How your Social Commerce Strategy can Drive SMS List-building and Conversions

While social media marketing on an overall level gets a lot of attention, a company’s ability to drive sales through their social media channels, also known as social commerce, is crucial to building an engaging online presence and generating consistent revenue.

A strong social media presence is important for establishing your brand’s positioning, tone, and target audience. There’s a lot of evidence out there, however, that traditional social media marketing is flawed.

Organic Facebook posts aren’t achieving the same reach and engagement and Tweets have a shorter shelf life. Only the most strategic, effective social commerce content will stand out.

Effective social commerce posts can drive direct sales, and they can also be used to direct consumers into the SMS channel, which sees 3X the LTV of any other platform.

A sound social commerce strategy can be one of the most effective list-building tools for future SMS marketing campaigns.

How? Let’s set sail and find out.

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An Intro to Social Commerce

Social commerce allows consumers to purchase a product or service without having to leave their social platform of choice: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

The idea is to capture your consumers where they live and play, reducing friction within the shopping experience. You’ll also catch customers at the peak of their excitement over a product.

A great example is the Instagram Link Sticker, formerly known as the “swipe-up.” If a consumer sees a product they like on a brand’s Instagram feed or story, that consumer can click on the link sticker and arrive at a direct point of purchase.

Other examples of social commerce tools include Facebook Shop, Pinterest Product Pins, and third-party apps like Jumper and Maychat.

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Aligning your SMS Marketing and Social Commerce Strategies

SMS marketing naturally complements social commerce strategy by amplifying the personalized user experience. Both social media and SMS are personal channels that lend well to each other.

Let’s stay on the Instagram Link Sticker example.

Instead of promoting a specific product with your sticker, you can include a pop-up offering a discount if the consumer signs up for SMS alerts. This helps you cast a wider net, as you’re not gambling that the consumer is attached to that specific product.

You’ll want to make sure to focus your SMS alignment on your top channels. Craft a truly personalized experience for each channel so the user experience in SMS aligns with the experience that consumer was getting on their preferred social media app.

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Tips to Engage, Convert & Delight with SMS Marketing for eCommerce

Once your consumer has opted into SMS marketing alerts from your social commerce campaign, you want to make sure you deliver. It’s not enough to push any old content through the intimate SMS channel. You’re trying to engage, covert, and delight your customers through SMS!

Here are three strategies for that:

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Engage: Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)

Use MMS marketing to add intrigue, personalize a welcome experience, and/or personalize SMS messages by social media channel.

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Convert: Custom Event Triggers

Keep the products consumer love top-of-mind throughout their buyer's journey, with automated alerts like Abandoned Checkout and Abandoned Browse.

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Delight: Dynamic Messages for Loyal Segments

Incorporate subscription service notifications through Voyage’s ReCharge integration, or remind your social commerce segments when their favorite product is back in stock, with Voyage’s Dynamic Product image option.