Social and video commerce as a business model [5 reading tips]

social media, videos, onlineshopping — Source: Adobe Stock

Social networks are everywhere and social media has long been part of everyday life. Online users are constantly in the thick of the action, averaging 7.6 social media accounts, and liking, sharing, posting, consuming, and chatting for just under two hours a day. This digital reality opens up a lot of opportunities for companies to address potential new customers and repeat customers. For about 80 per cent of companies, social media plays a crucial role in marketing.

Retails and manufacturers don’t just want to build their brand, they also want to find new employees, attract new customers and generate more sales. However, the competition is getting increasingly stronger. That’s why creative and target group-specific content is required and formats with a high level of engagement are being brought into focus: Formats such as videos.

A picture’s worth a thousand words

Videos are the very essence of content and social media marketing. Videos help companies address their customers in an individual, targeted, and understandable way. Complex products can be easily explained.

For example, in the B2B space, video is the perfect way to make complicated content easier and more consumable. Using explanatory videos and brief insights from experts, customers can now imagine how a particular machine works or how they can assemble the various parts themselves.

But this moving content is usually only one of many pieces of information in the product feed. Product descriptions with dimensions, weight and material as well as product images are still in a more prominent position. Videos bring together images and data as well as user context and stories about products. No wonder they are so popular.

The power of (social) communities

Not least because of this, social media is so influential because people with the same preferences and interests can easily network with each other. Social media channels now offer a wide range of social shopping features that advertisers can use for themselves. Social commerce is more alive than ever.

Fitness enthusiasts or hobby chefs share their experiences every day, and thanks to impressive snapshots or videos will find inspiration and recommendations that will lead to a possible purchase.

But building a community is not that easy. It’s not just about posting regularly, it’s about a strategy: What does a company want to offer when and how should they post? What moves my target group? How can I arouse their curiosity and trigger a specific action?

Sound, availability, openness, and a customer-centred vision are very important for this. But even more important is always communicating how to solve a problem.

Added value with storytelling and videos

The start-up Generation Yes has recognised the potential of video and social communities and built its business on it to sell kitchen appliances. For this, they analysed the consumer behaviour and discovered some pain points. Why should customers spend a long time looking for a product in an online shop if they want smooth and dedicated shopping experiences like Facebook or YouTube? Do customers read the product details or are they looking for a fun and unique how-to cooking video?

GenerationYes Paster Maker Screenshot PHILIPS — Screenshot from Generation Yes

Generation Yes uses storytelling and short video clips to show what products can do. Their recipe for success: inspiring and curated content in combination with attractive deals that offer customers real added value.

The distinguishing features of the start-up are exciting, practice-oriented, video tips, in order to operate the new device equally easy and successfully and cook it deliciously at home. This can benefit the entire shopping experience, as well as well-informed purchasing decisions and a high level of customer loyalty. The networking effect of social media does the rest.