities, it’s still important to remember that consumers are likely to be in varying stages of the purchase funnel, and that efforts aimed to increase awareness and consideration shouldn’t be forgotten.
