Social commerce 101: Selling through Instagram, TikTok and beyond

    Canada had 31.90 million social media users in January 2024, 81.9 percent of the population

    The Canadian social commerce market reached USD 6.47 billion in 2024, with a forecast of USD 10.99 billion by 2029

    Nearly half (47%) of Canadians who use social media have made a purchase directly through a social platform

    Build a clean catalogue in Commerce Manager (Commerce Manager is Meta’s central tool for managing your shop on Facebook and Instagram. It lets businesses upload and organize product catalogues, set up collections, and control how products appear in posts, Reels, and ads. You can also manage inventory, pricing, and product details in one place.)

    Use clear titles, plain-language descriptions, and CAD pricing

    Tag products in posts, Reels, and stories

    Keep one featured product per creative

    Use lifestyle photos and short demo clips

    Add social proof in captions

    Retarget viewers with strong offers

    Track with Meta Pixel (Meta Pixel is a piece of code you add to your website to track user actions after they interact with your ads or content on Facebook and Instagram. It helps you measure conversions, optimize campaigns, and build remarketing audiences.)

    Use UTMs (A UTM is a tracking code added to URLs that helps you monitor where your website traffic comes from—use UTMs on every link to measure campaign performance accurately.) on every link

    Make checkout fast on mobile by offering cards and digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay

    Use clear shipping and return policies on product pages to not only improve customer trust but also help meet card brand requirements and reduce the risk of chargebacks

    Post quick explainers, before‑and‑after clips, and unboxings

    Keep most videos under 20 seconds

    Hook viewers in two seconds with a clear benefit, such as native text overlays and trending sounds

    Promote top organic clips with Spark Ads (Spark Ads is TikTok’s native ad format that lets brands turn existing organic posts into paid ads. Instead of creating a separate ad, you boost a real post from your account or a creator’s account.)

    Drive to a fast-loading landing page with a clear call to action

    Keep the path from video to purchase short by adding a one‑page checkout with guest checkout as default

    Set clear delivery timelines for urban and remote addresses in Canada

    Upload a daily product feed

    Create seasonal boards that match Canadian searches and holidays

    Use vertical images with clean backgrounds and short text

    Pin new items and evergreen buying guides

    Link to product detail pages and comparison pages

    Offer CAD pricing with tax estimates by province

    Let returning customers pay faster with saved payment profiles

    Publish Shorts with quick demos, FAQs, and side‑by‑side comparisons

    Use timestamps, cards, and pinned links to drive product clicks

    Measure with affiliate links and post‑purchase codes

    Match the promise in the video with the first block on your product page

    Keep forms short

    Offer cards and digital wallets

    Turn on authentication for high‑risk orders

    Offer recurring billing only where it fits the product and customer expectations