Advertising is all about assembly folks the place they’re — and as a rule, they’re on social media. For that reason, it is essential to spend money on social product discovery.
In different phrases, use social media as a car for shoppers to find your merchandise.
In fact, not all social media platforms are created equal, particularly on the subject of product discovery. So, in the event you’re trying to pinpoint the platforms shoppers use probably the most for product analysis, you have come to the best place.
Right here, we’ll dive into:
Let’s dive in.
Shopper analysis is crucial for a greater understanding of the client journey from preliminary searches to web site visits and eventual purchases.
Plus, the arrival of digital- and mobile-first interactions has made this analysis much more essential because the buyer journey now consists of a number of paths and touchpoints from begin to end.
For instance, potential patrons would possibly hear about your model from a buddy, do their analysis on social media, after which work together along with your e-commerce retailer by means of their cell machine.
Understanding all touchpoints alongside this journey may also help firms create extra seamless and streamlined experiences for shoppers and improve general ROI.
The Prime Social Media Channels Shoppers Use For Product Discovery
26% of shoppers favor to find new merchandise by way of social media, in keeping with HubSpot’s 2024 State of Consumer Trends Report. Let’s take a better take a look at the channels they leverage for product discovery:
Gen Z
40% of Gen Z have found new merchandise on social media previously three months, and 41% say it is their most well-liked channel for locating new merchandise.
Nearly half (48%) of Gen Z shoppers favor to find new merchandise by way of short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. Furthermore, nearly a 3rd of Gen Z respondents say TikTok is their favourite app.
Millennials
The divide between Millennials and Gen Z appears to be narrowing when it comes to how and the place they uncover new merchandise. Like Gen Z, nearly all of Millennials in our survey (43%) say they’ve found a brand new product by way of social media previously three months.
Moreover, 47% favor discovering new merchandise on social media by way of short-form movies like Instagram Reels, TikToks, and YouTube Shorts.
“Social media permits me to see the merchandise in context,” says client and HubSpot Advertising Supervisor Erica Santiago. “Whether or not it is an influencer or creator utilizing the product or somebody demonstrating tips on how to use it—short-form movies permit me to shortly assess how a product works and if I need to purchase it.”
Gen X
Gen X discovers new merchandise on social media on the similar charge as Gen Z, with 40% saying they’ve found a brand new product on social media within the final 3 months.
And like each Millennials and Gen Z, nearly all of Gen X (36%) prefers short-form movies on the subject of discovering new merchandise on social media.
Child Boomers
Social media falls flat for boomers—solely a slim 20% have found a product on it previously three months, and solely 8% favor buying a product by means of that medium.
That mentioned, of those that use social media (43%) favor discovering new merchandise by way of social media marketplaces the place purchases occur off the app. An instance could be Fb Market.
Social Media Product Technique Examples
1. Dizzy With Excitement
Dizzy With Pleasure is a wallpaper model identified for its quirky and creative designs.
To deliver consciousness to its model, DWE collaborates with different creators and types that target off-the-wall designs by incorporating these designs into the wallpaper. The model then promotes these collaborations by way of short-form video platforms like TikTok.
For instance, DWE collaborated with TikToker Kaarin Joy, who focuses on distinctive, whimsical dwelling DIY initiatives. DWE created wallpaper based on Joy’s DIY projects, and Pleasure confirmed on TikTok the wallpaper being displayed in her dwelling, tagging DWE in her posts.
2. Heidi Daus
Heidi Daus is a model specializing in dazzling, sparkly assertion jewellery. Whereas the model would not have an official TikTok, it is beginning to leverage TikTok by collaborating with creators like Andrea’s Trend Galaxy.
Andrea is a content material creator specializing in trend and elegance inspiration, and he or she typically refers to herself as a magpie as a result of her love for shiny garments and equipment.
So, it made sense Heidi Daus would collaborate with Andrea, who kinds a number of outfits across the shiny jewellery items. The video additionally options an unique low cost code viewers can use to purchase from the model.
Each Heidi Daus and Dizzy With Pleasure are nice examples of leveraging social media with influencer advertising and marketing.
3. Fenty Magnificence
Make-up model Fenty Magnificence is thought for leveraging influencer advertising and marketing in its technique, which is sensible contemplating its founder and proprietor is likely one of the most influential pop stars on the earth—Rihanna!
Nevertheless, Fenty Magnificence added one thing else to its social media technique—creating its personal TikTok filter! TikTok permits creators to create their very own filters and share them with different customers.
Doing so sparks tendencies and encourages folks to make and share extra content material utilizing the filter.
In July, Fenty Magnificence launched a TikTok filter referred to as its “Lip Combo Generator.” The generator cycles by means of pairs of Fenty lip liners and Fenty lipsticks earlier than producing a combo that seems on the consumer’s lips.
This filter promotes totally different Fenty merchandise and permits customers to see which combo works for them.
When leveraging totally different social media platforms, consider intelligent methods the platform’s in-house instruments may also help you promote your merchandise and provides your viewers and concept of how it could work for them.
For instance, in the event you’re a clothes model, contemplating making a filter matching totally different objects to the viewer.
4. Gibson
