A social media e-commerce strategy is a set of social media tactics you can use to market your online business. This article is a guide in developing one.
You may focus your social media e-commerce strategy on:
- selling products directly on social media
- Driving traffic to a website or a branded app
- Connecting with customers, both pre-purchase and post-purchase
- Collecting actionable insights about your industry (audience, competitors, benchmarks)
Of course, what focus you choose will depend on your business model and goals. You may even combine some (or all) of the options above! Read on to see how a social media e-commerce strategy can help you increase brand awareness and sell more products.
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Building brand awareness
You won’t make any sales if people don’t know about your offerings. Thus, you must start building buzz around your new store or product before going live with sales. Have a unique online personality and post consistently to build brand awareness and reach your target audience.
Brand awareness is quite a lengthy process. Paid social can help you speed things up just a bit if you wish to do so.
Customer service
Acquiring new customers may be your main social media goal. Although that is a reasonable goal, you must not forget your existing customers. Even if you have a dedicated support team that answers the phone or email, your customers may still come to your social media profiles for inquiries and feedback.
How you answer inquires on social media represents your brand. Having bad social proof is the last thing you want for your business. After all, potential customers find social proof more reliable than your content. Thus, you must engage with comments to show your audience that you value your customers and their feedback.
Yet, what if you receive negative feedback? Treat negative comments as an opportunity to provide solutions. This is a chance to show your audience how seriously you take your customers’ opinions.
Social listening
Social listening is the practice of scanning social media for mentions and conversations related to your brand. Knowing what people are saying about your product online can help you understand which of the products they love the most. Moreover, it will help you uncover recurring problems with some of your products. Finally, you’ll learn how the general public sees your brand.
Furthermore, social listening is a protective measure. If you ever make an unintentional mistake, it is likely that the affected customers will voice out their sentiments online. Awareness of the problem will help you react quickly and possibly prevent a full-blown social media crisis.
Collaborate with others
Working with an influencer your audience love can widen your reach. You may also collaborate with another brand from your industry (not a competitor, of course). For instance, you may invite an influencer to test your product and share their honest review online. Another strategy is partnering with brands putting together a high-value giveaway for your combined audiences.
Post often
Potential customers can’t interact with your brand if there is nothing to interact with. Thus, you must have a regular posting schedule to stay visible and relevant.
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