Winning Online Sales
With Social Media Marketing

Love it or hate it social media is here to stay. Why not use it to your advantage and drive sales for your ecommerce store?

We understand that managing social media accounts can seem like a large task. Most businesspeople have a love hate relationship with social media. The truth is however that social media ranks just behind having a really good website for purposes of being a cost effective, high impact, customer drawing marketing option.

The key to a good vs. a bad social media experience when it comes to product sales is critical to understand, if one really does want to take advantage of all that social media has to offer with the least pain possible.

In this article we are going to discuss what separates the good from bad social media strategy and how developing and implementing a good strategy can make all the difference in the bottom-line profits of your business. Additionally, we will provide an easy solution for those that still hesitate in getting into social media themselves.

The key elements of a bad social media presence are:

1. Inconsistent posting

2. Inappropriate posting

3. Low Quality content

4. No/Slow Follower-follow-up

For any business wishing to explore the value added benefits of what a social media presence can do for their bottom line there are some basic rules:

1. First rule they need to understand about having a quality social presences that will yield positive results is that they need to post regularly.

Far too many businesses have succumbed to the “If you build it, they will come” myth. Building a social medias presence that you do not intend on maintaining will not only NOT draw in new business but if adding a social account is simply a checkbox on your task list you are checking off then it very well could have the opposite desired effect of effective brand building. We will discuss the negative impacts later of this poor strategic decision.

2. Next in the line of sins that will reduce your brand value and awareness is placing inappropriate posts.

As a business it is important to realize your business account is there to represent the business and not you. What do we mean here? If you are selling products or services, then your primary focus should remain on what brings value to that specific community.

This means offering resources and other high-quality related content. So, if your idea is to post duckfaces, selfies and cleavage shots keep those to your own personal social accounts and DO NOT place such low value content on your business’ social presence.

Does this mean you can’t use and attractive person to highlight your product? No. Successful brands around the world know the value of an attractive marketing piece. The difference however is that the attraction is used to highlight the product, tap into our primal desires and then tie the two together. When too much emphasis however is placed on the attractive side item and not enough on attracting people to the value and benefits of the product you will find you are merely wasting your advertising money and efforts on the same low quality content people can get across the internet spectrum without the infringement of your product placement.

Another point here is to be respectful. In this world we are all prejudice to some degree. Anyone who tells you they are not is lying. However, when it comes to business it is important to keep prejudice, social byass, slander and foul mouthery separate from your business identity as this will merely stain your brand awareness, acceptance, and adoption.

3. The next area of focus is on the placement of quality content. The idea behind “social” is that you are actually social. Using your social accounts to simply note what is “for sale” vs. “on sale” will quickly turn off most visitors.

Remember people are looking for deals and if you are merely giving them your inventory list of otherwise non-special products they can simply go elsewhere in merely a few clicks.

An exception to the above rule is when you have a unique or hard to acquire product. If this is the case people will value your posts as their perception of you goes from one of a simple hocker of merchandise to a value-added resource of otherwise hard to come by items.

When maintaining a high-quality social presence, you also want to mix up your content. If every post is about inventory people will quickly un-follow. The best way to keep people interested and retuning is to provide content that is also value oriented. For example, consider placing articles that talk about the current state of politics and how this could affect them as owners. Talk about great resources that complement their interest in the community. Talk about new items hitting the market that are not yet available (also a great way to create internal demand). Highlight customer experiences and how they have benefited from your products, run contests, and show great images of products being used (soft selling).

4. Last but certainly not least is going social means being social. If you have someone ask a question, make sure to answer it in a timely manner. Every question should be looked at as a hot lead from a business perspective. If a customer has a problem address it and be transparent (when possible) about how you are working to improve their experience. If someone friends you, make sure to accept their request, if appropriate, without delay.

The social sphere is complex and users are keenly aware when a business has a sincere interest in them vs. if they are just checking the box of social presence.

So now that you understand what makes the difference between a positive and negative social media presence you may be more hesitant than ever to make it part of your marketing platform. If this is the case, you should review the infographic below to understand that the perceived pain can be quickly overcome with the joy of the sale when done correctly.

Still hesitant? At online-ecom we can help.

At online-ecom we offer “Social Syndication” services at an incredibly affordable price. With “Social Syndication” we can help mange your social media accounts and provide high level content that is sure to draw the positive attention of your customer base. In a nutshell we handle the content posting and you manage the customer support. It’s an easy solution where everyone is a winner.