Iconic guitar manufacturing firm Gibson Guitar leverages Instagram to advertise its newest guitars and amps. Particularly, the model leans into the artwork of videography and pictures, displaying its productvia s crisp, clear, skilled movies and images.
A lot of the high performing movies characteristic skilled movies of musicians taking part in the devices or a carousel of images highlighting the look and craftsmanship of the merchandise.
What sorts of product content material do shoppers watch or have interaction with?
In case you’re trying to leverage social media, it is a good suggestion to know what sorts of branded content material shoppers take pleasure in.
Greater than half of shoppers (52%) discover humorous content material probably the most memorable, adopted by content material showcasing the model’s merchandise by way of demos, teasers, and many others.
Which social media platform do you have to market merchandise on?
- Fb
- YouTube
Fb
Fb has a whopping 3.07 billion monthly active users and has been round because the early 2000s. Most significantly, it offers many alternatives for shoppers to find new merchandise.
Free Promotion
By now, you in all probability know that any firm can create a Facebook Business Page. When you create a enterprise web page, you may share posts about your merchandise and choices.
If in case you have comfortable prospects, you may even ask them to overview your corporation on Fb so prospects researching you may see how you have happy your prospects previously.
Along with making a web page to spotlight your model, you can even publish your merchandise on Facebook’s Marketplace.
Though particular person customers typically use the Market to promote objects they now not need to different folks, Facebook Business pages are also eligible to make use of this characteristic.
Our client tendencies survey discovered {that a} third of shoppers favor discovering new merchandise by way of social media marketplaces the place purchases occur exterior the app.
Market listings can embody product photographs, pricing, product specs, and buying data. You also needs to contemplate speaking about your merchandise or choices on Facebook Stories.
This would possibly take just a little further effort as a result of it’s going to require you to movie or create content material within the Story format, however it might probably assist you higher join with potential patrons who need a greater sense of what your model is about.
Paid Promotion
As a result of Facebook’s feed algorithmically favors posts from particular person accounts over companies, you would possibly resolve that you just need to put cash into Fb Advertisements.
Fb Advertisements has a stable observe file. It is estimated that Fb Advertisements may also help entrepreneurs attain as many as 2.249 billion users.
With Facebook Ads, you may create ads with a sure objective in thoughts, akin to conversions or in-store foot site visitors. The detailed adverts software program additionally permits you to goal particular viewers demographics.
As a Facebook advertiser, you may both promote a publish you have already created to make sure that it exhibits up on feeds of customers in your demographic, or you may create native adverts that may present up in feeds or on Fb’s sidebars.
Whereas promoted posts seem like a median publish with a easy tag stating they’re promoted, the native adverts look extra like conventional adverts to make it clear to customers that the content material they’re seeing is paid for.
If you wish to launch video-based adverts, Fb additionally permits you to promote video content material or purchase in-stream ad placements that seem in Fb Dwell movies or longer movies that different customers have uploaded.
YouTube
YouTube can be well-liked throughout a number of age teams. Within the final three months, 68% of Millennials have visited YouTube, adopted by 69% of Gen Z, and 65% of Gen X. Greater than half of Child Boomers (51%) have used YouTube within the final three months.
With a branded YouTube channel, you may publish video content material akin to demos, tutorials, or buyer testimonial movies that give insightful particulars about why your product is effective.
By filming your individual movies, you may insure that you just’re highlighting all the nice points of your product that make it stand out from its opponents.
Alternatively, if you do not have time to create your individual movies, sponsoring an influencer’s content, tutorial, or review related to your product permits you to faucet into that content material creator’s viewers as they inform their followers extra about your choices.
Except for creating your individual account or hiring an influencer to present a overview or tutorial, you may additionally contemplate paid ads. YouTube affords a number of advert kinds together with TrueView, Preroll, and Bumpers.
These adverts permit you to submit a brief video advert to YouTube which is then positioned originally or in the course of movies with metrics and demographics that match your model’s goal.
It is value noting that just about 1 / 4 of shoppers in our survey (24%) say they’ve found new merchandise by way of YouTube adverts previously three months.
To be taught the ins and outs of organising an advert and figuring out which model is best for you, check out this guide.
Instagram is a superb platform in the event you’re focusing on Gen-Z or millennials who make up the platform’s primary audience.
For years, Instagram’s visible format has made it a sizzling spot for influencer marketing. Influencers frequently publish sponsored images and movies about their experiences with merchandise.
Like YouTube, these influencers additionally frequently publish video posts or Tales that current tutorials, opinions, and unboxings associated to a product.
Except for influencer advertising and marketing, many manufacturers additionally promote their merchandise on Instagram Stories, Instagram Live, and thru commonplace video or picture posts on Instagram Feed.
Here’s an example the place Kylie Jenner, the CEO and Founding father of Kylie Cosmetics, movies a Story-based product tutorial for her firm’s Instagram account:

