It’s
Social Media Atlanta week and the ShopVisible team attended several
panel discussions including “Social Media for Start-Ups,” “Social,
Viral, and Experiential is the New Boom Boom Pow of Marketing,” and
“Social Media Innovations.” We came away with some great information
about social media strategies for ecommerce companies.
With
worldwide broadband access increasing from 55 to 90% in 2012 and over
1.7 billion internet users worldwide, there’s no denying the importance
of an ecommerce strategy. How do you best reach those users and
potential customers?
Social
media presence is no longer optional, its a necessity. Yvette Evans,
director of business development at Vitrue, notes that the average time
spent on social media sites increased 82% from 2008 to 2009. Facebook
and Twitter are easy and affordable ways to reach a captive audience.
The key to success and measurable increases in sales is to build
relationships with your fans and encourage loyalty by keeping them
active. What are the five important things should you consider when
building your social media campaign?
(1) Improve Customer Service
Think
of social media as another avenue for customer service. Respond to
tweets and posts that have complaints, suggestions, or compliments.
Listen to what consumers are saying and respond accordingly. Your
customers will appreciate the individual attention and remember it the
next time they purchase.
(2) Leverage Your Social Network
Build
personal relationships with influential followers. Seek out consumers
that have a large social media following and take the time to get to
know them. Offer a giveaway on their blog, or an exclusive discount code
they can give their readers. You’ll reach a new audience and potential
customers you did not have access to previously.
(3) Create Content
Keep
your content fresh and up to date. Nicole Jayne, Social Media Manager
for Scoutmob, stresses the importance of identifying your voice and
keeping it authentic to your brand. Once you’ve found it, produce
relevant and compelling content often to keep consumers engaged.
(4) Offer Incentives
Run
promotions, contests, discounts, and ads on Facebook. Consumers will
share deals with their friends and expand your advertising reach
exponentially at little cost to you. According to a study by BBDO, 82%
of Facebook users say that businesses could improve their page by adding
more deals and coupons. Listen to the people, leverage opportunities
during slow periods and holidays to increase sales.
(5) Give Your Customer A Voice
Add customer reviews to your site. Dean Trevelino of Trevelino Keller
notes that 72% of people trust peer reviews and only fourteen percent
trust traditional advertising methods. Not only do these reviews give
new customers guidance when purchasing, but they naturally increase your
SEO by providing fresh content to your site on a frequent basis.
What
can we expect to see in 2011? The panelists focused a great deal on the
opportunities brought about by mobile devices. With the explosive
adoption of smartphone and tablet use, consumers will do a large portion
of their shopping with these mobile devices. Implementing a mobile
solution like ShopVisible’s Mobile Commerce solutions ensures that your
customer stays connected to your site, wherever they’re searching.
Additionally,
panelists discussed social media innovations in the form of twitter
payments, targeted coupon offers through Facebook, and blog search
engines. With the ability to reach 500 million consumers on Facebook and
145 million consumers on Twitter, this is an exciting time for social
media. Retailers and brands should join the conversation.
ShopVisible
believes the time of tacitly sitting on the sideline has passed. You
have to get in the conversation, and begin to engage customers in ways
that will end up providing a great return on investment - returns on
your dollars, and your customers' time spent.
