The 7 Best Selling Products on Social Media

One of the most common arguments from decision-makers about social ads campaigns is that “social networks don't sell.” But this excuse is old news! There are some items that actually sell very well on social media. The IAB Spain social media study of 2019 identified the best-selling products on social media and how social media marketing contributes to sales. 

The Best Selling Products on Social Networks, in Numbers

According to the report, 85% of internet users between the ages of 16 to 65 use social networks. This represents more than 25.5 million users in Spain. 9 out of 10 people are now on social media, as compared to just 51% nearly 10 years ago. The average age is 38.4 and the gender is tied, at 51% women and 49% men. 74% of users work and have secondary or university degrees. 

Some other interesting facts include:

• The most popular social networks in Spain are WhatsApp (87%), Facebook (87%), Instagram (49%), and YouTube (69%). Facebook has lost a little bit of its presence in favor of Instagram, which hasn’t stopped growing. Twitter saw the highest abandonment rate. 
• 81% of users follow brand accounts. 
• Spanish users spend an average of 58 minutes a day on social media. The youngest users spend the most time, 1 hour and 10 minutes.
• Users are comfortable with advertisements, especially the youngest users. Personalized advertising is also well received and meets user expectations.

• 7 out of 10 users follow an influencer. Users consider influencers to be more credible than advertisements.

• Advertisers and professionals are looking for networks to sell more and get branding. Promotions are the most generated content since they get the most interactions and web traffic. Out of all the social networks, companies mostly focused on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

18% of users said that they have purchased a product or service through a social media platform. 57% of users also claimed that they used social networks to find more information about a product or service before they made a purchase. The most popular channels were Facebook and Instagram. 

When assessing the connection between different advertising channels, IAB discovered the percentage of users who have visited a brand's social channels after seeing its products advertised on TV, outdoor media, or in a magazine.

IAB found that 27% of global users, and 34% of young users, visited a brand’s social network after seeing their advertising on tv, outdoors, or in traditional media. This demonstrates that there is potential for online and offline cross-advertising. We can get more specific on the search rate based on what was advertised:

• 32% of users (44% for women only) searched for a brand after seeing a clothing, footwear, or accessories advertisement
• 31% of users (36% for men only) searched for a brand after seeing a plane, train, boat, or car rental ticket advertisement
• 29% of users searched for a brand after seeing a hotel advertisement
• 26% of users searched for a brand after seeing a movie advertisement
• 25% of users searched for a brand after seeing a music-related advertisement
• 21% of users (31% for men only) searched for a brand after seeing an electronics advertisement
• 20% of users (33% for women only) searched for a brand after seeing a beauty or health advertisement

In short, retail, travel, hotels, movie, music, electronics, and beauty are the best-selling products on social media.

Products With More Advertising Investment in the Digital Environment

According to another IAB Spain study, 97% of the digital advertising investment went to Desktop and Mobile. The 7 types of advertisers, by sector, who invest the most are:

• Automotive (25.3%)
• Large Distribution (10.5%)
• Food and Drinks (9.8%)
• Beauty, hygiene, and cosmetics (9.4%)
• Banking (8.2%)
• Audiovisual production companies (8%)
• Telecommunications (5.6%)

Social networks do sell and can be a great opportunity for your brand. To get the best-selling products on social networks, I recommend focusing on getting quality leads and never neglecting your content calendar.