• May 02, 2022
• by fsadvertising

Social media & e-commerce are a perfect match. Marketers have been using social media platforms to connect with their e-commerce customers for a while now. There is a good reason for it as more and more internet users shop online and use social media to research brands.

Let's take a look at these recent statistics :

• More than 75% of global internet users purchased products online by 2021.

• More than 50% of global internet users use social media to search for brand information. 

Most social media platforms presently offer free advertising, selling & customer service tools to help in establishing the e-commerce business. 

In fact, there is a particular term presently in use called Social Media E-commerce Business Marketing. It is nothing but a set of social media tactics one can use to market the e-commerce business.

7 ESSENTIAL SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS FOR E-COMMERCE BUSINESSES:

Build Brand Awareness 

It is very important to build brand awareness in order to start an e-commerce business. If people are unaware of your brand, then they won't invest in it. So the moment one decides to launch a business, it is important to start building a buzz around it before you are ready to go live with sales. And what better way to create a buzz than the social media platforms. Spice up your profile and posts with entertainment, fun videos, educational videos and DIYs to grab attention. This way you can build a personality around your e-commerce business. 

Sell Products Directly on Social Media

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest & some more social media platforms provide easy ways to sell products directly through various tools. If you have an e-commerce business, you can easily promote it on Facebook & Instagram and also take the benefit of:

• Facebook Lives (from Groups, Personal Profile, Business Pages, Groups' Pages)

• Creating Reels or short videos educating about your products or services.

• Going Live on Instagram

• Opting for Instagram & Facebook Shop

• Selling through Product Posts

Social Listening 

Social listening is the process of searching social media for mentions of your brand or products and conversations related to your brand. Knowing what people have to say about your products & services online is a very important source of insight. You will get to know which products are ruling the market,  which products are loved by the users, what grievances people have for your products, which products need more innovation & you get unbiased feedback from your users. People often share their grievances online on various platforms. With the help of tags & hashtags, you will get to know about the issues quickly to offer prompt solutions.

Collaborate with Influencers 

This is the age of Influencers. They are the best way to reach more potential customers. That is why most brands are reaching out to influencers through collaboration campaigns. It can be of many types:

• Barter, where you can gift or send products, ask them to use your products or services and leave feedback on your e-commerce site and on various social media platforms.

• Paid, where you will send products to the influencers for use. You will ask for a set of deliverables from them on social media platforms. And in return, you will pay based on static posts, videos & shorts provided on different social media platforms.

You can collaborate with other brands with similar users. You can organize awareness drives and demonstration events. You can collaborate with them to host giveaways too. 

Use Short Form Video Content 

There was a time when people used to connect with static posts with good writing and a nice expressive picture. But for the last couple of years, video content is coming up and now it’s ruling the social media platforms. Brands, influencers, normal users - all are using videos, be they beautifully crafted or simple ones. Some for promotions and some for entertainment and education.

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube - all came up with an option to post new short video content. As a brand, you can use short video content of a maximum of 60 seconds. Audiences are connecting more through this form of content as :

• They can see people communicating

• Getting live demonstration

• Audio Visuals are easy to remember

Post-User-Generated Content 

What is better than getting introduced to new audiences through genuine, organic recommendations? Isn't it? Positive feedback, testimonies and comments from happy customers are a form of social proof of your e-commerce business. But user-generated content is way better to grow.

You can encourage your customers to share pictures and videos featuring your products on their social media. Ask them to tag your brand and use hashtags. Then you can re-share these to your own profiles, giving credit to the author through share buttons or repost tools on social media platforms. 

Work Smartly & Frequently 

The key to shining and grabbing more attention on your social media page is to be consistent in posting regularly & frequently. You need to work smartly to do that. There are many tools & applications available online. You can easily install them on your device and work from there. You can create a content calendar and schedule posts accordingly. Don't overdo yet maintain a pace. Keep your posts engaging & add Call To Action words & phrases. 

Do you have any other tips in your kitty to help e-commerce business owners grow their business smartly and efficiently using social media? Share with us in the comments below.

Also, read our article on 'EFFECTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TIPS FOR FOOD INDUSTRY'