The importance of social media in e-commerce: visibility, trust and sustainable growth

Social media is no longer just a communication channel.

For many e-commerce businesses, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and other social platforms have become one of the main contact points between brands and customers. People discover products in their feeds, watch videos, read comments, follow creators, save content, compare brands and often arrive on a website or marketplace after seeing social content.

This shift has transformed the role of social media in e-commerce.

It is no longer only about publishing posts or running ads. Social media influences how customers discover a product, build trust in a brand and decide whether to buy.

For a merchant, the question is no longer: “Should I be on social media?”

The real question is: “How can I turn the visibility generated by social media into real, sustainable and manageable growth?”

Social media has become part of the buying journey

The customer journey is no longer linear.

In the past, a customer searched for a product, entered an online store and completed the purchase. Today, the process is much more fragmented. A user can discover a product on Instagram, watch a review on TikTok, visit the website from a smartphone, check the price on a marketplace, return to social media and buy days later.

This means that social media does not only work at the beginning of communication. It is present across multiple stages: discovery, evaluation, trust, comparison, traffic and decision-making.

During the 2024 holiday season, Salesforce reported that social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram generated 14% of traffic to e-commerce websites. In the same period, last-minute smartphone orders represented 79% of online orders, according to Reuters reporting on Salesforce data. These figures show how strongly social media and mobile behavior are now connected to digital purchasing.

Visibility: the first value of social media

The first advantage of social media is visibility.

An e-commerce business can have a well-built website, strong products and competitive prices, but if no one discovers the brand, sales remain limited. Social media helps bring products in front of potential new customers, even before they actively search for that product on Google or on a marketplace.

This is an important point.

Many sales do not begin with a direct search. They start with a piece of content seen casually, a recommended video, a review, a story, a saved post or a creator showing the product in a real-life context.

For a merchant, this means that social media can create demand, not only capture it.

A well-made piece of content can generate interest in a product, explain a problem, show how it is used, communicate value and drive users to visit the website or sales channel.

Trust: why social media influences decisions

Trust is essential in e-commerce.

Customers cannot touch the product, try it or speak directly with the seller as they would in a physical store. For this reason, they look for signals: reviews, comments, real content, demonstration videos, brand presence, communication quality and consistency between what they see on social media and what they find on the website.

Social media helps build this trust.

An updated profile, clear content, replies to comments, testimonials, product videos and educational content can reduce the distance between brand and customer. The merchant no longer communicates only through a product page, but through a continuous presence.

This is especially important for emerging brands, retail businesses, specialized stores and merchants that need to differentiate themselves in competitive markets.

Trust does not come only from price. It also comes from perceived professionalism, clarity of information and the ability to show the product in a credible way.

The role of creators and product content

Another important element is the role of creators.

Creators are not only testimonials. In many cases, they have become interpreters of the product. They show it, explain it, place it in a real situation, highlight its benefits and limits, and help the audience understand its usefulness.

This is particularly relevant because social content often works when it is concrete, simple and close to the customer’s language.

A short video can explain more effectively than a long description. A practical demonstration can reduce doubts. Content created by a creator can feel more natural than traditional advertising.

For merchants, this does not necessarily mean investing immediately in large influencers. It can mean starting with authentic content, micro-creators, tutorials, comparisons, behind-the-scenes content, use cases and content that helps the customer understand the product better.

Social commerce: a real opportunity, but not automatic

Social commerce is growing because social platforms are trying to shorten the distance between discovery and purchase.

TikTok Shop, Instagram Shopping, Facebook Shop, live shopping, direct links, product catalogs and shoppable content are all signs of this evolution.

According to EMARKETER estimates reported by Business Insider, social commerce in the United States is expected to exceed 100 billion dollars in 2026. Business Insider also reported that TikTok Shop surpassed 500 million dollars in sales in the United States during Black Friday-Cyber Monday week 2025, confirming the growing importance of social platforms as buying channels, not only entertainment platforms.

However, being present on social media does not automatically guarantee results.

Visibility does not always mean margin. Traffic does not always mean profit. Activating a social channel does not mean that orders, products, stock and costs are under control.

This is where many businesses start to face difficulties.

When visibility grows, complexity grows too

Social media can bring attention, traffic and new customers. But when volume increases, management becomes more demanding.

More traffic can mean more orders, more requests, more returns, more stock to monitor, more product updates, more customer questions and more data to read.

If the merchant does not have an organized management system, growth can become difficult to sustain.

A product promoted on social media can sell out quickly. A campaign can generate sudden orders. A promotion can increase sales but reduce margins. Viral content can bring traffic, but also create problems if stock is not updated or if the operational process is not ready.

For this reason, social media must be connected to broader business management.

Communication brings attention.
E-commerce turns attention into orders.
Operational management makes that growth sustainable.

Why the e-commerce website remains essential

Even though social media is increasingly important, the e-commerce website remains a central asset.

The website is where the merchant has more control over brand, experience, content, catalog, data, promotions and customer relationships. Social media can generate discovery and traffic, but the website is often the place where users explore, evaluate and complete the purchase.

Depending only on social media can be risky.

Algorithms change. Advertising costs increase. Organic visibility can decline. A platform can change rules, formats or priorities. For this reason, social media should be seen as part of a broader strategy, not as the only foundation of the business.

The merchant should use social media to create demand, relationships and traffic, but also build a proprietary system capable of converting and managing that demand.

Data, margins and control: the less visible side of social growth

When people talk about social media and e-commerce, they often focus on content, creativity, followers and campaigns.

These elements are important, but they are not enough.

A merchant needs to understand which content brings useful traffic, which products are sold after a campaign, which margins remain, which costs have an impact, which channels generate better customers and which activities truly contribute to growth.

Without connected data, the risk is evaluating social media only through superficial metrics: likes, views, clicks or followers.

These numbers can be useful, but they do not tell the whole story.

The most important data for an e-commerce business is not only how many people saw a piece of content. It is what happens after: visits, orders, margins, returns, availability, acquired customers and operational sustainability.

The role of Oplyon

Oplyon helps merchants, e-commerce businesses and retail activities manage their business in a more centralized way, connecting products, orders, stock, prices, margins, customers, documents and operational workflows.

In a strategy where social media generates visibility and traffic, Oplyon can help merchants better manage what happens next.

When a campaign brings new orders, the merchant needs to control stock, availability, sold products, margins and operational data. When a product is promoted, it is important to know whether it is available, how much margin it generates and whether it can support increased demand. When traffic grows, management should not become more confusing.

The value of Oplyon is not replacing social media, but helping the merchant transform visibility into more organized growth.

Because social media can bring attention.
But without management, attention risks becoming operational chaos.

From social presence to sustainable growth

Being present on social media is important, but it is not enough.

A merchant needs to build a consistent presence, publish useful content, tell the story of products, create trust and measure what truly works. At the same time, the business must be ready to manage the effects of growth: more orders, more data, more stock to control, more customers to follow and more margins to monitor.

Sustainable growth comes from the balance between communication and management.

Social media helps create demand.
The e-commerce website helps convert it.
An operations platform helps keep it under control.

This is the central point for modern merchants.

Conclusion

Social media has become an essential part of e-commerce.

It is not only used to communicate, but to create visibility, build trust, bring traffic, influence purchasing decisions and generate new growth opportunities.

But visibility alone is not enough.

When social media starts working, the merchant must be ready to manage what comes next: orders, products, stock, customers, costs, margins and data.

With Oplyon, growth generated by social media, e-commerce and other channels can be managed in a more organized, more readable and more controlled way.

Because being seen is important.
But growing without losing control is even more important.