Social Commerce: How Marketers Can Drive Sales Through Emerging Platforms via @sejournal, @rio_seo

Social commerce for marketers has become a strategic growth lever, evolving from a customer retention and engagement channel to a source of revenue generation.

Social media sales defy traditional ecommerce with the entire shopping journey taking place in just a few clicks and in one platform, making online shopping more simple than ever.

Social media users simply see a product they want to purchase, make a few clicks, and the item is ready to be shipped.

The purchase experience has certainly been redefined with the rise of social commerce, and more consumers are eager than ever to make a purchase through a social media platform.

In fact, over half (53%) of Gen Z say they’ve clicked “buy” buttons on social networks. One-third (30%) of shoppers find new products or brands on social media, further highlighting the social commerce opportunity for businesses.

Simply put, if your retail business has a presence on social media and isn’t tapping into the potential of generating sales directly from these platforms, you are missing out.

For marketers, now is the time to take advantage of social commerce and use it to your benefit. It serves as not only an opportunity to connect with your target audience, but also boost your business’s bottom line.

By creating engaging and personalized shopping experiences, businesses benefit from yet another channel to grow their sales and improve customer experiences.

In this post, we’ll explore how marketers can capitalize on this evolving trend and explore innovative approaches that go beyond the traditional playbook.

Let’s first dig into how social media usage went from seeking likes to craving purchases.

The Evolution Of Social Commerce

When social media first hit the scene in the early 2000s, it was primarily used to keep in touch with friends and family. Users could share photos, personal sentiment, and interact with other user’s content.

Over time, social media has grown to be so much more than a medium for connection but rather an outlet for making purchases.

There are several factors that have contributed to the social commerce transformation. To start, making online purchases is now more seamless than ever.

Credit card information can be seamlessly stored on sites, payment integration is simple, and consumers are more comfortable and trusting with making online purchases.

Social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook have native checkout solutions, allowing customers to quickly and with minimal effort buy products without even having to visit the retailer’s website.

A study found that nearly 80% of American customers say fast, simple interactions and transactions are the most important customer experience element and shape their impression of the business.

U.S. consumers are increasingly embracing social media as a shopping channel, with nearly half (47%) having made a purchase through these platforms and another 39% expressing willingness to do so again.

YouTube leads the pack in terms of the most trusted social network to find and buy products in the U.S., with 61% of consumers stating they found this channel trustworthy for social commerce. Facebook and Instagram came in a close second and third place at 51% and 45%, respectively.

The same study found TikTok to be in a distant last place at 35%, which comes as no surprise given the recent apprehension and possible removal of the platform from U.S. app stores in the near future.

The Role Of AI In Social Commerce

Artificial intelligence (AI) has also played a key role in increasing social commerce by tailoring personalization.

AI is powerful enough to sift through vast amounts of data, deciphering exactly what types of products and solutions consumers are most interested in.

In turn, social media feeds highlight products that align closely with consumer needs and preferences. This level of personalization plays a critical role in shaping consumer behavior and encouraging engagement.

Thanks to AI, customers feel more seen and heard, promoting trust with businesses and social media platforms alike.

When customers feel truly heard and seen, they are more likely to take meaningful action.

Consider this surprising statistic: almost all consumers (92%) interested in product personalization are willing to share personal data to allow a business to tailor and personalize a product.

With privacy being a key concern for many consumers, their willingness to share personal information in exchange for personalized product recommendations holds immense weight.

How To Maximize Social Commerce Marketing Efforts

Whether you’re just getting started with social commerce or have been onboard the train for a while, the opportunity for optimization is always there. However, they require diverse strategies.

For those just getting started with social commerce, the following framework can help you get your efforts started on the right foot.

The Social Commerce Framework For Beginners

There are various best practices for ensuring you kickstart your campaign off right. To start, I recommend using the following framework:

Research Your Audience

As with any marketing effort, it’s essential to truly understand your audience. Consider answering the following questions:

• Which platforms do they spend most of their time on?
• What types of content formats resonate with them most?
• What products are they most interested in?
• What time of day are they on social media?
• What is the average order value from social commerce?

Answering these questions will help you to determine which platforms to allocate efforts towards, what products might be worth putting money behind for promotion and retargeting, when to post, and what types of content formats to invest in (written, graphics, video, etc.).

Social media platforms and other technology can provide these insights, shedding light on consumer preferences to better inform your strategy.

Test The Waters

Before investing too much time and energy into social commerce, it can be beneficial to start small. Try one shoppable post on the platform where your audience spends most of their time.

By showcasing your products directly in your posts, you can see how your audience reacts to and engages with this sort of content while reducing the burden of effort on your team, as this requires a lower lift.

Partner With Influencers

If your budget allows, working with influencers can help elevate your brand presence and build trust with a new audience.

Influencers have an established audience of loyal followers who many trust with product recommendations.

In turn, this untapped audience may feel compelled to give your product a shot with the influencer’s stamp of approval.

Additionally, many influencers only trust products they believe in further amplifying your brand’s relevance and reputation.

Be Authentic

Consumers can sniff out disingenuous or self-serving content. In today’s era, where customers are highly intuitive and crave authenticity, it’s crucial to create content that resonates with them.

Focus on creating compelling stories and narratives that align with common pain points they may be experiencing.

Show how your product helps people in real life through videos and pictures that are unaltered and unfiltered.

Encourage influencers you work with to post their genuine thoughts and feedback rather than sticking to a strict script.

Keep A Pulse On Performance

Tracking and understanding how your social commerce efforts are performing is integral to learning and growing your revenue through this channel.

Data-driven insights help guide your marketing strategy, ensuring each of your efforts contributes to the business’s bottom line and enhances the customer experience.

Regularly monitor your product post-related engagement (shares, comments, likes, clicks) and conversions. Be sure to have a proper attribution model in place to be able to tie social commerce to sales.

Maximizing Social Commerce Impact

For those who have already invested in taking advantage of social commerce for their businesses, there are several strategies to consider that can help level up your efforts.

Expand Your Platform Presence

Perhaps you’ve already gotten started with social commerce on one platform but haven’t yet dipped your toe into the other platforms available to you.

While each platform requires its own distinct approach, it can be beneficial to expand your portfolio and leverage other commerce opportunities available to you.

