7 Advantages of Social Media Marketing for E-Commerce Brands ????????
The power of social media is nothing new; in this digital age we are all aware of the potential this mass market has on brands and businesses, and none more so than the e-commerce. It might come as a surprise then to know that a recent survey found that social media marketing makes up just 9% of most business’ marketing budgets. This number is set to more than double over the next five years, but if you’re still in doubt, here are seven reminders as to why social media is the future of marketing.
1) Follow the crowd
Studies show that the average person is spending at least 1.72 hours on social media networks each day making it the prime location to target your market. By definition, social media is an open community in which users freely engage with their own personal interests. If executed properly, your strategy on social media could form the basis of your market research. Notice the language used and tone of voice, exactly who and what your customer engages with, particular trends that are of interest and be sure to make use of the opportunity to engage in dialogue via posts, ads, offers etc.
2) Facebook friends
No longer satisfied with being just a social network, the whizz-kids over at Facebook HQ have come up with a way in which your brand can really capitalise on their success. Facebook ads are effective because they use data taken from the target market as a whole, as well as more personal information from social media activity to appeal to the consumer. Results and reactions to such ads are easily tracked thanks to Facebook insights and altered accordingly due to their super-quick turnaround on creative control; one of the many benefits of operating on a platform that never switches off.
3) Forget-me-not
Retargeted ads are another hugely effective way to turn potential clients into customers. Retargeted ads work with a basic coding technique which uses cookies to recapture the interest of your audience after they’ve left your website. Statistics show that only 2% of web traffic makes a purchase on their first visit to a new site. Retargeted ads are a way of ensuring your brand doesn’t get forgotten.
4) Video vibes
Leading the pack in their ability to convince and convert is the king of video, YouTube. With consumers becoming more savvy to online product reviews in recent times, YouTube provides a fantastic platform for brands to show off their products in action. More than this however is the fact that video marketing is a more emotional experience for the user meaning there are more ways to engage. A fun fact to remember is that the human brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text, which means Vines and shorter Instagram or Snapchat stories are a naturally more effective means of marketing than text-heavy pieces.
5) Instagram Instagram Instagram
The key to successful marketing whether online or offline is an engaged clientele. Recent reports have found that an astounding 1 in 3 of the 500 million active Instagram users have purchased a product they discovered on the site, suggesting that Instagram is a good place to start.
6) Sing your own praises
Another approach to marketing on social media is to become your own cheerleader. One reason behind the popularity of social media is that it is so easily accessible. It’s a free floor, an open mic night where chit-chat and good humour are prized over social formalities and the Queens English. So while your official website handles the nitty-gritty details, your social media presence should be used to drum up excitement and draw attention to your brand. Give users a reason to visit your site by advertising promotions, special offers and product information on your social channels.
7) The cherry on top
Once you’ve capitalised on the popularity of social media, executed your Facebook ads and also retargeted your cookies, gotten on board with the new trends in video marketing, promoted yourself all over Instagram and then sung about your company’s successes across all channels, then you can use one of the markets many monitoring tools to track the scope, engagement, sentiment and sales created from your social media marketing campaign, and give yourself a big pat on the back for being so darn brilliant.
By Chris Kyriacou
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