Social media is no longer the talk of the town. What do we have here? It is no longer the new kid on the block i.e. it has reached widespread stardom in a gradual but sure-shot manner. Social media is no longer a luxury; it is well and truly a necessity by all means.
Claiming that you don’t exist if you’re not on Social Media is actually true. No offense to physical or retail marketing, but they’re slowly but surely becoming obsolete in this ‘online’ hurricane.
Strength in Numbers
What is one thing that separates social media from other marketing channels? NUMBERS! Oh yes! Can you imagine that Facebook alone has 2 billion active monthly users? That is 2 followed by i-don’t-know-how-many-zeroes long. And even though Facebook is the daddy of social media, there are other forces to be reckoned with like Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and the list goes on and on.
Why E-Commerce and Social Media Are a Match Made in Heaven
This is where e-commerce businesses enter the fray. One primary need for an e-commerce website is Sales! Who triggers these sales? Individuals or website visitors as are labeled in the online marketing jargon. Hence, social media ticks all the right boxes here by giving e-commerce website owners a chance to showcase their products and services to the world, quite literally in fact.
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Let’s dissect this bit by bit and understand how social media and e-commerce are destined to go hand in hand:
Telling People Your Brand is Alive
- How do you expect people to know that your brand exists? Can’t scream and shout till everyone gets the message now, can you?
- All you need to do is get started on social media and present yourself in front of the world; a world that stays online 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
- This is the prerequisite to all marketing efforts.
Storytelling Is A Must!
- Gone are those days when people like to read long passages and pieces of text. No one has spare time anymore!
- This is the era of visual creativity and direction, about telling a story rather than just marketing your products with a single website link.
- Tell the story of your brand, how it came about, what’s inspiration, and early-day struggles, about its heritage, so that individuals connect with the brand itself and form a healthy relationship.
Building Your Brand
- How do you want your e-commerce brand to be portrayed? What colors do you see your team wearing? What do you want your customers to be like? Who’s the targeted audience? What are the demographics? What kind of customers are you serving? What’s the age band you want to target? All these questions can be answered with the power of social media.
- You want to build a brand around your e-commerce website so that customers don’t just flock in for sales but for an experience as well.
Hello Customers!
- This is kind of a no-brainer! Social media guarantees numbers. Where else can you get a canvas of possibly millions simply by logging in?
- This is a one-stop solution for potential individuals who are just waiting to buy what you’re selling.
- The best thing about being on social media is that it’s more or less free! This is the kind of ROI that you see in heaven.
Customer Engagement
- Once you get customers, you want to engage with them, won’t you? If you’re in it for the long haul and want your e-commerce website to see off competition and reach the top, you have to play the long game.
- Today, social media is about talking to your followers, asking them about what’s working and what isn’t, entertaining feedback, replying to their posts, respectfully handling their reviews, and whatnot.
- This is what’ll separate you from all the other brick-and-mortar shops out there.
- Also, when it comes to e-commerce, getting customers to stay is harder than bringing those customers in the first place. Social media helps in customer retention by manifolds.
Drive Visitors To Your Website
- Make social media the channel through which individuals reach your website, which is the entire ballgame at the end of the day. You want sales and this is how you’ll get them.
- Social media is a potent tool laden with organic traffic; no wonder why companies spend millions for true leads.
Aids Your SEO Efforts
- You might not know this yet, but having a good social media presence boosts your website’s SEO quotient significantly. Even the best Shopify SEO company out there will suggest the same right off the bat.
- Just as the importance of SEO for e-commerce is mammoth, social media is not too far behind.
- These are two forces if working well in tandem, can skyrocket your sales in a matter of months.
- Google takes into account how you’re reaching your audience, how you’re interacting with them, what they’re saying about your brand, the rating, and the feedback you’re generating while deciding search engine ranking positions; creating a win-win situation for you.
Reinforce Your Brand
On the road to becoming an established brand, you would want to reinforce your brand, products, and services in front of the audience. This is where social media comes in.
Ever wondered why you see so many ads on Google and YouTube. It’s the power of visuals. As they say, what is seen cannot be forgotten. In the same way, you would want your e-commerce brand to register in the minds of the followers till they eventually convert into sales.
Because Everyone’s Doing It
Last but not the least; social media is critical for e-commerce website owners because everyone’s doing it. You can’t be the only brand that loses out on the many social media fruits. There’s a reason why every brand in the world is turning their attention to this, as the primary marketing tool.
Conclusion:
As seen above, Social media marketing is not an option with a to-do or not to do the question but a compulsion for every brand, be it a small emerging one or an already established one. By making social media channels the key point of communication; the companies can engage a wider target audience and convert them into the customer base. Being adopted by many ecommerce businesses now, social media marketing has already proved its worth.
Don’t forget- the number of social media users is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2018 and it is a big opportunity for all businesses. Isn’t it?