E-commerce has changed

We are sure you can recall at least one time when you saw a product’s ad and went on to inquire more on the brand’s Instagram page before making a purchase. 

It’s hard to argue with the fact that social media has a great influence on people, and this influence makes it easy for businesses to persuade their potential customers to make a purchase.

Although the importance of social media needs no explanation, for those businesses that still doubt the potential of social media for their e-commerce business, we’ve got some reasons why you should start utilizing it.

How is Social Media Empowering Ecommerce?

Social media has been dominant in the marketing arsenal for quite some time now. And it is expected to have a long reign influencing potential customers from the start, until the stage of a purchase, and beyond.

Let us learn how. 

1. Numbers Say It All 

One of the most trusted and valuable data has always been numbers. And if we talk about Social Media numbers, the statistics are crazy. Out of 7.82 billion people in the world, 50.64% of the population uses social networks. And out of 4.57 billion internet users, 83.36% are active users. Now think about what potential your business can leverage with the right use of social media.

2. Engage Leads with Visual Content  

An average person gets distracted in eight seconds, though a mere 2.8 seconds is enough to distract some people?

So, in such a short time the trick to engaging customers is to leverage Social Media for visual content marketing. To make this work successfully you’ll need to invest in affordable graphic design software or a graphic designer. 

A strategic social media plan paired with high-quality graphic elements can help you create a positive image of business offerings which ultimately result in attention, interest, desire, and action on the part of the customer. And if you ever run out of content ideas, it’s always best to get ideas from social media content curation tools. Look at recent Twitter trends to follow for Social Media Marketing in 2022. 

3. Brand Presence 

An e-commerce business is run by sales. And these sales happen when the ultimate consumer makes a purchase. Now for a sale, there are two things, one is the product that you might have made with a lot of precision, and the next is how you are reaching your target consumer.

When it comes to targeting or reaching your consumer, you cannot blindly paint a target, rather you need that one space where your consumer is active and that is Social Media. Social Media is a virtual hub for your business where you can strategically attract and convert a potential lead.

4. Social Proof is all you need 

Your target buyers are now on social media and it’s no news that these buyers prefer to rely on social media reviews and recommendations. Why? Because people trust people.

And to trust a brand, people need social proof. Right from building awareness, to convincing consumers until they make their choice. These Social footprints glue the customers to your brand while keeping the relationship strong.

5. Social Media Deals 

Do you know?

64% of online consumers wait to buy things until they go for a sale, and around 59% of consumers lookout for coupon codes while buying something online.

What does this signify? Well, this signifies that discounts, promotions, and deals on Social Media attract consumers and influence their buying decisions.

Social Media being an inexpensive communication platform can help you convert your marketing strategies into ROI, without much hustle. All you need to do is maintain your social media presence and you’re all set to grab sales.

6. Influencers – An Asset that reciprocates into sales

We are living in the digital era, gone are the days when renowned movie stars used to advertise for products. Today 92% of marketers believe that collaboration with social media influencers is beneficial for their businesses.

When influencers with tons of followers in the market start being vocal about your brand or product that is when your revenue starts flourishing.

7. Product Visualization – The Primary Focus

According to the Fourth Source, their customers reported an increase in sales by 25% to 30% when the e-commerce stores used product visualization strategies to increase engagement and enhance the shopping experience.

Thus, in addition to visual content, what you need to focus on is product visualization. What we mean to say is using exceptional visualization tools that allow people to zoom in, spin your product for a 360° view, and add roll-over, pop-up info tools enable a customer to look at the details without necessarily having to read about them. It ultimately gives you – brownie points and your customers – a reason to purchase.

8. Leverage Social Media Shops 

When customers are satisfied with your business, social media makes it easy for them to share and recommend your brand, we all know that. But bringing e-commerce functionality directly into social media platforms can offer a more personalized and targeted in-app shopping experience for customers. It also offers a myriad of benefits for your brand, right from increasing sales, driving traffic, to increasing customer engagement.

Now that you have reasons to start building your brand’s social media presence, the next thing to brainstorm on is: 

How you can leverage Social media for your e-commerce business

Social media serves a vital purpose in marketing by helping e-commerce businesses establish a stronger web presence, increase traffic, generate leads, and boost sales.

To maximize the potential of social media, here are a few key strategies businesses can implement.

1. Set Clear Objectives 

The first step to social media success is setting objectives. Every content piece that you syndicate on your social media will have people trying to resonate with it. So being an e-commerce business setting clear objectives will yield better reach and engagement. Whether you want to identify customers and engage with them, or build trust and gain sales opportunities, your clear mindset will pave your way towards offering the desired value to your end customer.

2. Always Intend to offer value 

Social media platforms today are way more than just a virtual platform where people meet and enjoy their time. Social media platforms offer a plethora of content that serves numerous purposes.

Being an e-commerce business doesn’t mean that your content always needs to sell your product. If you want to build engagement, your content should offer value; your content should aim to help target consumers, answer their queries (if any) and ease their lives. Also, you can get new consumers from the organic SERP of Google. 

3. Choose the right platform 

Creating accounts on various social media platforms is easy, but grasping the nature of various social media platforms and then deciding which social media platform will suit your business the most would require some attention. Similar to choosing video marketing platforms, to decide the right social media platform, you would need to consider your objective and the value you want to offer to your customer.

4. Opt for Social Media Automation 

Creating content takes a lot of time and syndicating that content on various platforms makes it even more tedious. But when businesses choose to work smart and make the best use of technology, they opt for social media project management tools.

Opting for cost-effective social media marketing tools can ease your social media marketing initiatives by helping you build, simplify and streamline the flow of content for your target audience.

5. Keyword Rich Content 

What is the point of creating content if your content is not searchable? Be it social media or Google, the content that gets the most viewers is the one that is rich in keywords.

Similarly, when it comes to social media, well-planned use of keywords and hashtags can lead your content to a greater online reach and engagement.

6. Don’t forget Analytics 

Businesses often analyze their growth monthly, quarterly, and yearly to curtail short and long-term risks. And the scenarios aren’t different when it comes to social media. Analyzing social media growth is as important as analyzing your business’s profits and losses; as social media is the virtual face of your business.

Now you might be thinking, how can you analyze social media? Well, there is a solution to every problem. Every social media platform has its analytics, but getting on to various platforms, collecting data, and analyzing it can be a hassle. 

So what do you do? Well, go for an advanced social media analytics tool to ease the tedious process of analyzing the performance of your content and marketing initiatives on social media.

Now that we’ve walked you through the importance of social media for your e-commerce business, do not let the fear of going digital hold you back from taking your business to greater heights. Start your social media marketing today and see how your business goals turn into reality.