I think this phenomenon has taken place right before our eyes, that is, we all have witnessed, even participated in this great evolution which will definitely contribute in defining our age in future.
We all here are social media users in one way or the other. Let’s admit it now, that life without social media today, is like living in Stone Age. When social media was introduced in our lives, the only role it used to play was of connecting people. People liked the idea and joined these social media sites in a large number.
What happened after that is the evolution of E-commerce on social media. The capitalistic and commercialized ideology of business companies acknowledged and recognized the concentration of a large number of people on these social media websites and thought of turning them into their consumers.
The social media websites like Snapchat and Instagram are the best example to show how easily a user can be turned into a consumer, through the influence of social media.There is no denying that social media is a great influencer. Now what business companies have done is using social media for influencing their target consumers.
These companies were successful in identifying the potential of social media in eliminating the distance between the producer and the consumer, just like it has eliminated the distance between people globally. Thus, social media and e-commerce successfully emerged as what is now being hailed as the “most mutually beneficial association”.
E-commerce pages, digital advertisements, video ads, and such marketing-oriented content has invaded the social media space so much so that, people now use these platforms majorly for betting introduced to new brands, new product options, and so on. Seeing the present trend, the future of social media as a helping aid for e-commerce seems very bright.
Social media’s major role is that it allows anyone and everyone to comment, praise, and criticize whatever comes their way. Be it a movement, a political happening, or a brand products. So the pages that e-commerce companies create on social media accounts are the reflection of their credibility, as now, the company is much approachable and easier to comment upon, thanks to social media. This has increased both transparency and accountability.
Social media has also helped e-commerce companies in building their brand image and maintaining an online presence which increases the sales of a product to a great degree.
So the role of social media in e-commerce ranges from awareness in consumers to building a brand image in front of them, and from becoming approachable to handle customer grievances more effectively. All this accounts for the evolution of social media as an e-commerce platform.
The future of social media, as in association with e-commerce seems quite successful and bright, especially due to the advent of AI technology which will add more to this practice.
