Social Marketing and In-App Commerce: The New Frontier of Digital Growth

In recent years, social networks have stopped being simple spaces for interaction and have transformed into true digital shopping malls. Today, platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook integrate shopping features that allow users to discover, evaluate, and purchase products without ever leaving the app. This phenomenon, known as social commerce, is redefining how brands build relationships with their customers and how they drive sales.

Social platforms don’t just communicate anymore—they sell.

Social commerce is growing because it solves two major needs of the modern user:

• It saves time: see a product and buy it instantly without navigating to external sites.

• It builds trust: recommendations from creators, reviews, and real content carry more weight than traditional advertising.

Features like integrated shops, product tags, catalogs, and in-platform payments enable a seamless purchase journey where content is the main engine.

How Social Marketing Powers Commerce on Social Platforms

For social commerce to work, brands must go beyond traditional advertising and embrace a logic centered on community, culture, and conversation. Key elements include:

1. Native content that doesn’t feel like an ad

Users reject intrusive content but love anything that feels authentic:

• tutorials

• real reviews

• “Get Ready With Me”

• unboxings

• behind-the-scenes content

What sells isn’t the product—it’s the story surrounding it.

2. Creators as new commercial partners

Brands no longer seek only big influencers; they also collaborate with micro-creators who have small yet loyal audiences. Their role is crucial in purchase decisions: they convert better, build trust, and speak the user’s language.

3. The experience matters more than the catalog

Consumers want to see the product in action, in real contexts, with real people. That’s why the following work so well:

• live product testing

• before-and-after content

• spontaneous reviews

• product comparisons

Buying stops being a cold act and becomes a shared moment.

4. Constant conversation and immediate attention

Replying to comments, adding video FAQs, participating in trends, or creating challenges helps algorithms boost brand content and increases user trust.

Why Will This Trend Keep Growing?

Three main reasons explain its rapid expansion:

• Users trust social recommendations more than ads.

• Platforms are investing heavily in e-commerce tools, from live shopping to AI-powered recommendations.

• Impulse buying skyrockets when everything happens without friction.

Brands that understand this moment will gain a massive competitive advantage.

How Can Small Businesses Benefit?

Small businesses can benefit even more than large brands because:

• Authentic content costs far less than large campaigns.

• Micro-creators are affordable and highly effective.

• Live shopping boosts conversion without requiring major resources.

• Local communities are powerful recommendation engines.

Success doesn’t depend on having thousands of followers but on creating content that resonates and responds to a real need.