If 2021 taught us one thing about social media, it’s that it’s DEFINITELY no longer about just socializing.
Shopping via social media, or social commerce, has been growing in popularity for a while. But, the pandemic culture has now made it an absolute expectation. Shoppers generally find the products and services they want via social media, and they DON’T want to click through a number of links to buy them.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more create easy, fast, and satisfying shopping solutions.
If your e-commerce store utilizes these tools, you know that simply providing the platform won’t drive customers in. Developing a solid social commerce strategy will help promote your business, increase interest and drive up sales.
Here are 5 ways to develop a good social commerce strategy.
5 Strategies to Support Your Social Commerce
1. Establish Unique Hashtags
Users search for products and services with social media. Unique and relevant hashtags will help them find you. To promote your brand and products effectively, use hashtags that focus on your audience, your purpose, and/or relevant current events.
For example, a fictional store named Honey Essential Oils might be promoting their sale around the holidays. A few useful hashtags could be: #essentialoils, #honeyEO, #aromatherapy, or #BlackFriday2022.
You can determine great hashtags by taking a look at what your consumer base is saying about your products (or your competitors’ products!). Find out what hashtags have great followings, and which ones fall on deaf ears.
✅ Do:
- Keep hashtags short
- Make sure hashtags are readable
- Incorporate hashtags into your content (as opposed to a hashtag list at the end)
❎ Don’t:
- Use a ton of hashtags “just because”
- Write long, unreadable hashtags
- Add popular but irrelevant hashtags
2. Provide Social-Based Customer Service
Responding to customer requests and complaints right on social media is a great way to strengthen your brand’s reputation. In fact, statistics show that doing so increases customer advocacy by 25%. Failing to do so can DECREASE customer advocacy by up to 50%!
Moral of the story? Leverage the power of social media and respond, respond, respond.
✅ Do:
- Be polite and professional
- Respond within an hour
- Aim to resolve the issue
❎ Don’t:
- Get offended or be combative
- Leave questions or complaints unattended
- Wait days or weeks to respond
3. Promote User Generated Content
User generated content (UGC) is the modern day word of mouth. Social media users love seeing this social proof that other people like them buy, use, and enjoy your products or services. Plus, sharing your customers’ content on your social channels strengthens your relationship with them, and it could lead to future purchases.
When you share UGC, keep this in mind:
✅ Do:
- Ask the user for permission to share their content
- Use your business’ social media account to ask for permission
- Tag and thank the user when you share
❎ Don’t:
- Share without permission (yikes!)
- Think that only big-time influencers matter
- Post without a plan
4. Encourage Social Reviews
Social media platforms, like Facebook, provide a spot where customers can review your products and services. Like UGC, customer reviews are an effective way to show proof that customers are loyal to you. Even if you get a lukewarm review, or a negative one, treat it as an opportunity to show how easily you can address the issue.
✅ Do:
- Create social media posts to encourage customer reviews
- Respond courteously to each review
- Address any issues or complaints
❎ Don’t:
- Make the Review option unavailable
- Leave reviews unresponded to
- Fail to address complaints
5. Invest in Paid Social Media Ads
Social media offers you a huge – but affordable! – way to promote your products and services. By investing in paid social media advertisements, you can extend your reach, boost engagement, and convert leads.
To create a great ad:
✅ Do:
- Choose the right goal
- Know exactly who your target audience is
- Include images or videos in your ads
❎ Don’t:
- Leave your audience wide open
- Promote with only content
- Fail to analyze and improve
