The Future of Social Media Advertising in eCommerce

As the eCommerce industry continues to grow in popularity and effectiveness, so does the importance of social media advertising. Businesses need to stay up-to-date on the latest trends. One of the most significant changes we’ve seen in recent years is the move away from general ads and towards more targeted, personalized campaigns.

With billions of people who have day-to-day running, it is currently the ideal location for companies to market their goods. Let’s take a look at what social media eCommerce may look like in the future.

I. Social Media + eCommerce = Social Media Commerce

It is hard to find someone not glued to their handhelds these days. More often than not, they would be browsing through one of their favorite social media platforms. Social media has taken over our lives, especially new platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok. They influence how we think, dress, work, and make decisions. Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, and WhatsApp are not far behind in impact. 

Social Media has changed the way we look at shopping. You browse through your favorite platform, see an ad specifically targeted at you based on your browsing and buying patterns, see something you like, visit the page – and voila! You end up shopping even if you do not want to. 

eCommerce marketers have understood the nuances of a shopper’s mind and have started tapping into the sea of opportunities they see there. Most platforms have begun marketing and selling their products through Facebook and Instagram. 

Buyers are welcoming this trend excitedly. They do not have to sit through loud TV or radio ads or go through pamphlets to browse through products. The choices were limited back then and most often would disappoint them. 

II. Reasons for Advances in Social Media Advertising

• Social media platforms have become highly effective at targeting ads to specific demographics. It allows businesses to laser-focus on their ad campaigns and ensures they reach the right audience.

• Social media is exceptionally cost-effective. It is often one of the most economical forms of advertising available. It is because businesses only pay for ads when someone clicks on them.

• Social media platforms are constantly evolving and introducing new features that make ads more effective. For example, Facebook recently introduced Dynamic Product Ads, allowing businesses to show specific product ads to users who have already displayed interest in them.

III. Social Media Advertising – Statistics and Trends for 2022

Social media has given a complete facelift to the advertising scene with influencer marketing and targeted Ad campaigns. Advertising agencies now know where to spend their $$ to get the audience to notice what they post. 

3.1 The Statistics

The ad spends on social media has taken a whopping hike over the past couple of years. Let us breeze through some of the recent statistics. 

• The expected figure for digital ad spends for 2022 is $239.89 billion for the US alone
• 2022 ad spends might see a 13.6% hike from the previous year
• The digital world is expecting a massive 16% annual increase between 2020 and 2025
• The total figure would hit a $315.32 billion mark by the end of 2025
• Digital ad spends will account for 75% of the entire media ad spends by 2025

3.2 The Trends

Here are three social media advertising trends that businesses should keep an eye on in the coming days:

3.2.1 Enhanced Personalization and Convenience

One of the benefits of social media advertising is that it allows businesses to target ads to particular audiences. For example, Facebook allows businesses to target ads based on interests, location, age, and purchase history. 

Facebook Messenger and Lego have deployed Chatbots that help customers with their queries and help them shop. Twitter has a ‘Shop’ button and an eCommerce Twitter card with a product title and code, assisting customers in shopping. The same goes for YouTube’s ‘Buy’ button. In the coming year, we expect to see more personalization in social media advertising.

3.2.2 Improved Creative Uses of Social Media Advertising

In addition to increased personalization, we expect businesses to get more creative with their social media advertising. With the continued rise of platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, companies will use more creative formats for their ads, such as video and images. 

For example, some businesses may use Twitter for lead generation through promoted tweets, while others may use Facebook for brand awareness with video ads. Live streaming through your channels gives the customers a fair idea about your products. Magento development experts built Magento Social to access the Facebook audience directly for advertising and promoting Magento eCommerce sites.

3.2.3 Increased Focus on ROI

Finally, we expect to see businesses place an even greater emphasis on ROI regarding social media advertising. With the ever-changing algorithms and increasing competition for attention on social media, companies need to be strategic in their approach to see a return on their investment. 

Features like Instagram’s shoppable tags let you tag products directly to images and videos, facilitating direct shopping from your account. Brands have also started partnering with micro-influencers for influencer marketing, which is much cheaper and grabs more eyeballs. 

3.2.4 Focus on Quality of Content

Another trend we’re seeing is a shift from one-off campaigns to longer-term strategies focusing on building customer relationships. It involves creating valuable and engaging content rather than just selling a product.

It means that businesses will need to focus on creating high-quality content that resonates with their target audience and test different types of ads to see what performs best. By doing this, businesses can ensure they get the most out of their social media advertising budget. User-generated content also gives a clear insight into the look and feel of a product. So does a video. 

It might be challenging to reach the correct audience with your content, but you can try using content syndication that can make it simple. You may target particular demographics with the help of programs like ActualTech Media’s content syndication program, execute campaigns that provide results, and, most importantly, have access to reporting so you can improve and modify your efforts to make them even more effective in the future.

3.2.5 Shift to Video Content

Finally, we’re also seeing businesses invest more in video content, as this is one of the most effective ways to reach and engage with customers on social media. With the viewer’s attention span reduced to a few minutes, converting your advertising content to a video format would help in conveying more in a shorter time.

IV. 12 Smart Tips to Make Big Bucks through Social Media Advertising

• Create accounts on all relevant social media platforms
• Build a social media storefront
• Align your content and platforms choices with the latest trends
• Build a genuine network of followers
• Be regular with posting
• Create authentic, quality content that engages readers
• Utilize SEO, Google ranking, etc. to boost performance
• Utilize tools like Google Analytics to track statistics
• Concentrate on short video content
• Use AR filters, photography, etc. to enhance the content
• Include discounts, offers, and coupons for regular shoppers
• Employ an expert team to do your social campaigns

V. Wrapping Up

If you are a business owner and you still have not started advertising and marketing on social media, you have already turned yourself into a relic. It is time to pull up your socks and adopt the latest best practices. Rather than blowing your money on giant billboards, you better start advertising on social media, where you can reach your target audience in the comfort of their homes or offices. 

Ready to plunge into the world of Social Media Commerce? What do you think the future of social media advertising holds for businesses? Let us know in the comments below!