Here’s a question I get a lot: “If I’m an eCommerce store, do I really need social media? Can’t I just send emails to attract customers and not waste my time with Facebook or Twitter? The answer is that you absolutely unequivocally need social media. Now!
The reason? Social media is a crucial component of any well-rounded inbound marketing strategy for your store – in addition to email. Plus, if it is done correctly, it will guide your buyers to make a conscious decision to purchase, just from a Tweet. Here are 4 reasons why every eCmmerce store needs to get social…
Drive Traffic
Building a social portfolio on major social media networks (like Facebook, Twitter, etc) allows you to drive traffic to your eCommerce store. Moreover, this traffic can be analyzed so you can learn how your social media efforts are resulting in increased traffic and conversions to your site. You may find that the more you post information about your store, the more traffic you see. Bottom line is this – getting customers to your website is an important component of your eCommerce strategy and a huge benefit of social media.
Interact with Customers
Social media allows eCommerce stores to really engage with their clientele. In essence, these are just great platforms to ‘talk’ to people. Sites like Twitter and Facebook allow you to post information about new products, upcoming sales, or even behind the scene pictures of you unwrapping the latest merchandise received. You can also use social media to ask customers for insights regarding new product lines they may like to see or ask for customer reviews. Social media (more so than any other marketing tactic) nurtures customer loyalty by establishing a connection to your fan base.
Impact Organic Search Presence
Search engines take cues from social media activities. The more people that “Like” or share your content on social media, the better your search engine visibility becomes. Simply put, search engines make deals with social sites like Twitter, and because of this, it’s pretty obvious that social media affects SEO in a very positive way.
It’s Free
While not all social media sites are free, many of the big names like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are. This means that there’s virtually no excuse for ignoring these valuable FREE marketing tools. Take time to explore their potential and track their results.
These are just four of the major benefits of social media marketing for eCommerce sites and why it should absolutely be a part of your overall ecommerce strategy. Once you establish your presence on a few, you’ll likely to see that there are many more reasons to make social a viable part of your daily marketing campaign.
About The Author
Amber Haack is responsible for customer success at Springbot. Have questions on how Springbot can help you understand the importance of social media marketing for your ecommerce strategy? Email Amber at coaching@springbot.com or post your questions here and we promise to put them in the queue and answer them. And don’t forget to follow her on Twitter @amberhaack.
