10 Ways to Leverage Social Media To Increase eCommerce Sales: Part 2

Nicole Dean

There are lots of social media platforms out there. Tools from Vine to Kickstarter can accelerate your eCommerce Business growth and boost your marketing strategies. Below are the ten of the most useful tools, with examples of how companies used them as part of their marketing strategies to ensure the ongoing success of their campaign.

Facebook

Almost everyone loves coupons or any way to save money. Take advantage of Facebook to use coupons to draw customers to your website. Facebook-only coupons and special offers help attract new customers while keeping current customers happy. The use of coupons does not always require 3^rd party apps. You can create special promotional codes that are created for your website and post those to Facebook. Many companies have used this feature as part of their social media marketing strategies and have found great success.

Twitter

One effective way to drive business to your eCommerce site is by identifying the problems your products solve and publish them on your website. Organize your website by category with each one on an individual page. Then, search for people asking questions that your product will solve. With Twitter, you can ask questions that your product will provide an answer to, such as, “Best shampoo for brittle hair?” Tweet your category link as the answer.

Instagram

Useful for company, brand, and product recognition, larger companies are harnessing for associating their brand with style and greater popularity. Instagram is helpful for showcasing your products as the most desirable. Conversely, it has fewer of the powerful features that Twitter and Facebook have. You can use metrics to help you evaluate just how effective your presence is.

YouTube

Your Google Account gives you the opportunity to create a public YouTube Channel. You will be able to upload videos, leave comments and make playlists. TRESemme’s YouTube channel is a great example of how a company of any size can make use of YouTube for ecommerce. Each product in a how-to video is available for purchase when the “Buy Now” button is clicked. Check out other companies’ channels and see how they used YouTube in their Internet marketing strategies.

LinkedIn

With LinkedIn Networking, you can connect with companies, individuals and businesses relevant to your eCommerce and business goals all over the world. You can trim and grow your network to accommodate the best fits. It’s best to keep your focus on the pulse of the industry you represent and the customers you serve.

Vine

Vines can be used to show a product in the process of being used. Vine is an app that allows people to record a 6 second video that plays on a loop. People will always be drawn to your site to see if a product will suit their needs. This is the perfect place to make a brief video demonstrating how a real person would use your product. This is the perfect way to get your consumers to envision how they, themselves, would use your product. You can encourage your customers to take videos of themselves as they’re using the products, as well.

Vimeo

Vimeo is a great platform for distributing information of a non-commercial nature. It provides the bandwidth for presenting informative videos that can help educate an audience in a non-commercial way. When used in combination with your company name, you can show yourself as an expert in your field.

Kickstarter

If you have a film or entrepreneurial product in need of funding, perhaps you should be thinking about Kickstarter. To build your reputation on the site, tell your heartfelt story on a stunning video and create a sensible reward structure. When you have succeeded in capturing the demographic appropriate for supporting your plans, you’ll find yourself with a circle of devotees in a community outside your family and friends. These supporters will contribute the time, skills, and funding that you need.

Yelp

Yelp is all about authenticity. They recommend that you provide great customer service and that will be reflected in a positive way on Yelp. You can help things along by creating Yelp promos that will offer service seekers a great Yelp deal.

Reddit

Advertising with Reddit can increase visitors to your site at a very low cost (under 4 cents). If you’re fortunate, your ad will go viral. A visually appealing search engine ad with a catchy title will draw the attention you seek. Take a look at some successful Reddit ads to get a creative direction for your own. Then, use your analytics to monitor your traffic in order to discover if you’ve actually been effective.

Here are six great examples of using social media effectively to increase sales!

Inspirational Quote on Twitter
Why it works: Quotes are very sharable. Quotes are generally short, sweet and effective. Because this inspirational quote is on the product itself, it allows their product to be seen through sharing and it comes across less as promotional content and more as inspirational content. What’s even better is the quote makes sense with the context of the product, which is why it works.Why it works: Pinterest is usually where most brands select and organize content but Nike creates original content just for Pinterest. Motivational quotes are also shared a lot on Pinterest. Nike uses their branding and products in their motivational quote images so that their content is the same as their ads.
1. User-generated Content on Twitter
Why it works: User-generated content is great because it not only encourages engagement but it’s also a lot less work to put together than creating your own content. This shows real customers using their products, which is key in serving “social” proof that their product is usable and easy to use. The best part about this type of marketing is that your customers that are most passionate about your brand get recognition and it’s your opportunity to give back and say thanks by featuring them. When you recognize a customer, you gain a customer for life. This image also has a great implementation of hashtags without overdoing it.
1. Upcoming Looks on Vine and Instagram
Why it works: The quick cuts displaying different models showcasing different products fits with the type of content that creates buzz by previewing the upcoming line. This is perfect for Vine and Instagram because it’s short and to the point and it encourages interaction from your audience as well as keeping them engaged with your content. Putting the call to action at the end like, “Which look do you love?” is a great way to get more engagement from your viewers.
1. Fun Way to Get Engagement on Facebook
Why it works: Asking your audience questions is an excellent way to encourage your fans and followers to engage with you. This works even better when you ask your audience creative questions that still involve your audience and brand. Including an image with this type of post is going to get even more engagement.
1. Promo Plus Content on Facebook
Why it works: Kurly Klips has a YouTube channel where they create valuable content for their fans and customers to keep them engaged as well as keep them receptive to future promotions. This works great because they’re promoting the discount, which is packaged with content. Instead of just posting about the product or posting about a discount, they use Facebook to share valuable content that educates and helps their fans and consumers, which also helps promote their product and discount.