Social Media and Ecommerce –How To Increase Sales and Improve ROI

Social Media, SEM, SEO and Content Marketing are terms that get floated around often, but how important are they to your business. Everyone wants more business, but how do you achieve that goal? You already have your online store, whether that is on Amazon, eBay or your own website…. so now what? How can you increase traffic to your ecommerce site in order to increase your bottom line? One solution is to get social. Grow your online presence with a social media strategy.

Facebook dominates as a source of social traffic and sales in relation to the other social media channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +). Nearly two thirds of all social media visits to Shopify stores come from Facebook. Plus, an average of 85% of all orders from social media come from Facebook (1). The industries that perform the best on Facebook are Photography, Sports/Recreation, Pet Supplies, Jewelry/Watches, Clothing/Apparel, Food/Beverage, Home/Garden, Health/Beauty and Music/Movies.

To establish a presence on Facebook and reach an audience who you may not otherwise have direct access too, it is helpful to run ads. You can post specials and promos and boost those posts to targeted audiences who are looking for the product or service you provide, but may not know you exist. For example, if you are selling clothing, you can promote your current sale and get your ad directly in front of people who like similar stores or who have shown shopping intent. You can also promote your page in order to grow your fan base of potential customers. Once you have an established fan base of people who have ‘liked’ your page, you can promote specials and promos to those people to encourage repeat business. You can also upload your email lists via Facebook in order to serve those people targeted ads and encourage repeat business.

Diving into social media and establishing a Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest page are excellent ways to not only increase brand awareness, but to control your brand. We can’t always control negative feedback we receive on Amazon or eBay, but we can control the content and images on our social media pages. Present yourself to the world as a leader in your industry. Post interesting articles to captivate your audience as well as great images of your products. Encourage interaction by asking questions to your fan base, and keep connected in order to keep them coming back for more.

The saying is ‘You cannot control others. You can only control yourself’. Social media is an extension of yourself, and one of the few things out there in relation to your business’s reputation that you have some control over. Not only in your page’s content, but in the advertising capabilities available to you. Bottom Line: You can increase sales by engaging in social media. Use it to increase brand awareness, build your online reputation, and advertise to a highly responsive and targeted audience.

(1) Source: Shopify.com/ecommerce University article. 2014

To learn more about increasing sales and productivity, contact Fusion Fulfillment today or call 732-903-6652.