Before making the leap to a new platform, make sure it’s worth your investment. This can be accomplished by assessing your target audience and having an understanding of which platforms they tend to be on.

Research the platform and its target audience first to ensure it’s the right fit to maximize your efforts.

Take Advantage Of Personalization

Consumers have come to expect personalized content as it’s become embedded in every aspect of their lives – from being shown what shows to watch on Netflix or what to buy on Amazon based on previous consumption patterns.

Social commerce should mirror this pattern, delivering hyper-targeted ads and product recommendations based on consumers’ browsing and purchasing habits.

If your business already isn’t investing in AI-powered tools to assist with your personalization efforts, now is the time to integrate this advanced technology into your tech stack.

Make It Mobile-Friendly

Every aspect of your customer experience must be mobile-friendly, as consumers spend a large portion of their day on their phones.

Similarweb’s data indicates that mobile devices account for over half (57.8%) of the traffic market share in the U.S., highlighting the preference for mobile browsing in online engagement.

Knowing potential customers are likely coming to your website via their mobile device, it’s crucial to ensure your content is optimized for mobile devices and your mobile checkout is a seamless process.

Host Live Shopping Events

Showcase the value of your products through live shopping events. Go live on your social media channels to interact with your customers directly.

Show how your product works, monitor your comments, and respond to customer questions.

For example, a beauty brand might show what a new bronzer looks like on multiple different skin tones, enabling live show viewers to see how the product would match their unique skin tone.

Expand Your Retention Efforts

While attracting new customers is always a must, you should also prioritize previous customers who are already familiar with your business.

Many retail businesses offer customer loyalty programs, sharing exclusive offers and promotions with repeat customers. Building an engaged community of loyal customers can:

• Boost average order values.
• Encourage word-of-mouth marketing.
• Increase organic reviews and engagement on social posts.
• Create a highly motivated community of like-minded customers.
• Drive repeat sales.
• Turn a one-time customer into a brand advocate.

Encourage User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is perhaps the easiest way to share authentic and unbiased feedback about your company.

When customers organically share their experiences with your business, consumers are more likely to trust what they have to say.

A Rio SEO study found that 41% of consumers said online reviews and personal recommendations are equally trustworthy.

Encourage customers to share user-generated content after they make a purchase.

To help boost UGC efforts, run a contest on your social media channels asking your followers to share their experience with your business for the chance to win a free product or some other type of reward for their time.

Embracing The Future Of Marketing Products With Social Commerce

The future of shopping is looking to be more social, as more consumers continue to crave the simplicity social media shopping brings.

The ease of seeing a product on a post, clicking the product desired, and checking out an all-in-one platform has revolutionized the shopping experience.

It’s also brought about yet another avenue for marketers to leverage to drive sales and highlights why retail businesses should be taking advantage of the wealth of features available to them.

Whether you’re just getting started with social commerce or you’re a seasoned professional, the key lies in understanding your target audience and what motivates them to take action.

As social commerce continues to grow and expand, marketers must stay agile and arm their teams with strategies for success.

By embracing social commerce, businesses can stay attuned with the ways customers prefer to engage and shop, and also uncover new routes to drive more digital conversions.

More Resources:

Featured Image: THICHA SATAPITANON/Shutterstock

Social Media Marketing beyond the Algorithm

Chasing social media virality is tempting. It’s easy to think one post will rack up millions of views and skyrocket your brand overnight. But what happens next? The algorithm moves on, engagement drops, and attention evaporates.

Instead of chasing fleeting internet fame, focus on real engagement and community. This leads to stronger brand loyalty, deeper connections, and content that works long after the hype fades.

I’m a longtime B2B and B2C content creator and social media strategist. Here’s what I’ve learned about audience-building on social platforms — the five keys to lasting success.

Transparency

Sabai, a sustainable furniture brand, shares behind-the-scenes content such as sourcing materials and customer feedback.

People love a good story — including the process behind your work. Whether it’s product development, brainstorming, or a day-in-the-life, behind-the-scenes content makes your brand feel human and relatable. Even if you’re camera-shy, showing up helps people connect with you and your business.

Sabai, a sustainable furniture brand, frequently shares behind-the-scenes content, from sourcing materials to customer feedback on new designs. Sabai’s Instagram posts bring its audience into the origin story and creative process.

Next time you create something, document the process. Share the highs, the struggles, and the small wins — it makes people feel part of the journey.

Consistency

Recess, a sparkling water company, has a distinct social media presence and content that aligns with its vibe.

Virality comes and goes, but showing up consistently keeps people coming back. A recognizable brand voice, aesthetic, and posting rhythm make your content identifiable.

Recess, a sparkling water brand, has a distinct social media presence — pastel colors, unique aesthetics, and informal copy. Whether it’s a meme, product shot, or wellness tip, the content aligns with the brand’s vibe.

Stick to a few key colors, tones, and content themes. Don’t overcomplicate. Using Canva, build a simple template using your brand colors and a clean font, then refine as you grow.

Engagement

Telfar, an apparel accessories provider, makes community part of its identity with posts of customer photos and feedback.

Social media isn’t just talking at people — it’s conversing with them. Engaging with your audience helps turn casual followers into loyal fans.

Telfar, an apparel accessories brand, makes community part of its identity. The staff posts on Instagram customer photos and crowdsourced feedback on product drops, which feel like cultural events. Telfar keeps fans excited and invested beyond buying the product.

Spend a few minutes after each post engaging with your audience via comments and direct messages. Ask questions, listen to feedback, and make them feel heard.

Valuable Content

Omsom, an Asian food merchant, blends education with entertainment.

The best brands don’t just sell — they educate, entertain, and inspire. Valuable content makes people want to stick around, whether it’s a tutorial, an informational post, or a fun take on industry trends.

Omsom, an Asian food brand, blends education with entertainment. The content team breaks down food myths, highlights underrepresented ingredients, and deploys playful yet informative posts. They also share cooking hacks and step-by-step guides, helping the audience get more out of the products while proving that brands can be informative and fun.

Create content that informs your audience about your goods and industry.

The Long-term

Golde, a nutritional wellness brand, makes evergreen content, such as customer recipes, a key part of its strategy.

Virality is short-lived, but evergreen content — the kind that stays relevant for months or years — will always drive engagement. Examples include FAQs, personal stories, and how-to guides.

