5 Pros and Cons of Social Commerce
Posted on October 4, 2021 (Last Updated: April 27, 2022)
In our latest blog post about Social Commerce we explained why it is emerging, how it works and what it is. Here we dive into 5 advantages and 5 disadvantages of Social Commerce.
5 Advantages of Social Commerce
- Direct contact between sellers and consumers
If you put your business on a social media platform, it allows you to have direct contact with your consumer. That means, your business will also relate, not just sell. Your products or services are a part of the content, which is shown in your target audience’s newsfeed. It allows likes, comments, and shares among their social bubble. It moves the business to a more personal level.
- Trustworthy reviews
The comments below the products provide good and trustworthy reviews from real users. The power of socials is that the profiles are very personal and they appear more trustworthy when a person leaves a comment. Customers will appreciate it if they know in advance what to expect after clicking on the “Buy now!” button.
- Helps build brand and being interactive
Trust and loyalty comes with personal communication and sharing the experience. Social Commerce will help build the brand on socials by being interactive with the consumers and show you are there for them when they need assistance.
- Access to mobile shoppers
Mobile shoppers - sound familiar? Yes, more than ¾ of social media users access platforms via smartphones or tablets. It goes hand in hand with generation Z, which as you already know, is more comfortable with shopping online. Being a part of Social Commerce gives you the juiciest fruits.
- Globalization
Go global! Within the platform, which is available in a hundred languages, you can choose the audience wherever you want. Compared to E-Commerce, you have a large number of people concentrated in one place. Moreover, socials are a trend, that is here to stay.
5 Disadvantages of Social Commerce
Expected market growth, global reach, the interaction between sellers and buyers, trustworthy reviews, more mobile shoppers - it seems pretty hard to find any disadvantage. But it does have some - for the sellers.
- Social Commerce is made for shoppers, not sellers!
The main disadvantage is that this method was created for shoppers, not businesses. Since the entire process is focused on a certain Social Media platform, and it’s possible to check out within the platform, the sellers lose the web traffic, including CTR.
- Time-consuming
The effort of the company to engage consumers is time-consuming. The company must keep up with the content and interactions with its audience. Creating a shop on Social Media is simply not enough. Moreover, it is wanted by a business to build a brand there, since the web traffic decreases.
- Low organic reach
Getting sales highly depends on advertising. The organic reach is slowly dying and ads dominate. It may differ between platforms, but the fact is, that ads are the main selling tool.
- Negative feedback
Negative feedback stains the brand and it is hard to remedy the reputation.
- Reach in Social Media platforms only
As we explained what Social Commerce is, you can probably guess what the fifth disadvantage is. It is limited to Social Media platforms. I know, socials have a huge reach, but it also has its borders. That is why you should still have a regular e-shop.