Ecommerce sites have brought products and services straight to customers like never before. Whether it’s to save time, to cut back on driving, to find cheaper prices or more—the fact is: more and more customers today are shopping for products online.
According to Forrester, online retail sales are slated to grow 10% each year between 2012 and 2017. In fact, as more and more sales move online, growth in ecommerce is even expected to surpass the growth at local retail outlets within the next 4 years as well.
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This enormous rise in online shopping isn’t just because of the rising numbers of e-tailers alone—many local retailers have recognized that their customer’s shopping habits have changed and have chosen to move online along with them, making the online market more competitive than ever. That means in order for ecommerce sites to stay successful, it’s essential they stay on their toes and ahead of the curve. Check out this eBook on how to maximize your eCommerce site with SEO and social media, to get the full picture.
Why Your Ecommerce Site Needs a Social Media Campaign
Surprisingly enough—or perhaps not so surprisingly—part of this steady increase in online shopping is related to the growing realization that social networks are, in fact, extremely powerful marketing tools for both brick-and-mortars and ecommerce sites alike
Many ecommerce sites have failed to embrace social media and all that it can do for them, partly because they don’t understand how it can relate to their industry or how to implement a campaign geared to get more than just likes and tweets, but actual measurable results.
Amazingly, nearly 20% of items purchased online happen after the customer has investigated the product on social media sites—which makes social media the perfect platform for ecommerce sites to boost their business and gain valuable exposure.
More and more customers are finding that Twitter and Facebook are two of the easiest ways to gather information on the companies offering the products and services they’re after. And many of these potential customers base their decision on whether or not to engage in business with you on what they hear form others online. That’s why it’s important to be monitoring what people are saying about you around the web, especially what’s being shared on some of today’s most frequented social platforms.
By having a social media presence on these platforms you can help to create positive engagement and minimize any negative comments made about you and/or your products—boosting customer loyalty and fostering trust in potential leads.
Having a social media presence isn’t going to magically increase your revenue. However, that’s not to say that you won’t make any sales straight from your social media accounts. 44% of marketers have reported finding new customers on Twitter. But one of the great parts of social media, is that you just have to catch your prospective customer’s eye enough to get them to follow you. Once you do that, they’re 50% more likely to buy from you then one of your competitors when it comes time to make a purchase.
Just like with any other Internet marketing strategy, there are many factors in play. Social media has a number of benefits that will factor in further down the line, but it’s not simply a matter of getting your foot in the door—social media takes time, strategy, maintenance and more before you can start seeing significant results.
