{"id":7179,"date":"2014-10-10T11:52:32","date_gmt":"2014-10-10T16:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/?p=7179"},"modified":"2024-10-09T16:41:35","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T21:41:35","slug":"social-commerce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Social Commerce?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post is contributed by Kate Talbot, Marketing Lead at Soldsie<\/a>, a social-selling platform that enables retailers to sell their items over social channels like Facebook and Instagram.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online sales are essential to the success of most businesses today. In fact, one of the newest modes of consumerism is known as social commerce, which is the convergence of eCommerce and varying social aspects of online media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a rapidly growing consumer audience who is online and using social media, vendors are following suit by making their online shopping process more social as well. This can include anything from user ratings and reviews to social shopping tools and apps, to social communities and forums. All these elements are focused around a business\u2019s products and services, and using the social element to build trust with potential customers and make sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Commerce 101<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Social commerce is a rapidly expanding consumer-driven marketing and sales methods to improve business ratings and profit margins. It utilizes the inherently social nature of people, and the shopping experience, to give vendors more insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 Forms of Social Commerce<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Social Shopping<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 These sites offer chats and forums designed to imitate shopping with friends.\u00a0GoTryitOn<\/a>\u00a0is one example that offers these functions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Peer to Peer<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Peer to peer is when individuals communicate with and sell directly to one another. Etsy<\/a>\u00a0is representative of this form.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Participatory Commerce<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0This type of commerce<\/em> allows users to create, fund, design and be actively involved in the production of merchandise. Kickstarter<\/a>\u00a0rocks the house in this arena.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Social Network Driven<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 With the help of 3rd party tools like\u00a0Soldsie,\u00a0<\/a>you can sell directly to your friends and fans through social media sites. Here\u2019s where social networks like\u00a0Facebook<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/em>\u00a0come in.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. User Curated<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 These sites allow consumers to create lists of products to help each other shop.\u00a0The Fancy\u00a0<\/a>is one such venue.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Group Buying<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Sites like\u00a0Groupon<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Living Social\u00a0<\/a>provide discounted products in exchange for mass purchases.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Peer Recommendations<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0These sites include purchase recommendations and user reviews to initiate additional sales. Amazon<\/a>\u00a0is a good example of a site that includes peer recommendations.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    How Social Commerce Works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The typical eCommerce model focuses on a straightforward, one-way relationship where the customer is directed to an online store to make a purchase. However, social commerce takes a different approach. It creates a collaborative and participative environment between both the consumer and online store, allowing for a more social and tailored shopping experience. Here\u2019s how social commerce works with the sales funnel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"soldsie-social-commerce-funnel\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • It works with consumer\u2019s longer term, through a sales funnel. The funnel creates a top down goal: product exposure, identifying interest, additional advertising, time-sensitive deals, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • It\u2019s not directly transactional, it\u2019s not short term, and it is not direct response. It is about building a relationship that gives the shopper more than a click-to-buy experience.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The purpose is to learn what consumers are interested in and match those desires in a way that is perceived as helpful.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • It provides customers with real life data from others. This helps them analyze if a product is valuable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The Benefits of Social Commerce<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      There are a number of benefits to utilizing social commerce to help your business succeed. Here are just a few:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • It builds loyal customer relationships.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • It institutes a brand reputation online.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • It creates lower return rates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • It makes monitoring customer feedback less complicated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • It\u2019s great for SEO.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • It provides product and brand data for business decisions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Being on social is no longer a nice-to-have for a business, but an essential part of it. Now, it’s not only for engagement, but also for selling your products. Learn the basics about social selling with our partner, Soldsie!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":7186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-shipping-basics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is Social Commerce? | ShipStation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A growing market, social commerce creates a collaboration between the consumer and online store. Learn social commerce basics with our partner, Soldsie!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is Social Commerce?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A growing market, social commerce creates a collaboration between the consumer and online store. Learn social commerce basics with our partner, Soldsie!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ShipStation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ShipStation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-10T16:52:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-09T21:41:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/soldsie-social-selling-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"840\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Guest Poster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@shipstation\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@shipstation\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest Poster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Guest Poster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/54a4dab46fbbafdb767dcdd5a08d4916\"},\"headline\":\"What is Social Commerce?