This year’s holiday season is all about making the social world shoppable. In particular, companies are being given the access and the opportunity to make their content, images and videos shoppable this season. The reason this is big news for companies is this is a trend that interests people. According to PwC’s 2018 Holiday Lookout study, more than 40 percent of Millennials and 25 percent of Gen Z shoppers will purchase through shoppable photos this year.
Here’s how social platforms are innovating this season – and you can too right along with them.
Instagram just announced three new ways for users to shop while browsing their favorite photos of pets, food, travel, family and friends. The new features help people discover fresh products, shop for their preferred brands, and keep track of all their shopping inspiration in one place.
Instagram continues to transition from a photo-sharing site to an ecommerce platform. According to their statistics, 80 percent of their users followed a brand by choice last year. So they really stepped it up this holiday season, making it even easier for users to make purchases in their app.
Here are the three enhancements companies can use to their advantage:
- The new “Shopping Collection” offers a way for users scrolling a Story or Feed to save products they like or are interested in directly to their profile. It’s a quick and easy way to browse, like, and buy holiday gifts.
- A redesign of the Shop Tab on Business Profiles allows users to view all the products featured in their shopping posts. This provides companies the opportunity to have people view all their purchasable items in one place.
- Users can also buy products right from video posts. In September Instagram added this feature to images, so videos are a natural progression.
Businesses that have built compelling content or are working with influencers, can cease this opportunity to make their content, images, and videos shoppable.
Snapchat is another social platform that is moving forward with in-app commerce as well. Just ahead of the holiday season, Snapchat partnered with Amazon in September to allow users while in their Snapchat app to scan or take a photo of a product they’re interested in, which then brings up a card showing that item or similar ones available on Amazon. Snapchat users tap on the one they want and they’re sent to Amazon’s app or site to buy the product.
In November, Facebook went in the opposite direction and is giving 100 small businesses the opportunity to have not just an online presence, but a physical footprint as well. Facebook opened up pop-up shops within Macy stores in nine different cities, rotating brands and merchandise in a space called “The Market” throughout the holiday season.
The Market space features News Feed post-themed displays from brands that utilize Facebook and Instagram. The shops are open now through February 2, 2019.
Twitter has some tips for businesses this holiday season too. And they all start with incorporating video into your tweets. As they note, tweets with video attract 10X more engagements than those without.
Suggestions for happy holiday tweets include:
- Create a video gift-giving guide of your favorite products and services. In video format you can combine great product visuals with holiday messaging.
- Shine the spotlight on a particular product or service. Maybe you don’t have time for a whole gift guide, choose one product to highlight — in-depth and in a fun way.
- Say “Thank You” people always like to hear. An authentic message of appreciation from an owner lets customers know how grateful you are for them.
- The holidays are stressful, put a smile on followers’ faces. Create a holiday message that offers fans a break during this often-hectic time of the year.
Interested in holiday messaging and promotions for your company? Modern Marketing Partners is here to help.