Together with free methods, Instagram affords Shoppable posts. With Shoppable posts, you may promote a product in an Instagram publish that links to your Facebook Catalog. Here is an instance of what a Shoppable Publish seems like:

Here’s a blog post that goes into element about tips on how to use and optimize Shoppable posts.
Pinterest encourages folks to pin image-based posts that encourage them to digital boards, mimicking the method of making a bodily inspiration board.
As a result of folks come to this platform to be impressed to do one thing, akin to journey or dwelling adorning, they may discover themselves pinning all kinds of product-oriented photos on a themed board.
For instance, somebody who desires to redecorate their workplace would possibly create an “Workplace Inspiration” board and pin images of furnishings or ornamental objects that they’d like to purchase.
Here is an instance of what these boards seem like:

To make it simpler for folks to seek out your merchandise, you may contemplate beginning a Pinterest account and making a number of boards to spotlight your merchandise. Even higher, you may leverage Pinterest’s product pins characteristic and create shippable posts such as you would on Instagram.
To present you a real-world instance of how manufacturers use Pinterest, beneath is a board created by Anthropologie referred to as AnthroLiving, which options shippable posts that includes the model’s dwelling decor merchandise.

If in case you have an promoting funds, you can even contemplate launching pay-per-click ads on Pinterest. Pinterest Advertisements permits your posts to be seen by folks in a particular demographic that matches your individual.
The platform additionally permits you to A/B check images and goal adverts to Pinterest customers in your contact lists.
Wish to be taught extra about Pinterest Advertisements and efficient experiments to run? Try this blog post from a PPC and Pinterest knowledgeable.
Reddit encourages customers to create dialogue threads in themed on-line communities, referred to as subreddits. Because the platform has developed, many customers have created each threads and subreddits dedicated to speaking about merchandise, like fast-food eating places or video video games.
Beneath is an instance of a subreddit, or on-line group, that Reddit customers created to speak about all issues associated to Xbox One.

Nevertheless, as a result of feedback with promotional language in them often get downvoted or buried in feeds by extra participating Reddit threads, you may have to be artistic if you wish to have interaction with audiences on this platform.
Whilst you would possibly need to keep watch over Reddit or experiment with it, do not put your whole time and sources into it — no less than proper now.
Because it evolves, the platform could change into a better platform to market your model on, however in the mean time, Reddit advertising and marketing methods nonetheless require extra brainstorming and time than techniques on different social platforms.
Though this platform has been referred to as one of many “trickiest” for entrepreneurs to crack, some greater manufacturers have discovered tips on how to attain the platform’s discussion-oriented customers.
For instance, some manufacturers will create subreddits related to their product, whereas others will work together by commenting on threads associated to their business.
Except for creating content material at no cost on Reddit, you may alternatively pay for sponsored posts or adverts, just like Fb or Twitter. These adverts will seem in a consumer’s feed or as a promoted remark in a thread or subreddit.
To be taught extra in regards to the ins and outs of Reddit advertising and marketing, click here for tips and examples of how different manufacturers have cultivated the platform.
Figuring out the Proper Platforms for Product Advertising
Whereas working adverts and product promotions on any social platform may also help drive conversion, it’s a good suggestion to give attention to platforms with audiences that already align effectively along with your model.
For instance, broader audiences are actively on the lookout for merchandise or researching manufacturers on Fb, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest whereas Reddit customers are typically extra trend-focused.
Equally, in the event you’re advertising and marketing a B2B firm, you would possibly see a greater ROI from adverts on an expert community — like LinkedIn — than adverts on a extra consumer-friendly platform like Instagram.
Use the knowledge offered above, and begin leveraging social media for lead conversion and product advertising and marketing.