This post is part two in a two-part series. Read part one here.
In part one of this two-part blog series, we discussed three ways that e-commerce businesses can use social media to build brand loyalty, drive more traffic to your website, and increase your sales.
An effective social media strategy allows you to nurture relationships with your customers and stay top-of-mind in the hopes that your audience will turn to you when they’re ready to make a purchase. Be prepared for this increase in sales by partnering with a fulfillment services company that can handle your warehousing and distribution as you grow — otherwise you risk losing those hard-earned new customers to slow shipping and mishandled returns.
Here, we continue with three additional ways to create an effective social media marketing strategy for your e-commerce business.
Integrate social media on your website
When people visit your website, make it easy for them to share your products or content to social media by integrating social sharing buttons to your product pages and blog posts. Add buttons that, when clicked, allow the user to share to the social media profile of their choice.
Another idea for integrating social media on your website is embedding a social media feed to your homepage. Depending on the type of product you sell, many e-commerce brands embed either their Pinterest or Instagram feed.
Integrate social proofing
Just how powerful are online reviews and recommendations, you ask? Research has found that 92% of consumers are more likely to trust recommendations from peers over advertising. Today’s consumers look to the reviews of peers and influencers before making buying decisions, so social proofing is more important than ever.
Influencer marketing is one of the fastest growing methods for gaining customers, but it can be very costly, especially if you only focus on major influencers. Luckily there are many micro-influencers who can deliver results for your brand at a lower cost. When working with influencers, make sure that are generating content that is authentic and believable, as that is what consumers gravitate toward.
Build credibility with online reviews
In 2019, your business can’t afford to ignore online reviews. From service providers, to medical offices, to real estate brokerages (and just about everything in between), consumers flock to websites like Yelp, Google, Facebook to read online reviews.
About 93% of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions, and they are willing to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews. With that in mind, here are two ways to encourage more online reviews for your small business:
- Create an email campaign if you have an active email list. Chances are, if you send the customers on your email list a message politely asking them to take a moment to review your business online, they’ll do it. Be sure to include direct links to the sites that you want them to leave a review on.
- Provide above-and-beyond customer service. Most people won’t think to leave a review after an average experience, but they are more likely to write a great review for your business if you wow them with incredible service. Hiring a 3PL services company helps you take a big part of the sales processes out of your in-house responsibilities, so you and your staff can make customer service a top priority. Your customers will appreciate this, and are more likely to leave your business a five-star review online.
Read more tips for boosting your e-commerce sales through social media in part one of this two-part series.
