The Link Between Influencer Marketing and Social Commerce

Remember the old saying, if you can’t beat them, join them? Social media has increasingly followed this saying for some reason. Back in the day, only one photo-sharing app had a feature called Stories. #IYKYK

Fast-forward to today and every app out there has a “Stories” option. Features and tools are highly switchable between apps, and one of those features is the marriage between social media and eCommerce, otherwise known as social commerce.

Brands want to skip the line of marketing funnels and move directly to sales and conversions. Social commerce helps massively with that with influencer marketing playing a major role.

What is social commerce?

Social media is transitioning into e-commerce and shopping is basically social commerce. Features like Facebook shops and Instagram Store, where a customer can make a direct purchase without having to leave the app, are what social commerce inherently is.

A small business that has a WhatsApp catalogue where you can select an item and pay directly in-app or with UPI, is also a great example of social commerce.

Imagine this: you watch a review or a tutorial on YouTube and are impressed with the product. You want to buy it. Instead of having to go to a website like Amazon or Flipkart, you click a button on YouTube and order the product.

It’s quicker. There is way less friction, and it streamlines your whole experience.

Influencer marketing and social commerce

There is no denying that social commerce is driven by influencers. There are few avenues for sales as organic as influencer-generated content. It’s why apps like Instagram are offering more features that support social commerce.

Creators can create shops, tag products in posts, have custom product stickers made and post them to grow their online stores in return for commissions. Recently, Instagram announced live session collaborations between brands and creators.

Instead of selling one product through one dedicated link, influencers can talk about different items they prefer and then share a link with them. These live streams are known as Shoppable Livestreams. People who join the session can share their thoughts, experiences, and suggestions, creating user-generated content and taking social proof to the next level.

How brands can make use of influencer marketing in social commerce

For brands, combining social commerce with influencer marketing is a no-brainer. It gives access to an engaged audience, offers scalability, and builds trust.

Right off the bat, brands need to be more flexible in how they use influencers. A healthy, multi-tiered mix of micro-influencers and macro-influencers is ideally the right way to go about it. Nano and micro-influencers have a more dedicated and authentic audience.

The lesser-known influencers have high engagement rates and to get those conversions, engagements matter.

As a brand, you can capitalise on that audience and build loyalty. Moreover, as the creator grows, their audience grows, and so does a brand’s reach and visibility. Since social commerce offers less friction in purchasing, brands can expect higher product and brand awareness and more demand.

Social commerce and brands

It is important to understand that social commerce is not just limited to influencers and creators. Brands can use it just as well. Brands can independently host their own social commerce stores and drive traffic through them.

However, the winning combination still is social commerce and influencer marketing, and brands don’t have to shop long for it. At DYT, we pair you with the right kind of influencers so you get the best return for your brand.