It might be a bit of a no-brainer that your e-commerce store can use social media in a variety of ways. The ability of social media to expand your reach and entice new customers to your Shopify store or BigCommerce store is well documented. As a means of reinforcing your branding and encouraging more site visits and sales, social media has been a revolution, both in society and in the business world. For those in e-commerce, the challenge is knowing just how to use the different social media platforms in the best way. That can get very complicated very quickly.
“Social media is about the people! Not about your business. Provide for the people and the people will provide you.” Matt Goulart, founder of Ignite Digital
Why Even Bother With Social Media?
Your personal social media accounts are a great way of staying in contact with your friends and seeing what they’re up to. They’re a lot more than that though, and for businesses in the digital age, social media has become indispensable. For those in e-commerce, social media can be the key to much greater success through:
- Finding new customers
- Establishing your brand
- Alerting existing customers to new products
- Improving levels of trust in your e-commerce store
Breaking down the stats shows just why social media is now an essential ingredient of successful Shopify stores and their management.
- An incredible 22% of the world’s population uses Facebook.
- LinkedIn has over 530 million users.
- Snapchat reaches over a third of 18 to 34-year-olds in the United States.
- YouTube reaches more 18-34 and 18-49 year-olds than any cable network.
- 59% of those with social media accounts use them to get questions answered and issues resolved with businesses.
It’s no wonder that for those hoping to improve the potential of their e-commerce site, social media is becoming the most useful and valuable resource. Choosing which social media platform to focus on will depend on your product. It will also depend on your audience, your branding, and your marketing campaign. If you’re looking to run more than one social media account and link it to your Shopify store, it can become overwhelming. The need to keep your brand intact is crucial. Having the help and guidance from Shopify experts can ensure you’re uploading the right content.
Looking at the three main platforms is a good way to help decide how best to use them before you make any commitment.
The Almighty Facebook
There may have been a flurry of deleted accounts in the early part of 2018, but Facebook continues to dominate the social media world. There are more than one billion people who actively use Facebook. If you want to grab some of that market share, then you’re going to need to use the platform correctly. That’s because you have competition.
Over 50 million businesses have a Facebook Business Page.
There are plenty of resources available that can guide your Facebook marketing campaigns. The most productive way to use Facebook to promote your Shopify store is by interaction. Replying to comments in a brand-relevant way will create brand loyalty and encourage site visits to your Shopify store.
Facebook is perhaps the most malleable of social media platforms. Whether you share photos, Shopify blog posts, videos, or even just question and polls, there’s no disputing the power of Facebook and its reach. Now that e-commerce traders can sell directly from a Shopify Facebook store, it’s never been easier to use the platform for better business marketing.
Instagram – The Younger Sibling
Instagram is the second most popular social media platform around. It has a very defined demographic, so it may not be ideal for your e-commerce business. However, when 51% of Instagram users admit to checking the app every day, it’s a resource that shouldn’t be dismissed too quickly.
“We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it.” Erik Qualman, Author ‘Digital Leader’
If your market research has shown a younger demographic that primarily uses Instagram, focus your social media marketing there. However, it’s a very different animal to Facebook. There’s less potential for text-based posts, and your pictures are going to need to be relevant, fun, and entertaining. While this is standard practice, businesses that don’t keep up with Instagram trends can quickly fall behind. For example, the introduction of the Your Story function has proven very popular and can increase interaction by up to 80%.
Twitter For Business
Twitter has 330 million monthly active users. According to the findings released by Twitter themselves, they’re likely to have an above-average income. More importantly, an incredibly high number of Twitter users have said that they plan to buy products from the business that they follow.
“When you’ve got 5 minutes to fill, Twitter is a great way to fill 35 minutes.” Matt Cutts, Former head of the web team at Google
With that in mind, it’s obvious that Twitter should not be underestimated. However, Twitter can go beyond the limited scope of customer interaction.
Twitter is perfect for those hoping to:
- a) Establish a business-focused network
- b) Establish themselves as business leaders.
Obviously, there are constraints to Twitter that Facebook and Instagram don’t have to work around. Even the shortest tweets can be complemented with attention-grabbing gifs, images, hashtags, and user tags.
“Twitter is not a technology, it’s a conversation – and it’s happening with or without you.” Charlene Li, author of ‘Open Leadership’
Furthermore, your Shopify or BigCommerce website doesn’t have to limit itself to a presence on these three platforms. You may choose not to use all of them. Using a combination of platforms is the best way to make sure that your e-commerce store is making the most of social media. Ignoring it is the fastest way to watch your online store fail.
***
Thank you again for showing interest in our blog. Please be sure to check out our portfolio. You can learn more about who were are here.
Questions? Let us know in the comments below or contact us.
