Shoppable connections: The evolution of social commerce for advertisers

Imagine you’re scrolling through TikTok, enjoying content that’s been algorithmically tailored just for you. Mid-swipe, a glittering fuschia face mask catches your eye, the newest offering from the viral skincare brand you’ve been meaning to try, trending with the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt tag. With two quick taps, the item is added to your cart and payment is made. Within moments of exposure to the product, your purchase is complete and on its way to your front door. Such is the power of social content in driving commerce across platforms.Social commerce is the evolution of advertising on platforms, creating shoppable connections that benefit consumers and brand advertisers alike.

Advantages and opportunities in social commerce

Brands and their agency partners are reimagining their social strategies to cater to the needs and expectations of customers, who are set to spend more than $55 billion on social commerce purchases this year.As the cost of customer acquisition continues to rise, social commerce is an effective way for sellers to reach and engage shoppers where and when they’re primed to receive product recommendations, minimizing the path to purchase.With the integration of inventory, order and fulfillment data, social commerce enables end-to-end optimization, from ad impression all the way through to transaction and ultimate delivery. This data allows sellers to better drive frictionless purchases and improve ad targeting and conversion, avoiding the costly mistake of advertising products that are out of stock.

“With social commerce, you're shortening the path between the customer being exposed to your brand message and making a decision to transact. Completing that connection you have established is essential to the customer's purchase.” — Anne Hallock, GM of Platform, Flowspace

Fulfillment fuels the connected customer experience

While the benefits of social commerce are clear, it’s imperative that merchants ensure a consistent, reliable customer experience – including quick and efficient product delivery – or risk customer churn and loss of trust in the channel.Think about what might happen if that face mask you ordered doesn’t arrive as expected. It’s been a week since you made the purchase, when will it show up? What if it arrives damaged, or the wrong item is sent? If such an instance were to occur, would you buy a product from the brand, or through the platform, again?Fulfillment delays and backlogs deliver a major blow to customer loyalty, especially when it comes to social commerce. Shoppers’ first physical experience with the product is often when it arrives at their front door, making an integrated, connected fulfillment partner essential to success.In fact, research conducted with Digiday last year found that nearly half of marketers would need more confidence in their fulfillment capabilities — like integrated inventory and order management systems and two-day or less delivery offerings — to invest more fully in social commerce.

“The moment of truth comes when a customer opens the box. It’s important that brands have control over everything that happens up until the customer first experiences the product.” — Mudit Jaju, Global Head of Ecommerce, Wavemaker

Unpacking the potential of social commerce: a new report from Digiday + Flowspace

As brands and their advertising agencies work to establish social commerce as a pillar within omnichannel sales strategies, they need partners that enable them to meet—or beat—ecommerce KPIs, supporting efficiency, reliability, and steady growth.To help make further sense of the social commerce opportunity, Digiday and Flowspace have published a new report that unpacks the key topics, touchpoints, and tactics for success, featuring insights from industry experts at video commerce firm Firework, global media agency Wavemaker, and more.Download the guide to dive deeper into shoppable connections and social commerce advertising, including:

• How brands are using social commerce to improve audience reach and engagement
• Why shoppable content builds brand loyalty
• The importance of providing a consistent, reliable customer experience
• Tactics to amplify social commerce content
• How to build strong social commerce partnerships

Flowspace is committed to supporting every step a company takes to acquire a customer, from first touch through to order delivery, with a fulfillment experience that ensures the customer receives what they expected, in a timely manner, with every step visible in real-time. Get the guide today, then talk to a fulfillment consultant about how Flowspace can help your brand achieve social commerce success.

Flowspace Powers Fulfillment for TikTok Shop

Flowspace was the first-ever partner selected by TikTok to power fulfillment for TikTok Shop. With Flowspace, merchants ensure consistently efficient, reliable product delivery and a seamless customer experience.Flowspace empowers merchants to centralize fulfillment for all channels of selling, from TikTok to Shopify to Amazon to marketplaces and beyond.Learn more about the Flowspace x TikTok partnership and how your brand can get started with TikTok Shop today.