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Heading into 2024, two trends are reshaping the way businesses interact with their customers. First, the gap between awareness and purchase is narrowing. This is evident in the surge in popularity of social commerce, which combines social media discovery with e-commerce. Second, there is a growing consensus across the country that businesses should contribute to the well-being of their communities. This expectation goes beyond traditional notions of corporate responsibility and calls for businesses to take the lead in building stronger local economies and more resilient communities.
Both trends present opportunities for businesses to create competitive advantage and growth opportunities, and demonstrate why organizations’ social platforms should be a strategic priority in the year ahead.
Related: How to create a great social media marketing plan for under $100
Bridging the gap between discovery and purchase
With increasing demand for convenience and immediacy, consumers are moving through the consideration phase of the traditional awareness, consideration, and purchase process at lightning speed online. This shift requires companies to focus on converting customers in real-time. Social media is becoming the first choice for consumers to engage with their favorite brands, shop their favorite products, and discover new products. Digital discoveries often lead directly to purchases, so integrating the shopping experience into consumers’ social media feeds is essential to meeting their desire for convenience and immediacy. This approach responds to changing consumer behavior by emphasizing seamless, personalized interactions with brands in familiar online spaces.
Social media platforms regularly roll out new features. For example, last year, TikTok launched his TikTok Shop, and Instagram replaced its “Live Shopping” section with “Buy Now” and “Add to Cart” buttons, making it easy for users to shop for products while scrolling through their feed. Allows purchase and reel interface.
Retailers are finding that social commerce platforms such as TikTok Shopping, Instagram, and YouTube Shopping have become vibrant markets. This is not a fad. Statista predicts that social commerce will generate $3.37 trillion by 2028 at an annual growth rate of nearly 30%.
Last December, Walmart harnessed the power of social commerce with its innovative “Add to Heart” shoppable series, which combines the holiday tradition of shopping and watching holiday movies. A first-of-its-kind shoppable commercial His series featured over 330 products featured in the series available for purchase in real time, including furniture, Christmas decorations, and clothing worn by cast members. Customers can watch “Add to Heart” on TikTok, Roku, YouTube and Walmart’s social media channels, and can shop from home or on the go with TikTok’s video shopping ads and Roku’s “Ok to Text” feature. Ta.
The uses and benefits of social commerce are not limited to consumer retail. LinkedIn’s native lead generation provides easy access to in-video actions and more to bridge the gap between discovery and B2B sales. Social commerce is also a viable sales platform for service providers. While insurance companies can’t offer products that customers can add to their virtual shopping carts, they can deliver engaging content and generate leads and sales through social commerce.
For now, to take advantage of this trend, businesses need to create interactive and entertaining content that engages audiences who don’t set foot in a physical location. But social platforms and the tools they provide are constantly changing, and what works today may not work tomorrow. That’s why it’s important to regularly review, adapt and leverage your customer engagement and social media strategies.
Make community building a business priority
While social commerce platforms are transforming traditional sales models, there are equally important changes occurring in how businesses interact with their communities and the role social media platforms play in that interaction.
Organizations of all sizes must make promoting the well-being of their local communities a top priority in 2024. By understanding what matters most to their communities, companies can achieve greater visibility and create positive change. Demonstrating our commitment to our communities, employees, and customers is a strategic choice and a key driver of long-term success.
At Walmart, we know that’s true for us too. Although Walmart is a large company, we are also a collection of businesses in more than 4,600 communities and are committed to being good stewards of the places our employees and customers call home. We aim to:
- Through our omnichannel business model and everyday low prices, we create value for our communities by providing convenient access to quality products and services at affordable prices.
- We contribute to economic vitality by providing quality jobs, training and career paths, investing in local suppliers and contributing to local economies.
- We strengthen community resilience by supporting local organizations and activities important to our customers and employees, increasing access to food, and disaster preparedness and response.
- We build more inclusive and engaging communities by promoting equity, supporting caring and connected communities, and deepening engagement with our stores and clubs and the communities around them.
Consider how your social media strategy can help you optimize your approach. Social media platforms are great tools for “listening” to ongoing conversations and understanding what’s important in your community. We also identify opportunities to get involved and make meaningful contributions to things that are important to our community. Humbly sharing your company’s engagement on social media can help increase visibility and likeability and enhance your company’s reputation.
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