5 Ways Social Media Can Help Increase eCommerce Sales and Grow Your Business
If you think all people do on social media is share new baby photos, pictures of their dinner, and funny cat videos, think again. However, while some do that, there are plenty of others looking for helpful information about the products and services they need. For example, consider some of these numbers collected by Hubspot:
- 82% of Facebook visitors use the site as a springboard for external sites and information
- 63% of Twitter and Facebook visitors use the site to get news and information unrelated to social sharing, family, and friends
- About 3 in 4 users of Facebook say they go there “for professional purposes”
- Users of Pinterest, like those on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, go there with the intention of making purchases but spend on average 50% more than visitors to those other social media sites
- 90% of marketers say that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses
For millions of consumers, social media sites have become a conduit to a wide variety of non-social sites, including eCommerce sites. Therefore, social media can help increase eCommerce sales via this new and growing crossover.
More eCommerce Businesses Are Embracing Social Media
Most merchants wouldn’t open a new brick and mortar 20 miles from the center of town. Brick and Mortar merchants go where the customers are. The same applies to eCommerce. To reach and engage customers, merchants need to go where the customers are – and they are on social media. As eCommerce Platform notes, engagement with social media equals business value:
“For Web businesses, effective social marketing represents real value. Social networks offer new ways to reach first-time customers, engage and reward existing customers, and showcase the best your brand has to offer. Your social network profiles and the content you share are as important as a business’ storefront signage and displays in the 1950s.”
How Social Media Can Increase eCommerce Sales
Social media sites provide an unparalleled opportunity to sell eCommerce products because:
- So many of your prospective customers are already on these sites;
- The majority of them are there looking for help buying the best products; and
- Social media sites provide useful tools and a wealth of data to help you drive people to your eCommerce site.
Here are 5 ways social media can help Increase eCommerce Sales on your eCommerce site:
1. You Get Feedback – Immediately
Social media is perhaps the only marketing venue which allows merchants to see what customers are saying in real time. Business owners can even join that conversation, posing questions and raising topics to learn more about what customers think. Notably, social media can be very successful for sales campaigns. For example, merchants can offer incentives, discounts or rewards points and see immediately if the campaign takes off.
2. It Can Improve Customer Service
Sometimes people don’t want to contact customer service directly – some consumers feel more comfortable talking about problems with a business on Facebook or Twitter. Social media allows merchants to respond quickly to customer complaints and handle the issue over the internet if the customer is more comfortable with that form of contact. Notably, if there are a large number of complaints surrounding a particular issue, it’s possible to quickly make changes and reduce issues.
3. Potential Customers Can Become Leads
According to HootSuite, 90% of potential consumers of your products won’t respond to cold calls. However, 76% are willing to talk via social media. Leverage this dynamic to generate new leads to fill the top of your sales funnel. For example, post content with links to a landing page where prospective customers provide their email address in exchange for content.
4. Customer Engagement Builds Trust
Social media marketing is one component of a comprehensive inbound strategy to increase trust and credibility. In other words, social media posts are less about direct selling and more about customer engagement. Notice, for example, how camera maker GoPro uses Facebook. Gopro doesn’t use social media for direct sales, but rather to show prospective buyers the quality of videos created using their product.
5. Social Media Allows for Highly-Targeted Ad Campaigns
Social media collects a vast amount of data about the people who visit their websites. Notably, that wealth of data is available to businesses to create highly-targeted ad campaigns. Through social media advertising, merchants can direct ads to the target customers based on their activity on social media sites. Therefore, providing an effective (and cost-effective) means to drive new website traffic.
The Brave New World of Digital Marketing
Digital marketing, including social media marketing, has made it easier than ever to reach and engage with prospective buyers. The challenge is in standing out among the tidal wave of content that already exists on sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest. That requires a smart strategy, but when done right, social media can help increase eCommerce sales and grow a business.
To learn more about how social media can help increase eCommerce sales and grow your eCommerce business, contact us today.