Golde, a nutritional wellness brand, makes evergreen content a key part of its strategy. Golde’s Instagram account includes concise, shareable posts highlighting customer recipes and appreciation. The brand offers timeless wellness tips and practical ways to incorporate them into daily routines, making the content valuable long after it’s posted.

Focus on content that’s useful a year from now.

Beyond Vanity Metrics: How Brands Are Measuring Social Media Impact via @sejournal, @rio_seo

Social media marketing metrics look vastly different today than they did even a few years ago.

Numbers used to define social success – the more likes, shares, and followers, the better. Yet, numbers are now falling behind in significance when examining success.

Connection is key.

If you’re not primarily focused on engaging with your target audience in a meaningful way, you risk falling behind.

Measuring social media impact must go beyond vanity metrics and will be a key determinant for expanding your social reach and follower loyalty.

It will deepen your understanding of where and how your audience engages with you most.

Engagement metrics reveal real impact. It leads you forward to improve facets of your social media marketing that deserve the most attention: how your followers perceive your business.

These metrics enable you to go beyond surface-level indicators and help you align with what social media algorithms now value most, such as adhering to privacy regulations and ethical data collection.

Savvy social marketers looking to gain an edge and adapt to the latest algorithm updates must stay on top of what to track.

This article will explore how forward-thinking brands and marketers alike are redefining success on myriad social media platforms.

We’ll examine why we’re moving beyond traditional metrics, best practices for metric measurement, and the tools and technology shaping the future of social media marketing.

The Problem With Vanity Metrics

Measuring social media success used to rely mostly on the numbers, tied to the amount of likes a post received or the number of people following an account.

The more the merrier, and it was easy to track, given more meant better. This number-based approach is referred to as “vanity metrics,” or how consumers interact with your brand at a surface level.

While vanity metrics can highlight how many people are interested in your business, they aren’t granular enough to truly measure why customers find your content interesting (or if they don’t).

Yet, vanity metrics offer some semblance of success, even if it’s an instant hit of dopamine. Who hasn’t gotten excited by seeing their follower numbers steadily grow or gaining over 1,000 likes on a post?

However, vanity metrics aren’t the sole measure of success and rarely tell the full story of how a brand is actually performing on social media.

Follows, impressions, and likes are only a small fraction of how engaging your social media efforts actually are.

Another pertinent issue with vanity metrics is how they tie to broader business goals. Sure, vanity metrics may measure how quickly your platform is growing, but they simply don’t capture how that translates into qualified leads, sales, and more.

Consider the following: A brand may have thousands of followers, but what if it isn’t capturing (or caring about) how many of those followers turn into paying customers?

This missed opportunity makes it hard to justify social media spend and the effort allocated towards this marketing effort.

For example, a post may receive 2,000 likes, which might lead a brand to think the post is a great success. However, without understanding who liked it or what drove the spike in likes, it’s impossible to pinpoint the true value of the post.

The simple truth is numbers fail to tell the whole story. Context is key and can only be gained when social media marketers move beyond vanity metrics.

In the future, shifting beyond likes will be crucial to having a full, comprehensive view of performance.

Key Metrics That Matter

As a social media marketer, it’s crucial to keep up with ever-evolving best practices to stay visible in the sea of social posts and ahead of the curve.

In fact, the average social media user spends about 143 minutes a day scrolling through their social platforms, leaving ample opportunity for brands to make an impression.

As social platform algorithms change, so too does how these platforms evaluate performance.

For example, media algorithms now favor and surface content that receives high engagement rather than displaying posts chronologically.

Right now, success on social platforms will look different, extending beyond traditional metrics of interest. Building quality connections with followers will win.

It’s no longer a popularity contest but building an authentic and genuine social presence with your customers, becoming a business customers can trust.

The new era of social media marketing metrics has arrived, and now is the time to up your metric tracking game.

Here are the metrics social media marketers should be tracking.

Engagement Metrics

Social media marketers are diving deeper, focusing on getting their audience to take meaningful action.

To do so, they must examine the depth of that engagement, digging deeper than likes alone.

Comments: A Free Form Of Feedback

There is much to be gained in feedback, including comments on social media. Comments can convey genuine emotion, both positive and negative.

Irrespective, both types of feedback highlight how captivating your content is. They can help your business gain a glimpse into what’s working and what isn’t, allowing you to mine for common themes within the context of your comments.

Tip: Focus on who is leaving thoughtful comments or questions, responding to those individuals whenever possible.

Sentiment: How Your Content Makes Your Customers Feel

How a customer feels about your business can often be understood through the context of a comment.

It’s likely emotion promoted the customer to comment in the first place, but knowing how to decipher the comment and the customer’s emotions helps brands take meaningful action. It can also highlight what’s working and what isn’t.

For example, perhaps videos capture your customers’ attention the most, and you may want to shift your content strategy to create more video-type content in the future.

Tip: Businesses should accurately track sentiment analysis to enhance their customer experience.

Conversion Metrics

Understanding what makes customers take action will always be a top metric to track. This won’t be any different this year, and social media marketers should continue to monitor conversion metrics.

Click-Through Rates: Encourage Action

Click-through rates (or CTR) enable you to see how compelling your content truly is. Do people feel motivated to take the next step and read more, learn more, or buy from you?

Tip: Track which posts are gaining the most traction in terms of clicks to determine what’s working well and what to replicate in the future.

Sales: Ensure Your Social Efforts Pay Off

In the social media realm, it’s important to keep a pulse on the type of messaging that is driving your audience to take the next step – whether that’s landing on a product page or signing up for a monthly newsletter.

Tip: It’s equally as important to attribute sales to your social media channels to get the most out of your marketing efforts.

Customer Retention Metrics

Social media isn’t just a tool for building a brand reputation and attracting new customers. It should also play a key role in retaining existing ones.

In fact, 88% of business leaders agree social media data is a must for improving customer retention and experiences.

Loyal customers want to come back to consume your content on your social media channels, and the right messaging can help develop deeper relationships.

Repeat Purchases: Keep The Revenue Rolling In

Demonstrating social media value is critical to encourage your customers to keep coming back for more.

Messaging might also differ between how you communicate with a prospect rather than a repeat customer.

Having revenue attribution in place is a must on social media to help you better personalize communication between these different audience segments.

Tip: Set up proper attribution to be able to tie repeat sales back to social media.

