How to Use Social Media for eCommerce
Social media…we all use it, and we all love it (or love to hate it). It’s an internet-based interaction where users create and share information, interests, ideas, and other types of expression. In fact, did you know there are five general types of social media? It’s true! From social networking, photo sharing, video sharing, interactive media, and blogging/community building all of these are considered social media. However, the ones you recognize the most are apps like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
We know you might be thinking, “Social media isn’t that important for my business,” but we’re here to tell you why you’re oh-so-wrong. As a business owner, if social media is not important to you, it's time to re-evaluate your stance and add a big scoop of it to your marketing strategy. Social media is a lot more than just TikTok dances and Instagram selfies — here's why.
Why Use Social Media for eCommerce?
In 2022, roughly 4.62 billion people will use social media, which is expected to increase by over a billion by 2026. Over 2.9 billion people are active monthly users on Facebook alone. These users spend an average of 144 minutes daily on social media and messaging apps. The global social commerce industry was valued at $492 billion in 2021 but is expected to increase to $1.2 trillion by 2025. This expected growth is three times faster than the expected traditional eCommerce growth. These numbers should mean a lot to you as a business owner — every social media user is a potential customer.
Creating online media for your business also allows customers to communicate with you. One in three people who use social media prefers to use it for customer care services instead of telephone or email, and 70% of customers have used social media for customer service on at least one occasion. Plus, 67% of organic social users also seek to resolve issues via social media.
On the revenue side, customers are likely to spend 20-40% more if a company engages and responds to customers over social media. By contrast, leaving social media complaints unanswered will alienate 88% of consumers. However, keep these tips in mind if you choose to address negative reviews as part of your reputation management strategy: respond privately to get more information or post publicly thanking them for their feedback and encourage them to contact you to resolve the issue. Doing either of these gives you the opportunity to grow and enhance your business, showing other followers you care. Last but certainly not least, consider that 71% of customers with positive customer service interactions are likely to recommend the company to others.
As you can see, social media is a surefire way to build a positive reputation for your brand, avoid negative impacts, and increase your customer base. Ultimately, these factors will also increase your profits – and nothing is quite as tasty as that!
How Can You Use Social Media for eCommerce?
We’ve discussed why social media is a key ingredient for your business — but how can you use social media to your advantage and make an award-winning recipe? Here are a few tips:
Optimize Your Content
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a way to reach the audience specifically searching for key terms related to the products or services you provide. Keywords and hashtags have relevance on most social media platforms. However, depending on the platform, it’s not the most essential part of creating social post content. But, by incorporating SEO into your social media strategy, you can have a unique advantage over your competitors. For example, by creating blogs, you can improve your internet presence, making your business more available and reputable to potential customers. Not only does this play a part in improving SEO, but it gives social media professionals excellent content to post to followers, enhancing cross-channel marketing efforts.
Let’s not forget that your website can act as the perfect home to advertise your social media accounts. By linking to your social media platforms on places like the homepage, customers can more casually reach out to you and follow your accounts.
Dedicate Time to Responses
Consumers place a lot of value on businesses that respond to reviews and messages on social media. A part of your business strategy must include time for these responses so they are not forgotten and drag your business reputation down. Not only does this show customers that you care, but it helps let them know there are real people on the other end of the website who want to improve products and processes. Depending on how much time and creativity you have to dedicate to social media, it can also be a free way to advertise.
Selling Products
What’s even sweeter than buttercream frosting? Selling your products right on social media! Some social media platforms have structures that allow for this type of feature. For example, Instagram has taken this one step further by allowing users to tag products and link them directly to the selling shop.
Others may use social media to connect people and their products. It’s also an excellent way for potential customers to explore what they’re thinking of buying while seeing what current customers think of the brand and products. By making product information available along with reviews and easy add-to-cart options, social media makes the buying experience easier in all stages of the purchase funnel.
Social Listening
Social listening, or social media listening, identifies what is being mentioned about a company, product, brand, or any industry-related topic on the internet. Assessing this data can give you an idea of the overall public sentiment toward your products. It can also give your brand a way to join the conversation and get in front of people with similar interests. You’ll also be able to identify which products have strong public support and recurring problems. Listening to social media can help identify major issues with your products before it becomes a widespread nightmare for your brand and business.
Social Media With CakeCommerce
A social media eCommerce strategy is the missing ingredient that will take your online store to the top of your favorite recipe list. There are a lot of nuances associated with a successful social media eCommerce strategy, so it is not as simple as making a Facebook post now and then. If you need help, the team at CakeCommerce can create and implement a strategy to increase your social media presence and boost your effectiveness. Contact our sweet team today for a consultation.