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It goes without saying that social media is inevitable. At some point, eCommerce business will need to tap any available channel to be able to expand its reach, and the first on the list is probably one of the many social media platforms out there. With over 3.2 billion accessing social media through their mobile phones, according to the Digital 2019 Reports, there’s really a big marketing opportunity made available by social media sites.
eCommerce businesses have been scrambling on how to properly use social media to divert attention and web traffic toward their online stores. But why are they all going after social media even when there’s too much competition in that channel? It’s because social media creates the potential for profit simply by gathering interest and creating real engagement with the digital audience.
Maybe you’ve already tried using social media to boost your sales. You might also be thinking twice of using these platforms because of how challenging it is to gain attention and interest without spending too much on ads. What if there’s a way to make your social media accounts gain popularity in an organic fashion? Here are the top seven tips for social media for eCommerce we’ve tried and tested that can help your business benefit from social media.
Do’s for Using Social Media
The first four tips we’ll be sharing are the do’s that you need to be doing when you’re using social media. These are some of the best practices that are adopted by anyone who wants to succeed in capturing attention in social media.
1. Plan which social media platform to use.
Each social media platform reaches out to a different set of demographics. However, that doesn’t mean that you need to make an account for all of them. Instead, the best way is to choose which social media platform works best with your goals. Platforms such as Instagram and Twitter are known to be popular with women and young adults while LinkedIn and Medium are geared toward professionals.Remember, the goal is to engage and help build interest in your eCommerce store. Social media redirects traffic from your social media account into the online store. The key to success is in knowing where your target audience is. Focus your attention on whichever social media platform they’re using.Make it a point to know also how you’ll be able to engage them once you’ve identified which social media platform you’ll focus on.
2. Create appealing content.
Even in social media, there is no magic pill for instant popularity. Being "viral" isn’t completely rocket science either. The secret behind this trick is to get the trust of readers through quality content that they can appreciate. It’s a way of wooing them to get them to like or follow your page.The more appealing your content is, the better your chances are of getting their attention.High-value content helps retain loyal customers because it gives you a springboard for communicating and engaging your audience. Images, links, and written content are at the top when it comes to value appreciated by social media users. By using these types of post, you can start gathering your audience and build your social media presence from there.Over time, you’ll see people starting to like and follow your page. This means that you’ve succeeded in converting their interest into actual and more meaningful engagements.
3. Build leads and connections.
Influencers are some of the most valuable resources in social media. So, how can they help your business? eCommerce businesses that are still starting to grow need that boost in popularity from social media influencers. By just featuring your brand, you get access to their numerous followers, and that can help you expand your reach.From there, you can start building a better reputation and slowly growing your business. Focus on quality connections and build trust between you, your followers, and possibly even influencers that could help you grow your business. Sometimes, it’s not just about how many followers you have. It’s also about how many of these followers actually visit your eCommerce store.
4. Continue to retain interest and engagements.
Even if your social media presence is already booming, you shouldn’t forget to continue creating quality content. Your social media accounts will always be relevant since they keep your followers updated on what’s new. Continue to retain followers so that you can keep your online presence high and be able to have more opportunities to channel users from social media into your online store.
Remember, the purpose of using social media platforms is to eventually convert followers into visitors of your website and get them to purchase.
Dont’s for Using Social Media
Now let’s go into the don’ts, or what we could also call the "pitfalls" when using social media to market your eCommerce store. There are definitely plenty of ways you could fall into these traps, but let’s focus on the three most common mistakes that can take a toll on your business.
1. Avoid overspending for ads.
Put simply, follow your budget. You shouldn’t rely too much on ads to grow your social media presence. The only time that you should overspend is when the returns, such as conversions and actual sales, are actually coming from the ads you’ve made.Spending above and beyond your current budget when you aren’t gaining desired results will just cause your growth to slow down. Always limit yourself to your current capacity and try other means, such as partnering with an influencer when ads aren’t producing results.
2. Focus on quality and results, not on numbers.
Influencers and ads may bring your social media presence to an all-time high. However, don’t forget the reason why you’ve created these accounts in the first place. Social media is just another channel for you to earn sales for your eCommerce business. Earning revenue from your popularity is the goal.It’s better to have higher earnings from your eCommerce store even if you only have a handful of followers on social media. If this is happening to you, then it means you’re missing out on potential sales for your business because you’ve focused too much on social media.Forgetting to redirect social media followers into your store is a trap you can prevent. Focus on the conversions you gain from social media instead of checking how many followers you have.
3. Don’t forget to improve your eCommerce store.
It’s good to have a well-established social media account. However, it will all be wasted if you have a buggy and uninteresting store to pair with it. It certainly defeats the purpose of using diverse channels if the followers don’t proceed in checking your site.When they see that you haven’t put much effort in developing your online store, they might just go back and check other sites. Who would want to purchase if it doesn’t look neat, right? When that happens, you miss out on opportunities. Your followers need to know that you have an online store that they can always visit. They need to see that it’s worth visiting every time.Don’t fall for the trap of focusing on social media simply because it has a lot of users. Use your account to get as much attention as possible and then divert that attention to your online store. It’s better if they visit your site more often than your social media accounts.
Tying it All Up
Social media can be a bit tricky when used as a channel for attracting visitors to your site. You need to know which platforms to focus on, and you need to make it interesting to get started. There are a couple of tools available to make your site popular such as influencers and ads. However, you need to balance these out to avoid some of the pitfalls of social media.In the end, this is just one of the many channels you’ll be using to make your online store a lot more robust.