Loyalty: Becoming More Than A One-Time Purchase

Loyalty programs have long been a tried-and-true marketing tactic to entice repeat customer engagement. It also helps demonstrate value to your loyal customers by offering exclusive deals and promotions.

Tip: Ensure your loyalty signups are trackable through customized UTM links to be able to attribute new member sign-ups to your social efforts.

Tools And Technologies Empowering Brands

Social media marketing is getting smarter, leaning on emerging technologies to help enhance analytics, workflows, and performance.

This year, marketers can expect social platforms to grow more intelligent, increasingly relying on advanced technology, like artificial intelligence (AI), to fuel their platforms.

In turn, marketers can expect to see smarter insights, powering a clearer view of the metrics that measure success.

Here’s a closer look at how forward-thinking brands are leveraging technology to reshape their social strategies to improve experiences and marketing success.

AI

Undoubtedly, AI is transforming the way nearly every business operates.

Social media isn’t any different, enabling brands to measure success and even predict future performance with a precision never realized before.

AI-driven analytics are becoming deeply woven into the fabric of social media performance measurement.

In fact, predictive models can predetermine the success of a campaign before it even gets kicked off.

With the help of AI, brands can avoid costly campaigns that will likely lead to lackluster outcomes by analyzing historical data and previous campaign data.

This deep level of insight allows social media marketers to make informed decisions that lead to more desirable outcomes.

AI has the capability to predict optimal post time, and which day of the week is best to post, taking factors like time zones and target audience location into consideration as well.

In turn, social media marketers can more effectively get their content in front of more eyes.

In the social realm, AI has been a great help for marketers, enabling brands to get their messages in front of their desired audience more easily than ever before.

The good news is AI already has significant buy-in from organization leaders. A study found that 97% of leaders agree AI and machine learning (ML) enable businesses to analyze social media data and insights more efficiently.

Social Listening Tools

Social listening can lead to higher customer satisfaction rates. The 2025 Sprout Social Index found that 73% of social users will buy from a competitor if a brand doesn’t respond on social.

Your customers are talking, and if your brand isn’t listening, you risk losing their trust, loyalty, and hard-earned dollars.

Enter social listening tools, an easy way for brands to see what potential customers and customers alike are saying about their business.

With social listening tools, brands can track specific keywords and set alerts any time someone mentions these keywords.

For example, a brand might want to track relevant hashtags related to their product or service or be alerted any time a competitor is mentioned.

Rapid alerts enable brands to move quickly, replying directly to customers any time they’re in need of customer support.

If a product has a major defect that’s widespread, customers may turn to social media to share their grievances with their followers.

How you respond to this feedback sets the stage for if they’ll give your business the opportunity to course-correct, or if they’ll take their business elsewhere.

The same can apply to a gap in service.

For example, a fast-casual Mexican food restaurant sought to find out how they could improve customer experiences. The restaurant leveraged a mix of AI and social media listening tools to identify where there was friction in the customer journey.

Customers frequently mentioned long wait times in their social media feedback, prompting the restaurant to take quick action to remedy this consistent complaint. The result? Better experiences and happier customers.

Integrated Dashboards

To successfully scale as a marketing entity, integrated dashboards are a must. The right technology allows marketers to view all their data in one centralized location.

From social media metrics to local search performance, technology should empower marketers to make better decisions with a clear view of their performance.

In theory, marketers should be able to have a clear picture of the entire customer journey, from the time a customer first searches for a business on Google to what page they land on to checking out.

A unified approach helps marketers measure how social media campaigns contribute to other organizational efforts such as lead generation, purchasing, and more.

Integrated dashboards also allow different teams to assess performance at a higher level.

Content marketers are able to see how their efforts coincide with social media marketers with a transparent view of social media metrics. It also allows teams to easily share their impact with C-level colleagues.

Next Steps For Social Media Marketers Ready To Make An Impact

As we’ve explored throughout this blog post, the days of measuring social media impact by simply looking at followers or like numbers are long gone.

This year, measuring social media impact will rely on looking at the right metrics and integrating the right technology.

Social media marketers will want to consistently showcase the results through integrated dashboards with their broader team to highlight the positive impact they’re making on the business.

By sharing how social media efforts tie to broader business goals, social media marketers can elevate their careers. It’s not all about the business, though; the real drivers of success are loyal and engaged customers.

Social media metrics do more than show what’s working and what isn’t. They show whether your potential and current customers care to consume your content.

Now that the new year has come, it’s time for brands to reassess their social media strategies. Are you relying on metrics that don’t show the full picture? Or are you adopting the strategies, tools, and technology that lead to better customer outcomes?

More Resources:

Featured Image: ImageFlow/Shutterstock

Short-Form Video Dominance: The Future Of Engagement In Social Media via @sejournal, @donutcaramel13

Short-form videos are no longer a passing trend – they are here to stay.

Short clips on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts have taken over our feeds and continue to thrive on social because of their sharply edited content and low investment requirement.

With YouTube Shorts boasting over 50 billion daily views and TikTok surpassing 1.6 billion monthly active users, it’s clear that short-form videos are dominating the social media landscape.

Whether you’re a social media manager, creative artist, B2B professional, or anyone who uses these three main platforms for their business, this article will explore opportunities that may work for your key vertical.

The Evolution Of Social Media Formats

After the massive uptake of TikTok back in 2018, Instagram and YouTube responded with their own version of video shorts.

Each of them brings their own unique selling points to compete for views. Here’s what you need to know at a glance:

Let’s take a closer look at each platform:

YouTube Short’s Evolution

Out of the three, YouTube is the one that evolved the most and has been the longest-running platform – known for long-form user-generated content for more than a decade now.

From the 2010 homemade comedy skits (Nigahiga, Fred, KevJumba), Let’s Plays (Pewdiepie), and beauty gurus (Zoella) to travel vlogs (Casey Neistat), kid content (MrBeast), and energetic livestreams (IShowSpeed) – it’s quite a jump in production value.

Speaking of vlogs, YouTube helped popularize this concept.

But slowly, short-form content presented some problems for YouTube’s Partner Program. YouTube partners make money from ads, which are frequently shown in long-form videos.

The rise of short-form content presented a financial challenge for creators not used to producing short videos.

