We’re happy to publish our interview with Lisa Dauvermann, Industry Lead eCommerce at Facebook. Find out how will Facebook’s role change in the e-commerce industry in the next few years.
What are your main responsibilities as an Industry Lead eCommerce at Facebook?
In my position as Head of Commerce Platforms DACH at Facebook, I lead the team that is working with our eCommerce clients on building sustainable strategies to grow their businesses. We support eCommerce businesses with their marketing activities and strategic development.
Your presentation is titled “In the right place at the right time – Optimal customer approach through Facebook”. Can you share some insights on that topic?
Even though 90% of products and services are still purchased in a store, 80% of all purchases – both online or offline – are influenced through digital technology. Businesses’ mobile communication is the new window shopping: through their smartphone, people discover products at their fingertips wherever they are and at any given moment. This has also influenced their expectations. Today’s shopping experience has to be frictionless and personalized. If they encounter friction during any point of the shopping journey – e.g. a hard to find customer support form instead of direct support via chat – many will switch to a business that offers a more seamless experience and not complete the initial shopping process. Digital technologies can help businesses reduce these frictions and enhance customer experience.
In your opinion, how will Facebook’s role change in the e-commerce industry in the next few years?
We see three main challenges for marketers. First, keep brand building as well as performance marketing in mind while putting people first. Second, develop advertising strategies that combine Facebook and Instagram to get the most out of these two platforms. And third, use the full potential of the Stories format for your campaigns.
Some marketers focus too much on specific stages in the sales funnel when it comes to advertising on Facebook. When actually, it doesn’t really matter that much whether people are in the upper, mid or lower funnel, when they see an ad on Facebook or Instagram. It is much more important that it is seen by the people who find it relevant. I hope that marketers start thinking of people instead of customers, so they don’t restrict themselves in their audiences.
Many marketers still think of Facebook as a platform for remarketing and Instagram as a platform for discovery, but advertising on Facebook should not be limited to conversions since the pre- and post-purchase phases of the shopping journey are just as important. Especially when you want to win Gen Z – a highly interesting audience with special communicative needs. People of this generation have lower brand loyalty and tend to make faster decisions. Brands need to transport authentic values to get to Gen Z and become part of their relevant set of brands. The Stories format enables brands to do just that. Stories are already a central element of many successful ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram and it will become even more important in the future. We work on showing brands ways to meet the format’s creative requirements, but some still think of Stories ads as vertical TV spots and forget that people see them in between Stories from friends and family. Hopefully, we can see even better Stories campaigns and results in the future.
Thanks for your insights, Lisa!
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