How’s your social media profile looking these days? Just a couple of years ago, this question would have likely drawn blank stares from most online merchants. Today, the Internet is quickly evolving into a social sphere where people can connect, chat, and share ideas and the sites that interest them.
Are your customers talking about and sharing links to your site?
Focus On Promotion, Not Sales
No one likes social media updates that sound like product commercials. Whether your social media platform of choice is Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or some combination of like sites, focus on making your updates promotional, as opposed to sales-based.
You can also link to current news stories relevant to your industry, share trivia and tips, create interactive polls and surveys for people to participate in. Offering informative, useful, and/or entertaining content goes much further when it comes to encouraging repeat visits than endless product mentions and sales pitches.
Pay Attention To Your Competition
What are your direct competitors doing in terms of social media? If you don’t know, now is the time to find out. Identify your top five competitors, if you haven’t already, and do some research to find out which social networks they are using, the number of fans and followers that they have, and the types of content and promotional strategies that they are implementing. This way, you will know what you need to do in order to effectively compete with them.
Almost as importantly, knowing what your competition is doing and seeing how it is working for them will help you to determine what works (and doesn’t work) for your own ecommerce site.
Target Your Key Demographic
Recent studies have shown that while social media usage is on the rise, the number of new social media users is actually expected to decrease. This means two things: that existing users will be more sophisticated social media users who will expect more from companies and organizations that they friend and follow, and also that the age of the average social media user is expected to increase slightly, although the 18-35 demographic will still be the most prominent.
Do you know who your key demographic is? You probably have more than one, depending on the types of products that your store sells. Review your sales data and web analytics, and target your marketing and social media efforts accordingly.
Once you know who you are targeting, join the online forums, social media sites, and other online outlets where these groups converge, and offer them content, promotions, and interactive site extras based on their needs and wants.
If used correctly, social media can be a very powerful tool for promoting and increasing the online visibility of your ecommerce site. Don’t ignore the power of social media, but don’t abuse it either. Remember, providing value to your customers, followers, and fans should take priority over product promotion.