Most creators mentioned earlier are no longer at the top like they used to be, although some have quit due to personal reasons, and others have shifted career focus over time.

Also, with the rising star TikTok, which showcases short clips only, and Instagram Reels, a 2020 product that followed suit, I can imagine that YouTube felt pressured to create a new format to keep up with its contemporaries.

It began testing in India in 2020 and debuted globally in 2021, with its video limit expanding over time up to five minutes.

YouTube Shorts succeeded, given that 20.7% of its audience are ages 25 to 34, making them the largest age demographic. The platform had over 2 billion monthly logged-in users at the end of July 2023.

Now, YouTube Shorts are longer. Keep in mind that last October, YouTube announced that YouTube Shorts can now be three minutes long, maximum.

This is in contrast to TikTok’s 10-minute maximum and Instagram Reels’ 90-second maximum length.

Instagram Reel’s Evolution

Instagram was first launched as a photo album-style platform. It then added video capabilities in June 2013 so that Instagram could rival the now-defunct video-sharing platform, Vine.

Seven years later, in August 2020, Instagram Reels was launched so that it could compete with newcomer TikTok.

With music, augmented reality (AR), and editing tools, it became easy to create and post short videos on Instagram – all videos under 15 minutes are also automatically converted into Reels as of July 2022.

TikTok’s Evolution

As for TikTok, it underwent the least amount of evolution. It started with Musical.ly, a lip-syncing app that was acquired by ByteDance, the Chinese tech company.

They bought it back in 2018 and merged its user base with its product, TikTok. Thus began TikTok as we know it, and it had already featured very short clips – think 15 seconds, max.

TikTok is the most popular short-form video platform of the three. According to DataReportal, it rivals and beats Instagram’s reported ad audience by 30%.

Although YouTube is the one to beat when it comes to daily use and opening of the app, TikTok is king when it comes to time spent on the app (34 hours on average per month), compared to YouTube’s 28 hours and 5 minutes and Instagram’s 15 hours and 50 minutes.

That’s amazing, given that much of YouTube activity is spent on it being played in a browser. Additionally, YouTube has the most significant number of active users.

But don’t overlook Instagram. Its “audience affinity,” according to GWI, makes it the world’s favorite app, with 16.5% of all users selecting it vs. all the others, twice more than the 7.4% that chose TikTok.

Instagram is also set to become video-first and drives half of Meta’s revenue in the coming year, according to a report by Jasmine Enberg of EMARKETER.

Why Short-Form Video Is Winning

In this research paper, Shorts on the Rise: Assessing the Effects of YouTube Shorts on Long-Form Video Content, 250 participants were studied, and the outcome was that Shorts were indeed more engaging than the average YouTube video. (Note: While this is a limited study, it may still offer insight.)

Long-form video vs. Short-form creators: Views, likes, and comments were compared. And spoiler alert: Short-form videos from short-form creators won views by a landslide in the views category and only lost out on comments.

Screenshot from Shorts on the Rise: Assessing the Effects of YouTube Shorts on Long-Form Video Content, used under CC BY 4.0. No changes were made.

Short-form videos are 2.5 times more likely to receive more engagement, and 85% of viewers prefer videos with a duration of 15 seconds or less.

This makes it useful for SEO and a brand to increase user engagement on the page.

Also, scaling remains a big part of the reasons behind the rise of short-form videos. It’s not just the viewers who benefit from shorter videos, but you as a creator.

A 15-minute video takes fewer resources to create (and can be spliced from existing long-form, pillar content).

Repurposing content works perfectly well in this example for Zillow, a real estate and rental marketplace, explaining whether it’s a buyer or seller’s market, depending on where the customer lives.

The long-form video has eight likes and is barely two minutes long.

And here’s the Shorts version. While it’s not an exact clip from the long-form content, it got over 574 likes at the time of writing and is only 39 seconds long.

Takeaway: Educational content in digestible snippets can work wonders for your brand, whether you’re in real estate, law, or retail.

Zillow’s new market heat index chart didn’t have to be presented against a corporate backdrop, and notice how simply the representative is dressed.

The real estate market could be intimidating for beginners, but this presentation seemed simple enough to understand while being concise.

Overall, it leaves me with the impression that the brand is approachable, and will probably entice more customers to learn and try out their app.

While it works well for B2C, it also works for B2B SaaS, as they have the potential to make it personable and highlight their services.

Here’s how Shopify appeals to its target audience: online entrepreneurs using relatable skits as short-form content on TikTok.

@shopify

all it took was a single stitch for @mel’s crafty coRNer 🌈🫶🏼 to spin up a thriving craft business

♬ original sound – Shopify

This one presents the emotional journey of an aspiring entrepreneur with a nursing degree who wanted to set up her craft business.

She hit the ground running and thrived, thanks to Shopify. It highlights the brand’s unique selling point as a retail point-of-sale system without trying too hard – all in 45 seconds flat.

Prediction For 2025: The Shift In Creator Strategies

I’m predicting the rise of multi-platform influencers – people who shine on all platforms and aren’t celebrities who have worked to become famous online.

TikTok influencers who are unknown on Meta exist by the ton and vice-versa.

Old-school YouTubers may look into TikTok monetization and try to diversify their content to bite-sized formats or give product reviews with a yellow basket.

They could also hire a social media manager to make sure they star on all channels. The only platform that has good integration for crossposting is Meta.

By next year, creators will be trying their hand at other platforms and seeking new audiences there, and agencies can get partnerships with them that really tie in together with their social media strategy.

Finally, creators will shift and incorporate more mixes of short- and long-form content, or dedicate new channels to:

1. Solely to breadcrumb their viewers into watching the full version, like movie teasers and music video releases.
2. Create an entirely new art, stories, memes, etc., worth 15 seconds long.

There Is No Shortcut: Challenges For Your Brand

The competition is fierce across various niches. Beauty creators, dancers, and even doctors are becoming dual-platformers.

Short-form videos have the potential to attract new customers, so everyone wants to demonstrate their expertise in 15 seconds.

I believe talent and great storytelling will triumph on the right platform – as long as they are optimized.

Expedia, the travel tech company, does it well across the board, which is something to note for both small and big travel agencies and marketplaces. Here’s an example of its TikTok, Instagram Reel, and YouTube Shorts.

Finally, the competition is now fiercer than ever with AI. How can you stand out in your industry on these platforms? Learning the art of short-form video can only help as the trend progresses.

