According to everything we’ve seen in the past, we can expect 2021 to be the year when social e-commerce will see its stellar rise. Since this model of retail is more efficient and safer (in the era of a massive pandemic), its growth currently seems unrestricted. One of the ways that some of these entrepreneurs intend to grow their e-commerce businesses is with the use of social media. These platforms are generally used by enterprises in order to create a meaningful connection between a business and a customer. Here are seven ways e-commerce performance can be improved through social media.
The best way to engage your audience in an active discourse is to ask a question via your profile. Ask your audience what they think about X or would they rather have an X or Y feature available in the future. Here, you’re merely an instigator. Once you’re done with your question, the commenters with start a direct discourse amongst themselves and completely forget about your existence. The information you gather here will prove to be invaluable for your business, it will add volume to your online presence and it will allow you to create more accurate customer profiles for your business. It’s a clear and undeniable win-win-win scenario.
On average, it takes several hours to produce a quality piece of content. In fact, the average blog post writing time was 3 hours and 55 minutes in 2020, with more content creators spending 6+ hours per pose than ever before. Now, you have a chance to have someone else do your job for you. Also, by encouraging user-generated content, you’re allowing your customers to feel like a part of your brand. Ideally, while branding, you want to make a close community that feels like family. By allowing everyone to do their part in promoting your business, you will also enhance the concept of customer loyalty.
Being in front of everyone’s eyes is the most organic way to remind everyone that you’re still there. So, you need to try posting as often as you can. You should do so at least once every day, which really shouldn’t be that hard. After all, you don’t have to post original content. You can share the work of others or recycle your old content. Either way, posting even more than once on social media is not that hard of a task and it helps you become a household name in the industry.
If you’re trying to display product images and videos on your social media profile it might be best to invest a bit in visuals. This way, you will use your social media platform to showcase all your products. Photography and videos are not the only visual means available. You can also express yourself through outstanding design, aimed at portraying your business in the best light possible. Seasoned graphic designers can allow you to create a strong visual brand and create a unique impression on all your friends/followers on all these social media channels.
Live video is a format that keeps the attention of your audience far longer than a traditional video would. According to traditional statistics, people watch live videos 10 to 20 times longer than those who consume on-demand content. In other words, if you have a message that you want your audience to consume in its entirety, you should consider going for a live video. Keep in mind that this format is also seen as less scripted and more genuine. This provides it with an extra appealing feature for your audience.
Another way to boost your sales using social media is to sell products directly through your social media channel. In order for this to work, you should organize your social media profile in a way that resembles an online boutique. We are primarily talking about appealing visuals of an e-commerce-friendly format. In order to make people willing to buy, you need to create conditions that they’re familiar with. A lot of people buy from social media platforms and if you adapt the profile to resemble a traditional e-store, the effect will be even greater.
Your followers and friends on social media will also post content of their own. Why not share, like and comment on this content in order to show that you are aware of them and that you are listening to what they have to say? This goes two ways. If you share their content, respond to their questions and react to brand mentions, there are increased chances that they will feel obliged to return the favour in the future. While this is not always the case, nor it is a hard-set rule, the truth is that it costs you just a bit of your time and attention.
In the end, while these methods are quite effective, they’re far from being all there is available. Moreover, you have a lot of freedom to customize any of these methods in whatever way you see fit. While some formats are recommended, the content is completely up to you. Scheduling, content creation process and streamlining it, audience interactions (and their nature) are for you to decide. So, start developing a proper strategy that will set you on the path towards your e-commerce goals.
Nick is a blogger and a marketing expert currently engaged on projects for Media Gurus, an Australian business, and marketing resource. He is an aspiring street artist and does Audio/Video editing as a hobby.