Social media is a powerful tool when it comes to increasing sales online.
There are a few things you need to have before you commit to social media, however. First, you must have a great website to direct traffic to. If you have a great campaign, but then a suspicious looking website no one will buy from you.
You will also want to be intimately familiar with who your customer is. That way you can create a social media persona that feels like a friend.
Social media is great for relationship building, after all. Done right you can create a community of repeat buyers.
These repeat buyers will then recommend you to their friends and family, who will later become repeat buyers themselves.
Optimize Your E-Commerce Store
Before you get ahead of yourself, you will want to perfect your website. Great marketing means nothing if users visit your website and then click away. You need your end product to be worthwhile for users to buy from you.
To optimize your e-commerce store, you can use Shopify experts. These experts will be able to install the best Shopify servicesto your site and make it look beautiful.
A few key areas you will want to focus on when improving your website include:
Your Home Page
Your home page should be beautiful. It should also have a call to action right at the top. From “see the latest collection” to “50% off sale” these banners can help encourage users to click through.
Your home page should also be easy to navigate. Don’t hide your table of contents. Make it natural to search through products and see more of your site.
Your Product Pictures
Your product pictures should be professional. That is the minimum requirement. If you really want to sell, however, they need to reflect your brand.
These images should embody who you are as a company. More than that, they should also have a similar vibe to your social media photos.
You cannot use product photos on social media. They must instead feel similar. Use the same editing pre-sets, tone, and models if you need to.
The User Experience
Go through your website regularly to make sure that everything works. There should be no:
- Broken links
- Misdirects
- Difficulty in checking out
- Difficulty in saving items
- Difficulty in making an account
Do Demographic Research
Now that your website is perfected it is time to do demographic research. What this essentially means is that you are getting to know your customer.
You will want to know:
- Who they are
- Their age
- Their location
- Their values
- Their needs
- Their wants
- Their language
- Which social media they use
This is also very useful if you want to start influencer marketing. We will get to that later on.
Top Social Media to Use
Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users, which makes it one of the biggest social media platforms. Instagram is a very visual-first platform, which is great for brands selling items.
To succeed on Instagram you will need to:
- Have beautiful images
- Care about your feed’s aesthetic
- Create a compelling brand persona
- Encourage engagement
- Link products
- Respond to all comments and questions
You will want to share beautiful editorial images online. These images should tell a story. They need to put the customer as the protagonist.
For example, if you sell a travel backpack then show the backs of many travelers against top sights. This will make users feel like they could be the one in the backpack. They could be the one looking out on Han Long Bay.
Your images should tell a story. This can be done through the use of:
- Lighting
- Color tone
- Content
- Words
- Formatting
Try to create a unique feed that inspires your customers to be their best version of themselves. If they love your feed, they will love you.
Instagram is owned by Facebook, which means you can link products. To do this you will need to upload your products to your business Facebook Page. Once it is linked you can then tag products in your photos.
Facebook is also great for showing more about your company. Unlike Instagram you can share:
- Updates
- Images
- Videos
- Articles
By giving your users valuable information, you can encourage them to share.
When it comes to sharing it is important to remember that the most powerful type of share is in the shadows. Shadow sharing means a user is sending something directly through messenger.
Shadow sharing does not show up on your Facebook analytics. This can make it hard to track. Before you worry, however, know that shadow shares are the best kind.
Shadow sharing is equivalent to word-of-mouth marketing. The chances of someone visiting your site are far higher.
To perfect your Facebook account, you will want to schedule posts and stay actively engaged. Facebook has changed its algorithm to put friends and family first. You, therefore, have to build relationships on the platform to see big results.
Twitter is great for news. Try to build yourself up as a reputable source, rather than as a brand. For example, if you sell clothes, tweet about the industry and your company’s progress.
Share tweets, photos, and videos that are captioned. Try to make it seem like your Twitter account is where to go for the latest information.
Twitter is not that great for selling. It is great for building up your reputation.
Pinterest can be difficult for companies to use. On the one hand, you can get great exposure for your products. On the other hand, it can be easy for someone to steal your photo and get greater exposure.
Pinterest is taking strides to limit these double posts.
A great way to take credit for all your images on Pinterest is to have your brand name somewhere in the image. That way when someone sees your product they can actually find the product page.
Redditis where you go to build relationships. Host Ask Me Anything (AMA) threads so that users can start an open dialogue with you.
The gaming industry does this often, as the final product often needs many updates to become perfect.
What to Remember
There are many knowledgeable Shopify developers to set up all the connections on your site. You want everything to be seamlessly connected. Users should be able to visit your site from social media and share it to social media.
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Thank you again for following our Shopify Insider Blog @ Blackbelt Commerce. We can also help you with many other services.
We have many other valuable posts that are informative. Here are our top recommendations; Boost Your Sales With These Cool Tools, All You Need to Know to Start an E-Commerce Store, E-commerce on modern business, ways to show social proof in your Shopify store
Also, you can learn all about who are the Shopify Experts at Blackbelt Commerce.
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