eCommerce merchants today cannot ignore the impact of social media on their business. Even though social media was meant as a way for people to connect to one another, its use for promoting businesses has gone through the roof. Even though Facebook and Instagram ads have become quite common, social media marketing for eCommerce is still a foreign concept for many entrepreneurs.
Social media builds brand awareness and boosts your marketing efforts to no end. Users like to engage with a brand in many ways after following them on their preferred channel.
According to Statista, 3.78 billion people use social media, which makes up about 48% of the population. Also, these people spend an average of 2.5 hours daily on these platforms.
Now if you don’t already have a social media marketing channel for your e-commerce business, this big chunk of users is worth acquiring!
However, this part can be handled by Digital Marketing Consultants so you don’t have to worry, if you do not possess the expertise in Social Media Marketing.
Let’s get on ahead and see how you can use social media to take your business to new heights.
How to Design a Social Media Marketing Campaign for an eCommerce Brand
There are certain steps that need to be followed while laying the groundwork for your social media campaign. The importance of these prerequisites to creating an effective plan cannot be overstated.
1. Goals and Objectives
You cannot go wrong by detailing your goals and objectives with clarity.
Once implementation begins, you can amend those goals if they don’t turn out the way you expect. The main focus should be on creating goals that are realistic, attainable, and measurable. They should include metrics such as:
- Increase in sales by X% during the off-season.
- Increase email marketing conversion by X%
- Increase AOV by X% on Cyber Monday and Black Friday
2. Target customers, personas, and markets
Who’s your audience?
If you’re unsure of who you’re targeting, what defines your audience, and where they are located—you’re running blind and are bound to run a campaign that falls dead on its feet. Make sure you have the following details on your target audience:
- Age
- Gender
- Geographic location
- Purchasing power
3. Choose your channel among Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, etc.
Everyone from freelancers to established brands has a potent online presence on the most popular social media platforms. It makes sense for eCommerce to do the same since these platforms are highly visual, and quality imagery and messaging drives traffic to your website.
Instagram has become one of the highest-converting platforms for eCommerce by far. However, depending on where your target audience hangs out, Facebook or Snapchat could be a better fit for your business. The key to a successful media campaign lies in choosing a platform that aligns with your goals, KPIs and is more likely to reach your audience.
4. Use the right angle/position when marketing
The perceived value of your product/service depends on how you present it. The efficacy of your marketing efforts decreases if you’re unable to convert web visitors into paying customers. For instance, which message would your customers respond to: “buy this product now” or reminding them of their problem and showing how your product can get rid of their problem?
Think: If you’re a skincare vendor, is frizzy hair an issue or dry skin.
If you’re selling baby clothes, is it more effective to target fathers rather than mothers? Or if you’re an eCommerce store that sells car seat covers, then are mothers a better target as opposed to fathers?
Angle is everything during online social media marketing. Revert to your buyer persona when coming up with a marketing plan to make sure it resonates highly with your target audience.
7 Best Social Media Marketing Strategies for eCommerce Websites
The rise of people integrating social media in their daily lives is unprecedented. This means using it to market your products makes the utmost sense. Consumers spend almost two and half hours on their various social media accounts, so why not reach them with social posts with relevant content and appealing visuals.
1. Utilize Instagram Shoppable posts
Facebook may be leading the digital marketing world, but Instagram is quickly catching up. Here enter Shoppable posts.
Instagram introduced this function in 2018 and changed the eCommerce social media marketing landscape. These posts offer you to market curated products by permitting retailers to tag five products in a single image.
Customers can then directly move to the item on the retailer’s website, saving time by cutting down on the many numbers of steps required to move them through their buying journey.
2. Add Pinterest to your social media marketing plan
Neglecting to use Pinterest for eCommerce would be a serious overlook. According to data, Pinterest users spend 50% more than other platforms such as Facebook or Instagram.
With visual search becoming more common, Pinterest is more crucial for your business than ever. The Lens Feature of Pinterest can recognize over 2.5 billion fashion and home objects. Buyable pins have transformed eCommerce on Pinterest into a high-quality sales funnel. You can create links between websites, pages, and social accounts.
3. Use Multichannel Marketing
Harness the power of Multichannel Marketing and Create shops on each platform, including Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. There’s no loyalty when it comes to social media marketing for eCommerce. Buyers check out several if not all of the different channels before making a purchase. Even with promotions and discounts, they still compare prices.
eCommerce cannot stay limited to one channel if they want to stay ahead of the competition. Hence multichannel marketing is the answer. It involves selling and promoting on every channel your target audience can be found on. The secret to multichannel marketing is not using every platform that exists, but it’s in maintaining a competitive edge. You need to stand out from all the other brands.
4. Run social media ads that help drive e-commerce business conversions
When you have a budget to place content on social media, there’s no stopping you. Most social media platforms have varying options for ads that you develop. You can optimize them for metrics of your choice, such as reach, engagement and clicks, and conversions.
You can also design different types of content like text, video, or image-based ads. It is wise to leverage your persona and research competitors before pushing out content. This will help you personalize it to your audiences’ interest and speed things up.
5. Automate social media for your eCommerce using powerful tools
Most brands wish to use social media to market online businesses but often don’t have the time or resources for the kind of dedication it needs. If this hits close to home, then automating social media marketing is your answer.
Automating transcends scheduling on social media. If you wish to make the most of this incredible technology, you need to have a plan and map your content with your bigger marketing initiatives. With the option of marketing automation, you can listen to what your audience expects and develop content accordingly.
You can automate marketing campaigns, ads, posts, track keywords, discover your mentions and analyze your stats. There are several efficient tools that can be used for this purpose. It’s just a matter of finding one that fits you to a T. Hubspot’s marketing tools and Canva’s social media scheduling calendar are just a few examples.
6. Urge users to give reviews on your social channels
Online reviews speak volumes about your online store. The surge of positive words can drive up your sales, creating a customer base that is loyal to your brand. Ask satisfied and happy customers to leave a review on your social media accounts. Displaying reviews has been shown to increase conversion rates by 270%.
Many times shoppers don’t buy in fear that products won’t live up to their claims. The ideal way to rid people of this fear is by letting them listen to people who have already used your products.
7. Showcase social proof
According to recent studies, people are more likely to buy something when they have evidence that others before them have done so and are happy with the results. Online shoppers feel more confident in making a purchase knowing others have had pleasant experiences.
Social proofs such as these include your social media followers, blog posts, news articles that mention your brand, influencer PR, product reviews, and testimonials.
Social proof is the ultimate way to legitimize a business in the eyes of your target audience.
Impact and Importance of Social Media Marketing on eCommerce
Social media has become an indispensable part of the eCommerce marketing ecosystem if it isn’t already apparent. Apart from the immense reach these platforms have, the volume of sales and traffic they engender makes them so powerful.
Social media referral from eCommerce websites has grown 110 percent over the last two years, making it the most popular of all other referral channels.
The impact of social media is not predicted to slow down but will only gain speed in the future. It has demonstrated its value since its inception and has proven to be effective in promoting eCommerce stores in every way possible.
Wrapping Up…
Missing out on the multifold benefits of social media marketing for eCommerce would be a huge oversight. These platforms can help you strengthen your brand, develop loyal fans and increase sales.
For any eCommerce store, using social media marketing is a natural step towards posterity. So tap into the pros of social media today and witness the transformation unfold. Else, hire a eCommerce Marketing agency and leave it to the professionals.
