Integrating Social Media Into Your E-Commerce Marketing Strategy

Purchasing ad spaces in newspapers and magazines is no longer as effective as it once was. This has been replaced by posting marketing contents on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. In fact, according to Blue Fountain Media, about 90% of marketers says that social media helps generate brand exposure. And since social media advertising cost less than traditional ads, businesses are only too eager to jump on the bandwagon.

You can reach thousands of people through social media. However, it may be difficult to connect with all your potential customers when you’ve just bought an online store from an online marketplace like Exchange by Shopify and started your business based on someone else’s brand strategy. In which case, this guide might help you.

What is Social Media and How Can it Help You

There is no doubt that almost all people nowadays are familiar with famous social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Social media transforms the way people and businesses connect with each other. It brings them closer, thus promoting easier trade. Here are some of the advantages of using social media:

1. Better Customer Relationship

In Tom Funk’s Social Media Playbook for Business: Reaching your Online Community with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and More, he stated that the principal advantage of social media is that it strengthens the relationship between the customers and companies. Because it allows real-time communication and connection online, it’s easier for businesses to learn about the movements of their potential customers. Addressing complaints is also quicker and you can easily clear up any discrepancies about who is running your business in real time.

2. Retention of Customers

It is said that 67% of the Twitter users that follow a particular brand are likely to purchase the brand’s products or services. When a brand conveys its values to social media platforms, it’s easier for consumers to connect with it and support its products and services, especially if you are offering discounts and giveaways to promote your new ownership of your e-commerce business.

3. Expanding Client Base

Gaining a lot of followers and being able to establish a name in social media can give you a huge advantage over your competitors. You can reach out to potential consumers that are beyond your local area. With a better reach, you can increase your number of customers. Just remember that you have to focus on building a good brand image, particularly if the store that you bought had a bad reputation.. Bad brand publicity will not convert into sales.

How to Integrate Social Media into Your E-Commerce Marketing Strategy

Here are some tips that can help you in integrating social media into your e-commerce marketing strategy:

1. Conjoining E-mail Marketing and Social Media

If you can successfully turn your Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram followers into your email subscribers, then it’s easier for you to have one-on-one communication with them and promote your products and services better. If acquiring existing social media followers through an e-commerce acquisition, make sure that you are able to get any associated email addresses as well, as this will significantly speed up this effort.

2. Keeping the Discussion on the Roll

Engaging your audience with your posts can give you a huge advantage. Grab every opportunity to connect with your audience. Use trending hashtags. Make funny posts. Be informative. Whatever post you make, remember your brand and its value.

3. Giving a Glimpse of Your Company or Business

Giving your audience that personal tour of your company is one way to easily engage them. Post something personal online such as your day-to-day activities. Share an employee’s exciting experience.  This way, you can make your followers feel that they are dealing with real people and not a robot. This also creates a friendly atmosphere between you and the audience and can show them some curated inner workings into what is going on behind the scenes.

4. Posting at Varied Times

Posting your marketing content at varied times allows you to reach more people. Remember, social media users take a peek at different social media sites at different times in a day. People tend to look at their phones in the morning when they wake up. Others have more time during lunch breaks. Then, there are those who check their accounts at night after their work shift.

Final Thoughts

Social media is a great tool for businesses to promote their brands. You only need to learn how to use it correctly and integrate new strategies on top of existing ones in the event of an acquisition. Use the tips given above, and you’ll see a great progress in your social media following in time.