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If you’re looking to boost your social media strategy, you may be confused by new services and seemingly endless changes to the way platforms like Facebook and Instagram operate.
The most recent Social Media Marketing Industry Report found that 92% of marketers say social media is important to their business. Yet most have a difficult time understanding which social platforms to use and how to find their target audience.
Here we’ve looked at some of the top tools retailers can use to help attract customers.
Keep in mind that search engine optimization (SEO) pros advise that not every post needs to drive a sale but can instead increase interest in your business and attract users who are searching for a wide area of topics. Some retailers benefit from developing useful content, which search engines value more highly (and is more likely to be shared) along with highlighting products in the hopes a customer will land on your page. Likewise, your own activity and engagement offers more chance for your brand to be seen.
Facebook is still the leading social media platform for marketing. The most recent Social Media Marketing Industry Report found that 62% of marketers consider Facebook the most important network, followed by LinkedIn at 16%. Facebook earlier this year changed its algorithm to highlight posts from friends and family, which may make it more difficult to reach customers. In 2018, this will likely lead to more purchases of Facebook ads, which were already on the rise according to the report. The report also found that about 75% of marketers were planning to increase their use of video. A number of inexpensive social media video tools such as Animoto and Animatron Wave can help you get started.
While LinkedIn saw a drop in use by marketers from 67% to 56% last year, those surveyed in the report still considered it the second most important platform, after Facebook. Some businesses are having success with LinkedIn’s Articles feature, which can be used to offer sharable expertise. Examples might include how to furnish your first apartment, creating a perfect nursery or how to buy furniture that lasts. Look for topics that are loosely related to your business but are likely to interest a wide range of people to increase your search relevance and attract a wide range of customers.
While Facebook is still used by 93% of the marketers surveyed in the Social Media Marketing Industry Report, Twitter use declined slightly in 2017, down from 76% to 68%.
PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Total Retail 2017 report found that Facebook and Twitter prompt nearly 40% of consumers to make purchases. One way retailers can boost sales is by offering Twitter-only discounts, contests and other promotions (including a hashtag to increase the chance it will be seen and spread). Retail locations should also make prominent display of their social accounts in store.
Meanwhile Instagram’s use increased substantially, from 44% to 54% – and 63% plan on increasing their Instagram use. Part of the reason may be because photography is so important to reaching customers. Most social media marketers – 85% – use visuals in their marketing.
As with Twitter, using Instagram hashtags (and location tags) are important for helping customers find and follow you. Interact with customers and other related businesses as much as possible so their followers see your activity and are more likely to follow your brand.
New
As far as new platforms for reaching customers, research firm Gartner highlights Facebook’s business-to-consumer messaging (Apple has recently released a similar idea called Apple Business Messaging.) “Facebook’s integration of Messenger and its bots with Facebook advertising presents opportunities for marketers to engage audiences in new ways,” reports Gartner.
Get more insights and share new ideas on using social media to attract customers at the NEXT Conference Sept. 24-26, 2018, in Austin, Texas. For more information and to register now, visit www.pbmnext.com.
