Today, social media spending makes up a small fraction of most business’ marketing budgets. A recent Duke University survey found that, on average, social media spending accounted for just 9% of the overall budget. But that number is projected to expand to nearly 22% in the next five years.
Clearly, ecommerce marketers recognize the power of social media to connect with an audience. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are nearly ubiquitous in our lives. They’re like the 21st-Century Main Street; we use them to communicate, find information quickly, and increasingly, to shop for products.
Why? Social networks are evolving from merely places to find and distribute content; they’re becoming commerce portals. Businesses that integrate social media into their marketing strategy – from customer acquisition, to sales, to re-engagement campaigns – will benefit. Here are a few ways ecommerce businesses can maximize their social marketing efforts:
Go where your customers are. It’s a marketing maxim, and it’s never been easier to accomplish than today. There are many different ways social media can improve the way you interact with customers, whether they’re first-time buyers or loyal fans.
Customer Research: Marketers can see in real-time what your audience cares about most, their interests, the conversations they’re having and what they like.
Customer Service: Immediacy is big in social media; we want information and we want it now. That’s why social networks are so great for customer service. They enable businesses to quickly respond to customer inquiries. Plus, social media makes it easier to spot and respond to unpleasant customer experiences.
Customer Acquisition: Your social profile is really your storefront. Customers are now using social networks to research companies and products. Your Yelp, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social pages provide the perfect opportunity to make a lasting impression. Start by optimizing your profiles and making important information easy-to-find.
Customer Engagement: Don’t think of social media as another way to generate sales and drive traffic. Use these platforms to demonstrate value and validate your marketing efforts.Develop a social content strategy that is designed to highlight the best, most unique, most surprising thing about your brand
Today, it’s extremely easy for businesses to generate content and distribute it directly to their audiences. Use your social networks to showcase your brand and distribute the best, most engaging blogs, photos, videos, infographics, and multimedia you can produce.
Plus, content curation – finding the most useful or interesting content on a particular topic – creates value to your potential audience. By using curation, your business adds value, and gives potential customers another reason to follow your brand.
Never has it been easier to reach an audience. But as Facebook grows, the deluge of content we see is off the charts. There’s really a need today for smarter, more targeted social marketing strategies.
Staying ahead of the curve means experimenting with the way you interact with customers, advertise and publish content. The Internet makes it easier to test, optimize and test again. And now, the latest technology, like social analytics and content publishing tools, have put marketers in a position to truly measure their social marketing reach.
Courtesy of EcommercePlatforms