For B2B SaaS companies, explainer videos and product demos need to be more concise, 15 seconds ideally, but a tutorial on setting up systems can take time.

So, as long as it can incorporate a trendy sound clip or relatable format, it can work (check out this list of TikTok trends our team regularly updates).

Hospitality brands need to focus on visual storytelling, like the examples highlighted above. It’s recommended not to skimp on production because even 15 seconds’ worth of content has to entice customers.

Lastly, lifestyle and fashion brands find success when they focus on user-generated content.

From unboxings to dance trends featuring #OOTDs (outfit of the day), encourage customers to use your branded hashtags on these short-form video platforms.

Consider how Zara fans post their own style hacks, and Zara has its ongoing #SELECTEDby campaign, which allows the retailer to collaborate with stylish influencers and, potentially, fans.

Short-Form Videos: Make Every Second Count

Short-form videos will continue to boom on social media, and these three apps are paving the way – for now.

While long-form content won’t necessarily go out of style anytime soon, creators should pay attention to the short format and ideate how to create mobile-friendly, engaging content for your brand.

TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts dominate the game, but there are emergent ones who are trying to be the next TikTok, with an offering from Vine’s co-founder called “Byte” one to watch.

Fitting your content into 15 seconds takes a lot of effort, but it can be done.

Chop up parts into a series, tighten the script, adapt TikTok trends and challenges, and try your best to keep it consistent when uploading (put effort into descriptions and thumbnails).

So, if you decide to go short, where do you upload?

Personally, I would recommend TikTok for viral intent and the latest trends, Instagram Reels for niche and established audiences with visual storytelling, and lastly, YouTube Shorts for creators who already rock on the platform.

More Resources:

Featured Image: Frame Stock Footage/Shutterstock

TikTok Alternatives for Brands and Merchants

TikTok is back, isn’t it? After pulling down service yesterday (Sunday) morning, TikTok restored it in the afternoon with the notice, “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”

TikTok notice on Jan. 19, 2025

On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the law requiring the owner of TikTok, China-based ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operations to avoid a U.S. ban. The law went into effect on Sunday.

By midmorning on Sunday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, “I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.”

While President Trump’s executive order on Monday should stop the enforcement of the ban, the liability of third parties, such as hosting platforms or app stores, is unclear. Justice Sonia Sotomayor stated during the Supreme Court hearings, “Whatever the new president does doesn’t change that reality for these companies.”

Regardless, brands and merchants have options for social commerce. Here is a list of TikTok alternatives featuring short video and live-streaming formats. Some have monetization features, and others have full ecommerce functionality similar to TikTok Shop.

TikTok Alternatives

RedNote is a China-based lifestyle and social networking app popular for product recommendations and tips on beauty, fashion, and travel. RedNote (i.e., “Xiaohongshu”) is designed for shopping. Products can be tagged within posts, making it easy for followers to click and purchase within the app. RedNote features a discovery search for lifestyle content, notes for blogging, a split-screen for collaboration, video and live-streaming content, and integrated ecommerce functionality. RedNote is currently the number 1 social networking app in Apple’s App Store. RedNote says its network supports 300 million users per month.

RedNote

Instagram Reels stands to gain the most users from any sustained TikTok shutdown, as the Meta app already dominates the social media landscape. Users can use Reels to create multi-clip videos up to 90 seconds and add text, augmented-reality filters, and audio. Users can start live-streaming by swiping right in the feed and then scrolling to Live. Users can also use Shops to open a storefront on a business profile, along with product tags to distribute shoppable content.

Amazon Live enables brands and creators to produce shoppable live and on-demand videos that span multiple categories, including home, beauty, electronics, and shopping events like Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Streams on Amazon Live can appear on the Amazon home page, in the “Amazon Live” section of the website, or on a seller’s or influencer’s storefront. Products featured in Amazon Live will appear in a carousel at the bottom of the stream. Any registered brand partner is eligible to stream using the Amazon Live Creator app. These livestreams will appear on a brand’s Amazon Store for 30 days and can be viewed live and on-demand on Amazon.com/live.

Flip is a social shopping app to discover products from brands. U.S. direct-to-consumer companies can apply to join the exclusive list of sellers and integrate an existing ecommerce platform with Flip to sync a product catalog. Users can also become creators and earn money by sharing their shopping experiences. Flip charges a percentage fee on all sales generated through the platform. The fee is based on the product category.

Flip

YouTube Shopping allows eligible creators to showcase their products and branded merchandise. Viewers can browse and buy products from the channel’s store, in video descriptions, and in collections — as well via a shopping button in videos, shorts, and livestreams. Creators can showcase products by linking to their channel store or creating and sharing Shopping Collections, which will appear in a creator’s product list, store tab, and video description.

Whatnot is a social marketplace for selling products via live-streamed auctions. During a livestream, sellers can list items (i) for auction, (ii) in their Buy It Now store, or (iii) as giveaways. Users can attend live auctions and deep dive with other collectors and like-minded shoppers. Sellers have several tools for livestreams, including Zoom, Facecam, and a randomizer spin wheel for offering promotions and driving engagement. Sellers can access performance analytics.

Clapper is a short-form video and live-streaming app to provide authentic communication and expression. Use the Duet Live feature to bring on a follower and interact in real-time, and use the radio feature for an audio-only room of up to 2,000 listeners and 20 speakers. Create a group community of fans to interact with. The Clapper Shop allows creators to list and sell products. Add and promote your product, and it will appear on the livestream screen for anyone to buy.

Fanbase is an ad-free social hub for creators to generate subscription revenue by sharing posts, short- and long-form videos, stories, and live audio and video streaming. Fanbase offers a 3-step tool to help TikTok creators migrate their content. Post exclusive content available to monthly subscribers for prices ranging from $2.99 to $99. Users discover content through trending topics, interests, and favorited creators. Users can also join livestreams and chat with others or head into the audio rooms.

Fanbase

Likee is a platform for sharing short-form videos and livestreams. Likee features augmented-reality filters to apply in videos and livestreams, editing effects, and an extensive music library. Creators can monetize content through SuperLikes and establish SuperFollow subscribers with customizable monthly subscription prices. Likee says it has over 150 million monthly active users worldwide.

