Social media integration for WooCommerce: Top social commerce plugins

If you're running an online shop using WooCommerce, it's really important to link it up with your social media. Why? Because a lot of people discover new products and shop directly from social media.

In this article, we'll take a look at some of the best tools for connecting your WooCommerce shop with different social media platforms. These tools can help you reach more customers and make their shopping experience even better.

We'll look at social commerce, which is when your products actually appear on social media platforms. But that's not all - we'll also consider other ways to make WooCommerce social. Let's get started!

The role of social commerce in business

Today, social platforms have become a major communication tool connecting people across the globe. People use the platforms to post product reviews and give opinions, information, and product recommendations. Others use the channels to search for products and research more about them.

Social platform users spend extended time reading their feeds. In the US, over half of the country’s adults ordered products directly on social platforms in 2022.

Social commerce is a concept where brands leverage social media to sell products and services. Brands conduct the entire process of a sales funnel on social media channels.

Through social commerce, brands sell products and services through social media and provide shoppers with options to add to their cart and checkout without leaving social platforms. Its main role is to make online businesses available on social platforms which widens traffic and marketing reach. Store owners benefit from enhanced trust, brand awareness, and sales.

Social platforms influence customer behavior in different ways.

• Building brand awareness across different social platforms.
• Influencing purchases through social proof of products.
• Brands offer sales deals such as discounts and product promotions.
• Influencers have the power to make users adopt a certain buying trend.

Why integrate social media with WooCommerce?

Social media is HUGE!

Social media today forms a big percentage of people’s daily lives. A Sprout Social report shows an estimated 4.89 billion people use social media globally. In another report by Data Reportal, an adult internet user spends over 21/2 hours daily on social media. Based on these reports, e-commerce platforms cannot afford to miss social media benefits.

And people aren't just using social media to look at cat photos or chat with their friends. It extends into the eCommerce world too.

Based on statistics by Sprout Social, 55% of buyers learn about a new product on social platforms. Another 68% of users say social platforms improve the experience of interacting with brands. In another report from Hootsuite, 57% of online users buy products online every week. Brands that leverage social e-commerce can tap into this huge market and make sales.

Proven success stories

In 2018 for instance, Nike pre-released its Air Jordan III a few days before the NBA All-Star games started. The company used Snapchat's social platform to advertise the product. It recorded a big success in terms of sales. Users could add the product to a cart directly on Shapchat.

Another company that is influencing the market on social platforms is Cluse. It has been using hashtags and links to attract customers. Cluse leverages user-generated content to give its store a personalized touch. Its Instagram account is a perfect example of engaging social media for smart shopping.

With the right WooCommerce social plugins, you can achieve these benefits for your own store.

Other ways to make WooCommerce social

So far, we've talked about the idea of making your products available for purchase on social platforms, as well as directly on your WordPress website. That's definitely worth doing.

In addition, there are other ways to allow a WooCommerce store to benefit from the power of social. For example, there are plugins that:

• Allow customers to log into your website using their social media accounts. This reduces friction compared to making them create an account from scratch.
• Encourage customers to spread the word and share your products on their social networks. This can be a fantastic marketing opportunity which will expand your reach.

Top social commerce plugins for WooCommerce

Next, I’ll walk you through a range of different types of social plugins for WooCommerce. Read about each one and install the ones that fit best with your business model.

All of these plugins meet the following essential criteria for choosing a plugin:

• User friendly.
• Fast to load.
• Responsive and mobile-friendly.
• Attractive UI.
• Work across a variety of devices and platforms.
• Positive reviews.

Spotlight Instagram Feeds

Spotlight Instagram Feeds allows users to add Instagram feeds in seconds. It allows customization to create an attractive feed of products. Users can also track their feeds, add hashtags, and tag posts.

In my opinion, Spotlight's most exciting feature is its Shoppable Instagram Feed. This can auto-create Instagram feeds of the products from your WooCommerce store. These are then shared on Instagram, complete with buy buttons. That's what makes it such a great social commerce plugin.

Features

• Can connect with unlimited Instagram accounts.
• Contains customizable templates.
• Allows adding unlimited Instagram feeds, including shoppable feeds.
• Supports a wide range of formats like photos, reels, and videos.

YITH WooCommerce Share for Discounts

YITH WooCommerce Share for Discounts was built to encourage shoppers to share products by giving them discount codes. Users can develop personalized coupons and then share them with their followers or customers.

Features

• Store owners can choose the type of discount they want to offer.
• Adds interactive WooCommerce social share buttons.
• Automation features for offering discounts once customers take action to buy.

Social Share for WooCommerce

Social Share for WooCommerce is a free social sharing plugin. It allows users to add Reddit buttons, Tweet buttons, Facebook Recommendations and more to their store pages. This makes customers much more likely to share your products to their social networks.

Features

• Customizable buttons.
• Supports six major social media platforms.
• Intuitive sharing features for social media.
• Users can add customized text and share.
• Attractive user interface.

AutomateWOO: Refer A Friend

AutomateWOO: Refer A Friend allows store owners to add a referral program to their WooCommerce e-store. You can set automated or manual referral approval. The plugin works across a large number of social platforms.

Features

• Allows sharing of a brand across many social platforms.
• Allows automated and manual approvals.
• Easy-to-use and set-up UI.

Social Login Plugin

WordPress Social Login is a free plugin is built to allow users to log in to their accounts without requiring a verification process. Since WooCommerce uses standard WordPress user accounts, you can use it to improve the login process on any WooCommerce store.

Social login saves time and increases sales in e-stores because customers don't need to create a new account. It simplifies the checkout process to limit the number of abandoned carts.

Users do not need to create a new social media account to use the plugin. They just log into your website using their existing social media accounts.

Features

• Users can sign in on any social media account
• It has an integrated checkout process
• Automatically redirects upon login on social network
• Contains a drag-and-drop feature for ease of use

Improve the performance of your computer

While you can run a WooCommerce store from any type of computer (or even your phone!), it’s much easier when your computer is running smoothly. According to Statista, 46% of developers worldwide use Macs. If you have ever been to a WordCamp, then anecdotally you'll probably agree that it’s likely that this figure is even higher amongst WordPress and WooCommerce developers!

While Macs are super-fast when they’re new, they can slow down over time. This makes it hard to do the ongoing management of your WooCommerce store and the social commerce platforms it’s linked to.

To boost the performance of your computer, you must keep your files organized. One of the strategies is to create extra space on your Mac for storing your content. The solution is to set up defragmentation of your computer to optimize macOS. When you defrag a Mac, you reorganize your data so that files load faster. You can do this using a tool like Clean My Mac.

Make WooCommerce social!

WooCommerce social plugins allow users to link their e-stores with social platforms for quick login and checkout. You can also use them to increase conversion rates through the power of “social proof”.

In social commerce, brands conduct the entire process of a sales funnel on social media. This can integrate seamlessly with their main WooCommerce store, so that they don’t have to keep track of separate stock or ordering. The customer finds and buys products on the platform they’re familiar with, without requiring you to maintain multiple stores.

More than half of the world’s population uses social media. E-commerce platforms cannot afford to miss such a great opportunity. There is a wide range of tools for WooCommerce that e-stores can choose from. Follow the above tips to explore and integrate social media into your WooCommerce store for better business growth.