Business
5 Expert eCommerce Social Media Marketing Strategies
According to Hootsuite, 32% of social media users are unlikely to purchase on social media because of a lack of information about the product. Plus, almost 30% of users say that buying on the platform causes confusion. As an eCommerce business, you can address those problems through quality content and better marketing strategies. But what eCommerce social media marketing strategies should you implement? Here are the five proven strategies to do.
Social Media Marketing Statistics
Before we explore the best eCommerce social media marketing strategies, here are some stats to guide you on how and where to promote your eCommerce business:
- Average time spent on social media: 151 minutes (2 hours and 31 minutes). (Sprout Social)
- TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform. (Sprout Social)
- Facebook is the preferred social media marketing platform by many marketers because of audience size and advertising. (Statista and Sprout Social)
- One overlooked social media platform for sales is Pinterest; most users buy twice as much when they browse there. (Sprout Social)
- Almost 63% of users follow brands on Instagram to research them. (Hootsuite)
- Social spending sales went up 12% from 2021 to Q3 2022. (Hootsuite)
- For more web traffic referrals, Twitter is a driving force for that. Almost 10% of traffic comes from this social media site. (Hootsuite)
1. Identify Your Goals and Target Audience
Whether you have a year-long social media marketing plan or are starting a new campaign, one key strategy is identifying your goals. Knowing your objectives when posting and advertising on social media is essential to achieve goals and increasing sales.
For example, if you’re a new eCommerce business and want to reach more people organically, posting quality content can be one of your goals. On the other hand, if you’ve made a name on social media and would like to get more leads, you can post ads quarterly or monthly.
It’s best to have goals in mind to ensure a smooth implementation of your social media marketing plan. So, reflect on which goals you need to get started on your eCommerce social media marketing strategy.
Another thing to determine is your target audience. Many eCommerce businesses have specific demographics in mind. You can’t have a wide audience since not everyone will be your target audience. So, narrow down your audience to the following metrics:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Purchasing power
- Education
- Interests
- Pain points
You can define your target audience with these approaches:
- Ask your audience questions
- Use audience research tools
- Review and identify your competition
- Know who isn’t your target audience
- Establish your features and benefits + value proposition
2. Produce Quality and Engaging Content
Don’t immediately go for the hard sell when doing your social media marketing strategy. One thing to keep in mind when posting on social media is you’re connecting with the audience. And you don’t want to post for the sake of posting something. It needs to have a purpose or be deliberate. Consider these things when publishing posts on social media:
- Post questions that will help you learn about your audience (bonus points if you reply to them)
- Publish images and short-form videos
- Share your blog posts
When you’re consistent in doing this, you can establish credibility and trust with your target audience. Not only will you learn about what your target audience likes, but they’ll also get to know your brand even more. Plus, the more they engage with your business, it’s likely they would consider buying from you.
3. Establish Trust with UGC + Micro-Influencers
Your social media profiles are another platform to develop and build trust with your customers. One tried-and-tested eCommerce social media marketing strategy is posting user-generated content and partnering with micro-influencers.
User-generated content (UGC) can help you become a legitimate and reputable eCommerce business. When you repost a customer experience, this signals to other customers that real people are using your product. Plus, it can convince them to try the product for themselves. This way, you can build trust by sharing these reviews or experiences.
In addition, considering that the Gen Z user base is growing, a partnership with micro-influencers is an excellent method of reaching out to them. Many Gen Z users value influencer opinions because it’s authentic and objective. When choosing an influencer, you need to keep in mind the following:
- Are the values of this influencer aligned with yours?
- How is this influencer relevant to your brand? How could they benefit from it?
- Can they post regularly and become an advocate of your brand?
Speaking of advocates, micro-influencers can become your brand advocates. When they post images or videos about your brand, you can share them on your social media profiles.
4. Set Up Your Social Media Store
Social media is no longer a place to connect with one another. eCommerce businesses can benefit from having a social media presence thanks to Shops. Facebook and Instagram are two platforms to post your products by setting up a Shop.
Think of this Shop as an extension of your eCommerce website. Plus, a social media shop provides convenience to users shopping on the platform. In turn, you can provide a seamless experience from social media to your eCommerce site through purchase and checkout.
Once you have this up, you can create Shoppable posts. With a Shoppable post, you can differentiate between your regularly scheduled content and a post for sale. When your customers see the small shopping bag icon, it indicates that it’s available to buy. Plus, when they click on it, they can immediately purchase it on the platform.
That’s one great benefit of having a social media shop. It eliminates many steps from the buyer’s journey and boosts your sales!
5. Invest in Ads
The final eCommerce social media marketing strategy to implement is investing in ads.
Organic content is great! And it’s what many experts suggest when marketing on social media platforms. But posting ads are the best way to reach your target audience if you’re not hitting your sales targets.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok allow you to run your ad campaign. Here’s what you need to remember when running ads:
- Target audience
- Budget
- Duration
- Frequency
- Assets (images and videos)
Pro Tip: Post more video ads to get maximum engagement. Plus, make sure to follow the ad guidelines for social media platforms to avoid your ad being taken down or getting rejected.
Know more about ad guidelines here: