Social media is the future of consumer shopping, so it’s no surprise that 59% of social sellers say they’ve made more sales through social media this year compared to last. More yet, 87% of social sellers say social selling has been effective for their business this year.
Whether you’re new to social selling or looking to revamp your strategy, you might be wondering where these social sellers are finding success. In this post, we’ll discuss the best social selling channels to use according to our recent data and the best features these channels have to offer.
Best Social Selling Channels
1. Facebook
Facebook is the most popular social selling platform among those who sell products directly within the app. And B2C salespeople report discovering new prospects most effectively through Facebook.
Consumer perspective: Facebook is the most trusted social shopping platform among consumers, and they also report it offers the second-best in-app shopping experience. Since consumers already have a built-in level of trust for shopping on the app, the potential for drawing in your audience and driving sales is high.
2. Instagram
77% of sellers who sell products directly on social media apps use Instagram, making it the second-most popular social selling channel. Marketers say it offers the highest ROI and best selling tools. If you use videos in your social selling strategy, Instagram is a good place to be because it has the highest ROI for marketing videos.
Consumer perspective: Consumers say Instagram offers the best in-app shopping experience. However, it is trusted 24% less than Facebook, so devoting time to building trust with audiences is essential. You can build trust on the platform by actively engaging with your audiences, like replying to or liking comments, to build an emotional connection.
3. TikTok
TikTok is the third-most used platform for selling products directly within social media apps. Generationally, it’s more popular with Gen Z, but usage is rising among Millennials. A recent TikTok study found that 2 out of 3 users are likely to buy something while on the platform, and over half of users look for details about products they’ve seen on the platform, meaning there is an active user base of social shoppers who are interested in discovering products and making purchases.
Consumer perspective: Consumers say TikTok has the third-best in-app shopping experience, but trust is low. However, TikTok has one of the highest engagement rates of all social apps, so chances are, if you put in the time to build trust and provide value, you’ll have an engaged audience eager to see what you post.
4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is undoubtedly one of the best and most popular platforms among B2B salespeople when it comes to social selling, and 32% of sales pros who use social media for prospecting say that it’s effective.
Consumer Perspective: LinkedIn is most popular among Millennials and Gen X, with 21% and 26%, respectively, having used it in the past three months. The top reason both generations use the platform is to learn new things, meaning social sellers that take the opportunity to share helpful content that adds value to prospects' lives is a great way to draw people in and inspire a purchase.
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Best Social Selling Features
The top social selling features among social media marketers are Instagram Shops, Facebook Shops, then Instagram Live Shopping tools.
Among those features, social media marketers say Instagram Shops offers a high ROI, Facebook Shops has an average ROI, and Instagram Live Shopping has a high ROI.
Aside from the built-in tools these platforms offer, social sellers say that the most important social selling features they look out for on the platforms they use are:
- Ability to advertise to target audiences: Brands want to be able to reach their target audiences and uncover similar, untapped audiences to build awareness.
- Building and engaging with a community: Brands want to build a community on the apps they use for social selling, as having connections with audiences deepens relationships, and relationships have a direct impact on purchase intent.
- Being able to offer customer service through DMs: Consumers make purchases within an app and expect to get customer service there too. Brands want to be able to provide customer service and DMs as part of a simplified buyer experience.
Over to You
Social selling and its success has grown exponentially in recent years. Platforms are rising to the occasion and continuing to offer unique in-platform tools, and businesses are making use of them and finding success—are you joining them?
