5 Ways to Leverage Social Media For Your eCommerce Business

Social Media is the means by which we communicate or interact with other people by exchanging, creating and sharing information or ideas through virtual or online communities and networks. It is the most popular and most engaging means of communication that is prevalent in today’s society. 

Currently, there are 4.48 billion people in the world who use social media. That is 60.99% of the world’s population. In the US alone, 72.3% of the total population is active on social media. And since its beginning in the 90’s, the numbers have tripled in the last decade. On average, there are more than 4 new social media users every second. This increase signifies a shift in preference of the medium or channel on which we consume data. This shift is further aided by our increasing access to the internet with our mobile devices.

In 2022, these social media users on average, spent 2 hours and 27 minutes each day on these social media sites. The most frequently used social media platform is Facebook with 2.9 billion active monthly users. It is then followed by YouTube with 2.958 billion users. WhatsApp and Instagram each have 2 billion users.

All of these statistics only show the viability of social media for eCommerce. With the various platforms’ reach and dynamic, it is one of the best tools that you can use to increase customer engagement.  It is crucial to include social media in your eCommerce marketing strategy. It is proven that this kind of marketing strategy is both economical and efficient for an eCommerce business.

According to Wordstream.com, 80% of customers engage with brands on social media. With the relative ease of using mobile devices, engagement would only increase more in the coming years. So, keep in mind to be more mobile-friendly when it comes to your platforms. This is one of the eCommerce tips you can apply to your strategy.

But before diving in and starting creating your accounts, you have to consider which social media platforms you’d use in your eCommerce marketing. Like everything else, everything has its place. Different people use different social media platforms for different needs.  You have to be aware of the demographics of your social media sites. Who are the people on this platform and what are their motivations for joining?

Facebook is best if you are a small business in the community. It is one of the top local business directories. Accordingly, 60% of its users like to visit local business Pages. This is a great platform to reach out to your local community and build connections.

Twitter is best for customer service. This platform offers a direct-to-company interaction that is proven to help build trust among its customers.  In terms of engagements on Twitter, Rival IQ, says that education, nonprofits, food and beverage, sports teams, and alcohol have the highest.

Recently, Instagram is proving the best platform for eCommerce. It has the highest organic engagement rate which is 10 times greater than Facebook. Purchase intent is also high with 36% of Instagram users following brands or companies and 71% feeling more connected to the brands they follow. 

You can use a background remover when editing your brand’s Instagram pics. Create the best pic to promote your brand.

Using social media for eCommerce aims for you to build a relationship with your current and potential customers.It aims to ensure that your customers feel valued by opening ways for customer interaction or feedback. This creates a path for brand recognition and brand loyalty. And, if all goes well, this is then translated into revenue.

Leverage social media for your eCommerce business.

Your eCommerce business would greatly benefit from using the various social media platforms in your marketing strategy. Here are some social media eCommerce ideas you need to keep in mind.

Organic content in social media can be achieved by posting photos, videos, blog posts, etc, without paid support. You can use all the tools provided by the social media platform to engage your virtual community. You can definitely use organic content for brand awareness – the level of recognition a customer has in association with your brand.

Paid advertising campaigns are also used for promotion in eCommerce. They are online advertising models wherein you pay an amount for your ads to be shown on a specific platform or network. Examples of this are Google Ads, Pay-per-click (PPC), Twitter Ads, and Facebook Ads.

Content creators who have established themselves as an authority in a specific industry are called social media influencers or simply influencers. They all start out as social media users but have gained immense following from other users. They are very engaging and are able to persuade their large audience with regard to certain topics or ideas.

UGC or User-generated content is any content that is created by someone that is not an official representative of your business. It is not made by your employees or any third party hired by your company to create content.

Chatbots and messenger bots are also used to engage your customers. These are designed to answer questions by your customers sent through social media, websites, and more. They follow a certain conversation tree that enables them to answer customer questions.

Ways to Leverage Social Media For Your eCommerce Business

1. Increase brand awareness through organic content

The main objective of using social media for eCommerce is to create brand awareness. This is to introduce to your potential customers the availability of your product or service and how it can solve your customers’ pain points. You should also aim for organic content when you strategize. Not only is it cost-effective, but the formation of rapport with your customers is also easier.

Organic content relies on consistency and trust. You need to constantly update your content like blogs, videos, pictures, etc on a regular basis. Sharing various product information and even day-to-day activities can generate confidence in your brand. It gives legitimacy to your brand. Your updates assure the customers that you are constantly improving your product and services. This builds trust and reliability that will make your product or services more appealing to your customers.

Using organic content also increases the bond that you have with your potential customers. By sharing content that is informative and entertaining, you are creating a brand story that is relatable. 

2. Grow an engaged audience with paid advertising campaigns.

After some time, organic content could be too limiting for your brand’s marketing efforts. As your company grows, your target audience also grows in demographics. There is also the increased efforts of your competitors to steal your customers. They’d be creating the same content and you’d be both vying for the same attention. To break out of this, you can have the option of using paid advertising.

