
What Is Social Commerce, and How Can Businesses Succeed in 2025?

Eleanor Hecks • January 24, 2025
Social commerce involves selling your products or services directly through digital media platforms. Unlike traditional e-commerce — which sends users to a website to complete their purchase — it allows your audience to shop without leaving the app. This seamless experience offers an affordable way to connect with your target audience and drive sales.
With billions of users scrolling through social media daily, it’s a goldmine of opportunity — especially when you combine great design and strategic marketing. As a business owner, designer or marketer, you can leverage eye-catching visuals and data-driven campaigns to grow your brand and convert followers into customers.
What Is Social Commerce?
Social commerce transforms how businesses reach and engage customers. With 2.8 million online retailers in the U.S. as of 2024, competition is fierce, and social commerce offers a unique edge. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest make shopping part of the everyday digital media experience.
They blend discovery, engagement and purchasing into one seamless process. Users can browse your products, read reviews and check out within the app. This streamlined approach engages shoppers and creates a convenient way for businesses to turn followers into loyal customers.
5 Tips to Succeed in Social Commerce
Succeeding in social commerce involves creating an engaging, seamless shopping experience for your audience. Proper strategies allow you to turn casual scrollers into loyal customers and grow your business online.
1. Optimize Product Listings
High-quality visuals and videos are crucial in social commerce. Ditch the generic stock photos and focus on creating authentic, eye-catching content that reflects your brand and connects with your audience.
These graphics reduce the need for crafting new content as frequently because you can repurpose great images and videos across campaigns. Pair your visuals with clear, compelling product descriptions using relevant keywords to help shoppers find your products easily and make informed buying decisions.
2. Offer Exclusive Deals
Discounts and promotions are a surefire way to grab attention and drive sales on social media. Offering exclusive deals tailored to specific platforms rewards your followers while making your brand stand out.
To encourage immediate action, add a sense of urgency with limited-time offers like “24-hour flash sales” or “today-only discounts.” These time-sensitive deals boost engagement and create excitement around your products, which turn casual followers into loyal customers who keep returning for more.
3. Engage Your Audience
Take full advantage of features like polls, stories and live shopping events to create interactive and engaging experiences for your audience. These tools provide insights into your customers’ preferences, helping you refine your marketing strategies, tailor your messaging and design personalized experiences that truly resonate.
Use polls to gather feedback, stories to showcase your brand’s personality and live shopping events to drive real-time sales while connecting with your followers. Respond promptly to comments and messages as quick, genuine interactions build trust and show your audience that their input matters.
4. Leverage Analytics Tools
Tracking engagement, sales and customer feedback is crucial for social commerce success. Monitoring how your audience interacts with your content and analyzing purchase trends can uncover what’s working and what needs improvement.
Pay attention to customer feedback — whether through comments, reviews or messages — to identify pain points and opportunities. Use these data-driven insights to fine-tune your strategies and deliver a better shopping experience.
5. Partner With Influencers
Collaborating with micro-influencers builds trust and grows your brand in social commerce. Micro-influencers often have highly engaged, niche-specific audiences, making their endorsements more authentic and relatable.
This authenticity drives results — influencer marketing is among those that deliver the highest ROI of any marketing channel. Partnering with influencers who align with your brand values and target audience taps into their credibility to showcase your products in a genuine, impactful way.
Staying Ahead with Innovation and Flexibility
Success in social commerce requires a proactive approach and a willingness to try new strategies. Testing different ideas and adapting to what works lets you stay ahead of trends, connect with your audience and drive meaningful results for your business.

Eleanor Hecks
Eleanor is the editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine where she shares marketing and design tips to help e-commerce businesses thrive. You can find her work on numerous business publications including Due and eLearning Industry.
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