Triller is a video-sharing social networking app similar to TikTok’s music-sharing core. Utilizing Triller’s auto-editing algorithm, creators can shoot a few takes, tap the “Next” button, apply 100-plus video filters, and add music. The platform will then combine it all into a shareable video. Creators can also produce live video streams. Users can share or distribute via Instagram, Facebook, X, SMS, and email. Triller does not have monetization or ecommerce functionality, but it has launched a SaveMyTikToks.com website to help creators back up content by migrating it to Triller.

Neptune is a soon-to-be-released social networking and video-sharing beta app for creators and community-centric connections. Neptune features (i) a customizable algorithm that allows users to tailor their experience for relevant content and (ii) ghost metrics that measure the quality of content instead of just follower counts. Neptune maintains it will help users develop lasting connections. Neptune also claims that its monetization will be transparent and equitable to creators. Register to get access to the beta launch.

CommentSold is a live-selling social-commerce platform similar to a TikTok Shop. Merchants can start a live-selling broadcast and distribute it simultaneously to their social networks (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), website, mobile app, and Shopify store. CommentSold’s features include (i) automatically generated video content for products with live selling segments, (ii) actionable data insights on inventory, customers, and finances, and (iii) expert guidance from strategists. Shoppers comment “Sold” or click the product highlighted on a live video to add it to their cart without leaving the stream. Sellers create shoppable videos with PopClips, which highlight and tag up to five products per video.

CommentSold

Threads And The Art Of Short-Form Storytelling: How Brevity Is Winning Hearts via @sejournal, @donutcaramel13

The less a person says to communicate, the better.

Shakespeare said “Brevity is the soul of wit.” And in just six words, underlined why brevity impacts communication.

I appreciate brevity in all things. Iconic one-liners work for punny slogans, catchy choruses, witty retorts, and more.

But think about how true this is for social media.

A decade or so ago, I would take the time to write out three-paragraph diary entries, feature an “emo” pic, and get a lot of engagement or at least some reposts. In today’s fast-paced digital world, that doesn’t cut it anymore.

Today, I hardly use Facebook or even X (Twitter) – enter Threads.

Launched in July 2023, this text-based app built by the team behind Instagram is one of the newest social channels on the block.

With around 200 million monthly active users (MAU), Threads has woven its way into the top 10 social media platforms.

Whether you’re looking for a potential new customer, want to spread awareness about your latest innovation, or simply want to share what you’ve been up to as a creator, here’s why it’s working so well, in my opinion.

1. Short-Form Storytelling Is Captivating Audiences On Threads

While our screens load faster than ever, our attention spans are shorter.

According to the American Psychological Association’s Dr. Gloria Mark:

“So back in 2004, we found the average attention span on any screen to be two and a half minutes on average. Throughout the years, it became shorter. So, around 2012, we found it to be 75 seconds.

This is with logging techniques. This is an average. And then in the last five, six years, we found it to average about 47 seconds, and others have replicated this result within a few seconds. So it seems to be quite robust.

Now, another way to think about this result is the median. The median means the midpoint of observations. The median is 40 seconds.”

I don’t know how fast you can read, but 47 seconds is not enough for me to read a well-written photo essay online. The same goes for video.

The shorter the storytelling, the easier it is to catch someone’s attention.

This example was only 17 hours old at the time of writing. Yet it had already gained 109 likes and 51 likes, with three reposts. If you unravel their thread, it’s pretty engaging from start to finish.

There’s continuity as each “reply” to their own post builds on the first part of the post.

2. The Power Of Brevity On Topics

It’s not a hashtag. Threads’ vertically expansive, short-form style is further enhanced by the blue highlight feature called “Topic.”

Threads said you can only tag one topic per post, explaining “Why just one? Why just one? This makes it easier for others who care about that topic to find and read your post.”

And it does!

The principle of brevity applies. There was a post I inexplicably couldn’t get out of my mind, and it was in my native tongue (Filipino), but I lost it because I had closed the app.

When I searched for the words “Huling message ni bunso” (English translation: the last message from the youngest sibling), the first result was exactly the same post I was trying to find.

As someone who has exhausted all means to reverse search on other platforms, I was grateful the app narrowed down the search and is friendly to non-English speaking users, too.

The algorithm doesn’t just find your interests but lets your interests find you.

Case in point, even Stephen King is a fan of the platform. It’s amusing that a lot of users use the topic feature (whether highlighted blue or not), and with a stitch of luck, King will appear and reply.

Capturing Attention Through Concise, Impactful Stories

Limited character counts favor attention spans. So, if you decide to post five-liners, each sentence should build on the previous one. X (Twitter) has a 280-character limit, while Threads has a 500-character limit.

But for me, brevity isn’t about having the shortest sentence; it’s about expressing ideas concisely.

No distracting side-stories. Assume your audience is smart – they don’t need a backstory if it’s not aligned with your post’s purpose.

Here’s an example. The analogy this poster made about lemonade stands, drive-thrus, and jazz lounges is enticing.

Readers can relate, and each point was made concisely, with the first point only consisting of four short sentences.

The Art Of Continuous Storytelling

What’s cool is that the platform supports seamless updates to your post, should you wish to go back and update the ones who are invested in it – like this one.

This update is created in response to a post I initially read two days before, and while I didn’t save it, it popped back into my home feed again.

It’s easy to reference a previous post because of the intuitive user interface and minimalistic style.

Alternatively, you can also keep hitting the reply button on your own content to update it (my experience compared to TikTok and other platforms where your old content is stale content once it’s been published.)

Crafting Effective Short-Form Stories On Threads: Tips And Techniques

Opening With A Hook

I suggest starting with “unpopular opinion” or inviting people to unravel your Thread to find out why your thesis statement is true.

Or ask a sincere question or open a debate (address your target audience of Threads, ask what your No. 1 tip is for something, or ask them to choose between this and that, and chances are someone will get back to you).

Check this example out. The first line caught my attention, and intrigued, I quickly absorbed the rest of the carousel post.

If you’re dishing out good advice, the last part of your thread could feature your book or website.

Utilizing Carousels

If you’re running a small business or selling art, it’s quite useful to templates, such as sequential updates or thematic threads, that help create clear, engaging narratives.

Photo blogging by putting handwritten digital annotations can also help draw the eye.

This fun example grabs attention right away because the answers are visually present on the carousel.