Paid advertising could be expensive but they have the best results. According to a Google Economic Impact Report, businesses who invest $1 dollar on Google Ads have on average $2 in revenue. This is the reason why marketers would spend $173 billion in 2022 on ad spending in social media. The spending is projected to even reach more than $268 billion by 2023. Advertising in social media is the second largest market in digital ads.

An engaged audience will assuredly give you better conversations and information exchange. The responses are usually positive and pleasant. You can increase engagement by creating ad campaigns that are more of a tailored experience. Know the demographics of your target audience. Aside from age, gender, educational background, etc., you need to have an idea of the things that they are going through at that moment. Your storytelling must be authentic and trustworthy. Your content must feel helpful and relevant for them to see your brand in a good light.

3. Utilize Influencers to reach a wider audience.

Influencer marketing is a viable idea to consider in using social media for eCommerce. With the increasing popularity of social media, influencers have gained a footing in the advertising/ marketing industry. Brands would often partner with these influencers who have large and engaged social media followers. This might be due to the reason that 61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations. Companies with eCommerce stores benefit well from influencer marketing because they are both accessible to anyone and anywhere in the world. Influencers can just provide links to the store and customers could get whatever product they want. This makes their shopping experience fast and hassle-free.

Influencers are also big money. According to EarthWeb, there are between 3.2 million and 37.8 million influencers in the world. And of these numbers, those who have upwards of 50,000 to 1,000,000 followers would charge from $500 – $10,000 per post on Instagram.

But if you want more customer engagement, choose those who have between 1,000 to 5,000 followers or micro-influencers. They have followers who are more likely to comment, follow and like their page and share their information. More often than not, marketers are more inclined to work with micro-influencers because they are low in supply and have a higher engagement rate.

4. Leverage user-generated content (UGC) to build trust and credibility.

As has been shown above, people often would be swayed by other people in purchasing certain products. The user experience is a definite indicator of how good your product or services are compared to your competitor.

Consumers will believe other consumers who have already tried the product. The numbers clearly say it all. In terms of online reviews, 66% of consumers trust a brand more if they have them. And, 72% of customers would base their purchasing decision on reading reviews. It is hard to make decisions if you haven’t touched the product itself. People need help in making an informed decision. They rely on the information given by other customers who have tried using the product. What are their initial impressions? Does it have a friendly user interface? And is it worth the price you’ll pay for the product?

UGC or user-generated content is a great way to bring credibility to your brand. Because the people who are creating content are people not affiliated with your business. They are mostly consumers or customers who have used your product or services and decided to make content with regard to their experience. This could be in the form of product reviews, unboxings, testimonials, blogs, etc. Authenticity is deeply appreciated when it comes to this kind of content.

5. Connect with customers on a deeper level using chatbots and messaging apps.

Chatbots and messenger apps have increased customer engagement to a lot of social media sites. Gone are the days wherein you’ll only have limited interaction with your customers. Mainly it’s a one-way street wherein you’ll be the only one feeding information and data without significant feedback from your target audience. Nowadays, you can actually communicate with your customers in real-time through messenger apps and chatbots. 

Chatbots offer 24/7 access to customers. They are offered in multiple languages for ease of access and are available in any time zone.This enables them to feel secure that they have an open channel for any questions that they have regarding your brand’s product or services. One of the eCommerce tips that is important is to make your brand be customer-centric. Do all the things that you can do to make their shopping experience worthwhile.

The customers would feel that they are important and valued when you give an answer right away to any of their questions. You cater to their need of being acknowledged and be able to provide a superb customer experience. This feeling of being recognized will create a positive experience that will make them loyal to the brand.

Conclusion

Social Media is a great way for you to leverage your eCommerce business. The reach alone to various demographics could prove beneficial to your brand. Make it a part of your marketing strategy. 

Use the various social media platforms to increase brand awareness. The more organic your content is the better. Especially for small businesses that have limited marketing funds.

Paid Advertising is also effective in creating an engaged audience. It may cost more money but the return on investment (ROI) is actually good.

Influencers are increasingly popular in eCommerce marketing. They have loyal followers that are willing to try or purchase products or services that the influencer promotes.

Use user-generated content (UDG) to build trust and credibility. Customers are more willing to believe other customers than representatives of the company when it comes to a product.

Messaging apps and chatbots are useful to connect the brand to its customers. Customers feel that they are valued when brands accommodate their inquiries regarding the product.

Social Media is the future of eCommerce marketing. The data and statistics have more than proven its effectiveness and efficiency. And, as more platforms are being created, there is an unlimited amount of ways that you can use them as leverage for your eCommerce business. You only need creativity and consistency with regards to your content and you already have a winning combination. Like anything else, patience is key. Not every content could go viral. Stick to what works for your brand and wait for people to see what your brand can offer.