We’ve all seen that Instagram post with the shopping tag. You see it, you like it, you buy it. And just like that the shopping experience is more streamlined than ever. With social commerce on the rise, consumers want a more efficient and safer way to shop. How does your business cater to such demands? Well, shoppable content is the answer, and it makes total sense.
If you are sharing your product on social media, might as well make it easy for your customer to purchase the product too, if they are keen.
What Is Shoppable Content?
Shoppable content is any online content that allows your consumers to either go to the product page or add products to cart directly (even better). Shoppable content can be distinguished from normal content by the product tag.
This is a powerful marketing tool as it offers consumers a convenient way to browse and shop for products. Furthermore, more than 25% of social media users between 16-64 are using the platform to conduct product research.
Benefits of Shoppable Content?
Visual search is more captivating than the traditional keyword search that we are used to. In fact, users expect to see products displayed in natural and realistic settings that are aesthetically pleasing. This is the powerful driving force behind shoppable content, making them an important marketing strategy.
If you aren’t convinced, we have listed out the benefits for you:
- Integrates seamlessly into the viewing/scrolling/reading experience
- Easy to add products to cart
- Shortens the customer journey
- Combines the product research process
- Allows merchants to display and sell multiple related products (eg, clothes & jewellery)
- Allows merchants to measure conversions easier
Types of Shoppable Content
Here, we share with you the 5 common types of shoppable content that brands are using to attract customers.
1. Instagram Shoppable Posts
Shoppable posts on instagram is one of the most popular platforms for businesses. Such posts contain images of the products which are tagged on the post. Tapping on this tag will provide more information about the product.
For example, this post in Zara allows users to tap on the product to get more information, and then make a quick purchase by tapping on the tag.
Source: Instagram
This marketing strategy is mostly used for B2C companies, particularly clothing brands. Such posts are useful because brands can also showcase multiple products in one image.
2. Pinterest Buyable Pins
Similar to Instagram, users who have business accounts can create buyable pins on their Pinterest post. While this is a relatively new feature on the platform, it is quickly becoming popular for users and shoppers alike.
All users have to do is click on the “Buy It” button at the top right hand corner of the post to make the purchase.
The great thing about Pinterest is its integration with eCommerce platforms such as Shopify and BigCommerce. This makes creating and sharing the posts easier on the platform. As with Instagram, merchants can choose to feature multiple products in one post.
Source: Pinterest
3. Shoppable Video Ads
Video content is no doubt a popular way to grab users’ attention. In fact, 84% of customers surveyed reported that video content has convinced them to make a product purchase.
This is a huge trend to get on board. Imagine if the traditional video content is able to have such a huge influence on buyers, shoppable videos will possibly generate more sales. This helps to simplify the product research process and help them find the products that they are interested in quickly.
A shoppable video ad is a video ad accompanied with various related products, which are displayed under the video. These images contain the product information such as product name, prices and a link to the product pages. To utilise this feature, make sure that you connect the Google Merchant Center product feed with video ads.
Source: Google
4. Shoppable Articles
Customers will always find blog articles to be relevant and useful. Brands should keep writing helpful tips that share how they are addressing and solving the pain points faced by their customers.
Blog articles are the easiest to transform into shoppable content via the use of buttons. For instance, buttons can be linked to the “Add to Cart”, helping users directly shorten the purchase process. This is a great way to seamlessly lead customers from the consideration stage to the purchase stage of their customer journey.
As much as possible, do try to include customer reviews about the product as this helps to further convince new customers to take action.
Conclusion
Shoppable content is also a great strategy to integrate to your omnichannel marketing plans.
It is a fantastic feature that benefits both brands and customers. Brands can utilise the content to make their products more accessible and also improve the product research and purchase journey. At the same time, customers can now get inspired by content while also completing the product research process at the same time.
Start integrating this into your marketing strategy and watch your sales grow!
