Social Commerce: What it is & Why should you include it

Social Commerce: What it is & Why should you include it

Have you often seen the carousel ads on Facebook or an Instagram ad post with a ‘shop now’ button inviting you to start your shopping right away? That is what social commerce is all about.

To define it simply, Social Commerce is a combination of the best features of e-commerce and social media strategy. With an increased number of shoppers browsing social channels to make a purchase decision, these platforms are making the most of such opportunities to encourage a call to action right then and there.

Here are a few good reasons why you should also consider joining the Social Commerce bandwagon.

It is more connected

Let’s admit it, people are more connected online than offline. The shopping communities on social platforms enjoy commenting, sharing, posting, reviewing, and advising fellow shoppers, all within the platform. And when, as a brand, you place yourself within such communities, there are high chances of your visibility.

It is a linear shopping process

User experience is at the core of better conversions and repeats business. And as a retailer, you would do anything to make the purchasing process hassle-free for your buyer. When you use social channels to make your buyer shop therein, you are basically cutting down the entire navigation process from your social media page to the website and then to the transaction. This can dramatically enhance the shopping experience for your buyer.

It generates instant customer responses

Needless to say, there is no better place than social media platforms to get instant reviews and reactions on anything from politics to pet care. Shopping is no different. With consumers already in a conversation on similar products as yours or even yours, you can assess the feedback, implement in your sales strategy and personalize the customer service right then and there.

Besides these, there are a few other reasons that make Social Commerce the need of the hour

  • It provides endless opportunities for influencer marketing.
  • It yields better revenues and directs too.
  • It is more visually appealing.
  • It gives users the validation that they seek.

With the majority of shoppers and users from the social-savvy generation, Social Commerce is shaping up to be the next level of the shopping experience and the future of online retail.

Social Media ROI Measuring and Managing

Social Media ROI Measuring and Managing

Did you know that more than 60% of consumers today rely on social media before making a purchase decision? And about 71% of such consumers will more likely make a purchase based on referrals from the social crowd. That goes to say, that a lot of your business success rides on your social media presence.

Needless to say, social media activities are a big investment for businesses and it is essential that you measure your social media ROI to get a fair assessment of your efforts.

Measuring and managing social media ROI

To assess the results of your efforts, you must first set your decide what you want to measure- Brand awareness (traffic/followers) or lead generation or sales (conversions).  Accordingly, you can measure each KPI.

Here are a few things you can start with:

Website Traffic – Are your social media activities increasing your site traffic? Do you have more returning visitors or new users? If you see a constant increase in the traffic, then you should continue with your strategy. If not, then you might need to relook at your approach.

Followers – Do you see an increased number of followers on your social media page? Is it because of your regular marketing efforts or a particular campaign? Although more followers do not directly translate to increased sales, an increased outreach would mean brand loyalty and more awareness, which can prove to be beneficial in the long run

Conversions – Is your social presence resulting in increased sales? Or is it a particular campaign that leads to conversions? Look at your Page Analytics data to determine your leads and what is driving them.

Know your numbers

The numbers that you extract can tell you a lot more than direct results of your effort. You can also analyze the data on engagement, reach, impressions, views etc. Once you have all the data, compare the numbers (results) against your expectations and that of your competitors.

To monitor all your social media activities, you can either use the inbuilt tools provided by each platform or use comprehensive analysis tools like Google Analytics.

While you might be doing everything to boost your social presence, the dynamics of social platforms keep changing almost every day. With the help of a social media company and industry experts, you can enjoy increased ROI from your marketing investments

5 ways to be productive on Social Media

5 ways to be productive on Social Media

Social media marketing can be an overwhelming task. It involves multiple tasks like organizing, planning, and writing, designing, communicating, and analyzing data. Social media management blurs the line between creative, analytic, and management skills. Most often than not, in the process of multi-tasking across so many aspects, one loses out on the productivity, resulting in minimal output from maximum efforts.

To boost your productivity on social media and ensure that your marketing efforts bring real results, here are a few tips:

Plan ahead

Before you start doing anything, create a social media strategy, followed by a calendar which includes your marketing objectives, content theme, number and time of posts, and corresponding creative for each. You can create a monthly, or a quarterly strategy and create weekly calendars so you have your week scheduled. You can also use social dashboards like Hootsuite or Sprout Social to schedule posts.

Know your limits

As much as the social landscape looks alluring, you cannot possibly be present everywhere. While creating your strategy, assess where your audience is and target those platforms specifically. Limit yourself to three or maximum five platforms, which you cannot do without.

Stay updated

Instead of scouting through endless news feeds and trending posts, set alerts for content that are relevant to your industry. Share these as branded content with your business perspective to a generic news.

Be organized

When there are too many task to handle, there are chances you can miss out on something. Being organized remarkably boosts productivity of social marketing. Consider using project management tools like Basecamp, Trello, etc. to collect ideas, coordinate with teams, and set alerts.

Consider outsourcing

When you are pressed for time, outsourcing comes to rescue. With the help of a specialized social media marketing company, you can improve your social productivity. These agencies are always updated with the latest social trends and industry updates, and use their experience to boost your social presence, monitor activities and drive ROI, so you can focus on the other important aspects of social media management.

Facebook ad mistakes that are probably pinching your pocket

Facebook ad mistakes that are probably pinching your pocket

Facebook Ads are a powerful marketing tool to grow your business. But it also has a great impact on your marketing budget, because chances are, that you are not doing something right. If you are a smart marketer, you can easily avoid the common mistakes and optimize the benefits of this trusted social media platform

Not testing images
No matter how strong your ad copy is, the image/s is the first thing your user notices in your ad, and testing them can largely impact your click-through rate. Run trials by adding a border, changing the colors, or different themes. Make at least 3-5 creative for every set of ads that you are running, so you can assess which one works the best for your audience and improvise your strategy going forward.

Too much text
Having too much text makes your ad copy weak and difficult to get eyeballs. Be concise but compelling. Highlight only the most critical information about your brand/offer that you want your audience to know about. You can always share details on the landing page to which your visitors click through.

With the help of the new text rating system by Facebook, you can assess if your ad copy is ‘OK’, ‘medium’ or ‘high’ in text.

Not targeting the right audience
Just because you are on Facebook doesn’t mean you can target everyone. By filtering your target group by age, gender, location, interests, or online behavior, you have higher chances of finding people who are interested in your offerings. Facebook’s custom targeting features helps you narrow down onto the right set of unique audience for your ad.

Same ads for everyone
When it comes to ads, one size doesn’t fit all. Your ads for new users should be different from the ads for those who have already clicked through them. While your current customers are looking for something new or different- like a promotion or offer, the new users are looking at information and awareness.

Whether you are an experienced or rookie Facebook marketer, chances of mistakes always remain. To maximize your efforts and ad budget, seek professional support from an expert social media marketing company who can help you with social media optimization, so your marketing exercises become successful and long-lasting!