With e-commerce integration into Facebook and plans in place for other
social networks, brands have seen the need to adjust their social media
marketing strategies to accomodate this trend.
But what
does this giant leap say about the future of e-commerce in Nigeria?
Over time social media has become a significant
tool for marketers. Companies use the visual characteristics of social network
to attract fans, promote images of their products, and create viral campaigns
in hope to influence consumers purchasing decisions.
The shop now button on Facebook for instance radically
transforms marketing as we know it by compressing the traditional funnel of
awareness to purchase.
According to Kaymu’s
Head of Social Media and Community Africa, Abiola Fabio, “social shopping is a breakthrough
in how businesses market and sell to consumers. Among the social networks,
Facebook dominates as a source of
social traffic and sales and accounted for over 36,000 orders on Kaymu in the
first quarter of this year”.
In the past social media was seen as a platform to create content for
consumers while building an audience for it through advertising. However the shop
button has significantly shifted the social network's role in the relationship
between consumers and businesses, and has huge impact on the path-to-purchase.
With the growing popularity of social shopping in
Nigeria, the e-commerce industry is expected to align with the trend in order
to provide the best shopping experience for their consumers.