\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-10T16:52:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-09T21:41:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/\"},\"wordCount\":585,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/soldsie-social-selling-header.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Shipping Basics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/\",\"name\":\"What is Social Commerce? | ShipStation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/soldsie-social-selling-header.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-10T16:52:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-09T21:41:35+00:00\",\"description\":\"A growing market, social commerce creates a collaboration between the consumer and online store. Learn social commerce basics with our partner, Soldsie!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/soldsie-social-selling-header.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/soldsie-social-selling-header.jpg\",\"width\":840,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is Social Commerce?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/\",\"name\":\"ShipStation\",\"description\":\"Powerful shipping, simplified. eBay, Amazon, Magento eCommerce shipping\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ShipStation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ShipStation-Lockup-DarkGreen-RGB.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ShipStation-Lockup-DarkGreen-RGB.svg\",\"width\":1550,\"height\":247,\"caption\":\"ShipStation\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ShipStation\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/shipstation\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/shipstation\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/shipstation\/\"],\"description\":\"The fulfillment engine behind hundreds of thousands of online sellers, ShipStation combines order management, rate shopping, inventory, and returns all in one platform, delivering 15x more labels per hour and up to 90% shipping discounts through 200+ carriers.\",\"telephone\":\"(512) 886-4006\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"1001\",\"maxValue\":\"5000\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/54a4dab46fbbafdb767dcdd5a08d4916\",\"name\":\"Guest Poster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3495ef907364b689c09df361e635a75d1553077d5872bdc0aab502453abf1bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3495ef907364b689c09df361e635a75d1553077d5872bdc0aab502453abf1bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guest Poster\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/author\/guestpost\/\"},{\"@type\":\"SoftwareApplication\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com#software-application\",\"name\":\"ShipStation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\",\"applicationCategory\":\"BusinessApplication\",\"operatingSystem\":\"Web Browser\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is Social Commerce? | ShipStation","description":"A growing market, social commerce creates a collaboration between the consumer and online store. Learn social commerce basics with our partner, Soldsie!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What is Social Commerce?","og_description":"A growing market, social commerce creates a collaboration between the consumer and online store. Learn social commerce basics with our partner, Soldsie!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/","og_site_name":"ShipStation","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ShipStation\/","article_published_time":"2014-10-10T16:52:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-09T21:41:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":840,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/soldsie-social-selling-header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Guest Poster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@shipstation","twitter_site":"@shipstation","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest Poster","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/"},"author":{"name":"Guest Poster","@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/54a4dab46fbbafdb767dcdd5a08d4916"},"headline":"What is Social Commerce?","datePublished":"2014-10-10T16:52:32+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-09T21:41:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/"},"wordCount":585,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/soldsie-social-selling-header.jpg","articleSection":["Shipping Basics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/","name":"What is Social Commerce? | ShipStation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/soldsie-social-selling-header.jpg","datePublished":"2014-10-10T16:52:32+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-09T21:41:35+00:00","description":"A growing market, social commerce creates a collaboration between the consumer and online store. Learn social commerce basics with our partner, Soldsie!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/soldsie-social-selling-header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/soldsie-social-selling-header.jpg","width":840,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/social-commerce\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is Social Commerce?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/","name":"ShipStation","description":"Powerful shipping, simplified. eBay, Amazon, Magento eCommerce shipping","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#organization","name":"ShipStation","url":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ShipStation-Lockup-DarkGreen-RGB.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ShipStation-Lockup-DarkGreen-RGB.svg","width":1550,"height":247,"caption":"ShipStation"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ShipStation\/","https:\/\/x.com\/shipstation","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/shipstation","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/shipstation\/"],"description":"The fulfillment engine behind hundreds of thousands of online sellers, ShipStation combines order management, rate shopping, inventory, and returns all in one platform, delivering 15x more labels per hour and up to 90% shipping discounts through 200+ carriers.","telephone":"(512) 886-4006","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"1001","maxValue":"5000"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/54a4dab46fbbafdb767dcdd5a08d4916","name":"Guest Poster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3495ef907364b689c09df361e635a75d1553077d5872bdc0aab502453abf1bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c3495ef907364b689c09df361e635a75d1553077d5872bdc0aab502453abf1bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Guest Poster"},"url":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/blog\/author\/guestpost\/"},{"@type":"SoftwareApplication","@id":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com#software-application","name":"ShipStation","url":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com","applicationCategory":"BusinessApplication","operatingSystem":"Web Browser"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shipstation.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}