4 Ways Online Stores Can Use Social Media Marketing

E-commerce has transformed the retail landscape and the shopping experience forever. There is no going back now. The only challenge is trying to find a way to stick out like a sore thumb. A tweet, a like, or a pin may be the answer to the problem.

When you have an online store, one of the most important digital marketing campaign strategies to adopt is social media. Without Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram, you won’t see any growth.

Social media marketing is still a big deal. You may think that it is overcrowded and impossible to thrive in when you’re a newcomer, but the data suggests otherwise. In fact, a 2016 study found that 75 percent of marketers say social media marketing is paying off, a 46 percent jump from the previous year. In other words, social media marketing is still the go-to digital marketing tool for businesses.

So, why are businesses, both online and brick-and-mortar, thriving? It’s because social media marketing offers many benefits that can’t be found elsewhere.

Here are just a handful of those advantages:

• Social media generates more traffic to your website.
• Brand loyalty is amplified with Facebook and Twitter.
• Your SEO initiatives receive a little boost.
• Newsjacking has become the new trend for companies.

These are just the tips of the iceberg. There is so much value that a social media campaign can lend to your brand. It is up to you to not only establish a social media marketing strategy, but to cultivate one as well. Otherwise, your online store will eventually shutter its web portal doors. As many experts say, social media marketing is a core part of an online retailers’ business model.

Here are four ways online stores can use social media marketing:

1. Adopting the 80/20 Rule to Not be Salesy
2. Be Active on Social Media During the Day
3. Social Buttons Will Boost Your Exposure
4. Content is King – But Please be Creative & Engaging

 

Adopting the 80/20 Rule to not Be Sales-y

When you maintain a social media campaign, you want to avoid being over-promotional and sales-y. This is why you should always refer to the 80/20 rule of social media: sharing 80 percent high-quality content for your audience and sharing 20 percent self-promotional content.

Whether it is an interesting industry-related infographic or a thorough white paper you came across, you should share something that your followers will find useful and valuable. Plus, you may be reciprocated by another website or business sharing your content to their own followers. The laws of the universe produce karma for you by paying it forward.

As you post your own content, your followers won’t be inundated with so much stuff relating to your online store. If nine out of 10 of your online posts are connected to your online store then your audience will be bored because they will view it as nothing but spam and marketing.

 

Be Active on Social Media During the Day

One of the worst things you could ever do for your online store is to abandon your network.

If you launch a Facebook page for your ecommerce store or a Twitter for your website, you should be active on all social media outlets throughout the day. Everything from engaging with your customers to providing discounts for your audience, you must be active. By remaining silent, you’re conveying a few messages:

• Your online store doesn’t care.
• Your online store isn’t attracting enough customers.
• Your competitors are better at customer service.

The more active you are on any given social network, the more you will be seen or heard.

 

Social Buttons Will Boost Your Exposure

Although it has become simple to install social buttons to your website, many e-commerce vendors have yet to unlock the power of these social buttons. Or, if the business does add these buttons to the website, they may be hard to locate. For some reason, companies like to play hide and seek with their Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn buttons.

Moving forward, you must ensure that you have social buttons for your social media pages and that the links are updated. Also, be sure that they are easy to find on your website.

One last thing: try to add these social buttons to all of your marketing materials. For instance, if you have a blog and an email newsletter, you should add these social buttons at the bottom of both – you want to accumulate as many followers as possible.

 

Content is King – But Please be Creative & Engaging

You have likely heard 822 times that content is king. Well, you’re going to be told the 823rd time: content is king. But there is a bit more to that.

Your content is king, but it must also be creative, engaging and unique. This isn’t 2002 when you could write a 150-word blog post or send spammy emails and get away with it. If you have spent just 15 minutes on the Internet today then you have likely come across a wide array of content in various forms. This should be your goal, which then must be shared to all.

Out of infographics, white papers, memes, extensive articles, press releases and YouTube videos – infographics are likely the most popular type of content since they’re easy on the eyes, fun to read and easily shareable. These are all the types of content that you should want to create. But they have to be original, actionable and unique to your brand.

In addition to extensive content production, you should create content on social media. For instance, you can showcase images of your team on Instagram, create GIFs on Facebook, or take advantage of the trending topics with your own insight, like #MotivationMonday, #WisdomWednesday, or #ThoughtfulThursday.

 

Final Thoughts

With consumers shopping online more than ever before, this is your opportunity to take a slice of the pie. Yesterday’s shopping trip to the store was a mundane and tedious task. Today’s shopping trip is a digital experience filled with enthusiasm, pleasure and savings.

Social media marketing can make your brand far more exciting, engaging and established. Indeed, your social media campaign doesn’t require an immense pecuniary investment. It does; however, require an investment of creativity, dedication and resources. Your online store will never flourish if your social media account is ghostly and your activity is non-existent.

By the end of your campaign’s first year, you’ll be one of the 75 percent saying it paid off. You’ll have more sales, greater brand loyalty and shareable content.