I love these beautiful carousels, such as this example and this how-to guide.

Reading copy goes from top to bottom, and images go from left to right. How simple is that?

Seamless Fun

Try it yourself: According to Threads, if you pinch both photos, it automatically connects them (at least on mobile).

Screenshot from Threads, November 2024

Staying Relatable And Real

I also noticed that people don’t even have to have followers to get engagement.

I’ve seen posts in German (like this one) and Spanish (this) show up on my home feed. Why? Because while I didn’t understand the language, they posted something related to my interest.

In this case, cozy gaming, upcoming travel to Japan, and related sub-genres like Japanese animation.

If you want to attract birds of the same feather to your Threads post, feature a short, heartfelt story that resonates.

More and more users now understand how authenticity on Threads captures attention and create posts that are vulnerable or raw – but honest.

This one was pretty clever and so was this one. You don’t have to be like Oscar Wilde to do well on Threads. Even if you’re not naturally witty, be clear and concise.

Why Short-Form Storytelling Matters For The Future Of Social Media

Threads is not the first platform to feature brevity and continuity. X (Twitter) and Reddit have done it first. But meaningful content shines on this platform in my experience.

For one, I don’t experience disruptive ads. The desktop version also lets you view various feeds vertically while scrolling through.

Screenshot from Threads by author, November 2024

It’s faster than reading a newspaper, watching a documentary, or turning pages of a book.

While maybe not as suitable for deep dives, social media platforms allow for more personalized and interactive content.

The post that took you five seconds to make could make you go viral, too. Don’t forget emojis and abbreviations because, according to research:

These linguistic modifications included the removal of subjects and articles, the use of initialisms like LOL (“Laughing Out Loud”) and BRB (“Be right back”), as well as inventive spelling and punctuation like “CU l8tr” (“See you later”) (Tagg, 2015).

Instead of suggesting a lack of proficiency in more conventional literacy skills, researchers discovered that the brevity of the texts demanded greater syntactic analysis and metalinguistic awareness (Kemp, 2010).

Short-form storytelling is a game of give and take as with every post, comments now spur on ideas for creators, replies spawn more replies, and readers and creators alike stalk each other’s accounts for possible clues to unanswered questions.

Keeping it short caters to attention spans and drives users to act faster than ever.

Conclusion: Embrace Brevity To Build Connections

Threads is the platform that gives back. It’s a unique outlet for personal short-form content – and even long-form if you cut copy into digestible snippets.

Some friends also call it “wholesome Twitter,” and I can see why.

My opinion is that the people joining the platform migrated from toxic name-callers to other platforms. (My educated guess is that X/Twitter’s policies are less restrictive, which attracts more controversy.)

My tip is to keep this in mind: The spirit of community, the act of helping and being heard, seems to be stronger on Threads (at least for me). But don’t take my word for it; there are plenty of spirited debaters on this app, too.

When you embrace brevity, you keep people’s attention spans in mind. Strangers and lurkers feel more compelled to read and respond.

Whether it’s a new customer, client, or friend, new connections await you to make your point.

More resources:

Featured Image: Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Shutterstock

Open a Facebook Shop in 2025

Social commerce is poised to take off in 2025, reaching 60% or more of Gen Z and Millennial shoppers worldwide, depending on the source.

TikTok is the trending social platform, with roughly 36 million shoppers, while Facebook is massive and established, with 68 million. Both are compelling options.

In this article, I will focus on Facebook Shop and its two key promotional opportunities.

Create a Facebook Page

Create a Facebook page by filling in a few fields and uploading images.

A Facebook Shop requires a Facebook page.

• Log in to your personal Facebook account.
• Go to the Pages section and create a new page.
• Select the “Public Page” option.

Work through the six setup screens using Facebook’s interface as a guide. By the end, you will have a minimal Facebook page, ready to do business.

Set Up a Business Suite Account

Meta Business Suite is the single location for managing your pages, including the one you just created for your store. The setup process is straightforward.

• Go to Business Suite.
• Click “Create Account” and follow the prompts.
• Add your Facebook page to Business Suite under “Business Settings” > “Accounts” > “Pages.”

Business Suite is a hub for Meta assets — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp.

Meta’s Business Suite is the dashboard for managing stores on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Set Up a Commerce Account

Next, prepare your Facebook Shop.

• Go to the Facebook Commerce “Get started” page.
• Select “Add Products.”
• Toggle the “Connect to a partner platform” switch.
• Complete the form.

Facebook Shop integrates directly with Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and other stores. I will use Shopify for this example.

To start, enter your store’s Myshopify.com subdomain, located on the “Domains” tab in your Shopify account settings. Facebook will direct you to Shopify and add the Facebook and Instagram app.

Facebook integrates with many ecommerce platforms, including Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce.

Connect Your Store

Facebook profiles associated with multiple pages may need to specify the one to integrate with Shopify. Then set your desired level of data sharing between Facebook and Shopify. Meta will use the data to improve advertising results but may require updates to your Shopify privacy policy and settings.

You’ll likely see approved products on your Facebook page in just a few minutes, although it sometimes takes up to two days.

Customize Your Facebook Shop

Once the Shopify store and Facebook Shop are synchronized, customize the latter via the Facebook Commerce Manager, adding payment types, layout, and verifications. Facebook permits some shop customization but will also pull from Shopify.

Facebook typically provides a checklist with a handful of tasks to complete before your shop is live.

Facebook permits some shop customization but will pull a lot from Shopify.

Promote the Facebook Shop

Most sellers promote Facebook Shops in two ways: Meta advertising and organic social media content.

Meta advertising. By accessing the shared Shopify data, Meta can confirm purchases, track website activity via its pixel, and view online chats.

All that information will guide Meta in identifying and targeting likely customers in a privacy-compliant manner. The optimized advertising should perform well. A few published reports, including one from Omnichat, describe a tenfold improvement in return on advertising spend for online merchants using Shopify and Facebook Shops.

Organic social media content. The second promotional opportunity comes from content marketing and email address capture.

Think of Facebook as a content distribution channel for your store. Share blog posts, product videos, and the like on that platform. Its algorithms (and your followers) will help expose the shop.

Always include email capture on your Facebook page and store. On the page, add a “newsletter” or “subscribe” custom action button linked to an email subscription form. Then include those subscribers in your store’s regular promotional email messages.