4 WAYS TO LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA IN YOUR ECOMMERCE STRATEGY
Tuesday, April 7, 2015Global Administrator
How to Use Social Media to Boost Your eCommerce Sales
More and more eCommerce businesses are beginning to adopt an inbound marketing strategy. They’re engaging on social media, providing useful and engaging content and really getting to know their customers on another level. If you’re a merchant that hasn’t adopted inbound marketing as part of your business strategy then you’re already behind. Customers crave a personal touch and expect instant access to information.
For eCommerce merchants, these principles are paramount. The success of their business depends on it. This is why social media is no longer an option, it’s a necessity!
Below are areas in which your social presence plays a key role in success of your eCommerce store.
SEO
SEO used to be very simple. All business’ needed to do was ensure that they were using the right keywords with a decent sitemap and people would be able to find you. With big players like Google taking over that space now, search engines have become much more sophisticated and it can be more difficult for business’s to compete. Having said this, social media can help increase your chances of being found. Search engines value relationships and link building.
There are a couple of ways your social presence can affect your SEO rankings:
- Your number of followers and fans: A retailer with 200 followers on Twitter doesn’t come close to an online retailer with 2,000 followers. Google will pick up on the number of followers of fans you have. They look at this as credible. Having said that, it is extremely important that you keep in mind the quality of your followers play a role. If you are paying for likes and followers, this won’t get you anywhere.
- Link building: For some, it is common knowledge that putting more of your links out there will help your rankings. By sharing your content on social media, you increase the number of inbound paths to your content, products and site. This helps to increase your search rankings.
Customer Service
With todays need for instant everything, it’s no shock to hear that the average online customer needs instant access to help when they ask for it. Social media (Twitter and Facebook especially) is a great, inexpensive, and efficient way to address this need.
If a potential customer is aware that you have a social presence, that you’re active, and quick to respond to questions and concerns in a positive way, what do you think they’re going to tell their friends and family? Word of mouth is one of the most powerful forms of marketing, and it’s free!
Brand Awareness
Social media creates visibility for brands. Since it’s viral by nature, this can work to a retailer’s advantage if used correctly. By posting useful and engaging content regularly for your customers, you begin to build relationships and work towards stronger brand awareness.
Creating and providing valuable content for your customers will slowly begin to establish credibility in your industry. Customers like to go to an expert; they like to know they’re in good hands. Create that visibility, establish yourself as an expert, and your brand could take off!
Great Insights
The major social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter all provide great analytics. These offer some good insight into what’s working, what’s not, what’s popular and what’s flopping.
Your social insights are a great place to see what content is popular, which could translate into which products are popular (and vice versa). This information can be quite powerful to online retailers. It also helps you put together a solid marketing and business plan. Your customers are your number one tool when trying to understand what is working and what isn’t. All you have to do is listen to what the numbers are telling you.
In the end, social media isn’t a magic wand; it’s a tool that has to be used properly to drive results. It takes time and needs constant attention. It also plays an important role to any modern marketing strategy. In today’s instant world, online retailers need to recognize this and live by it.