How Important Is Social Media For eCommerce?

If you run an eCommerce business, you may be wondering if it’s worth investing in a robust social media presence. Is it worth integrating social media into your marketing strategy?

The answer is a definitive “yes.” Social media can help drive traffic to your eCommerce site, boost conversion rates, and improve your brand image – among a ton of other benefits.

And, perhaps most importantly, social media platforms allow you to reach internet users where they already are – because almost everyone has at least one social media account on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more.

But how important is social media for eCommerce? In this blog, we’ll discuss some of the statistics related to online shopping and social media, discuss the best ways for eCommerce stores to use social media, and go over the benefits of investing in a robust social media strategy.

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The Importance Of Social Media For eCommerce – By The Numbers

Why should small businesses invest in social media? Here are a few statistics about social media platforms and eCommerce that may surprise you – and prove the value of integrating social media into your marketing campaigns.

• 6 billion people globally use social media. This number is predicted to reach 4.41 billion by 2025.
• Facebook has the largest number of users at 2.74 billion, followed by YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WeChat.
• 84% of shoppers will review at least one social media website before making a purchase
• 75% of Instagram users have taken an action, such as clicking a product or visiting a website, after seeing a sponsored post
• 57% of users will follow a brand to learn about products or services, while 47% will follow to stay updated about company news.
• On average, stores with a robust social media presence enjoy 32% higher sales compared to those that lack a presence on major websites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
• 74% of customers rely on social networks to inform their purchasing decisions

Social media is more widespread than ever before – and if you haven’t taken the time to develop your social media presence, now is the time to start. In the next section of this guide, we’ll discuss a few of the ways you can engage with customers using social media.

How eCommerce Stores Can Use Social Media – Understanding The Basics

Wondering how you can use social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram? The possibilities are limitless, but basic social media marketing strategies include:

Basic Social Media Marketing Strategies

1. Sharing original content

From short posts about new products to creating short-form videos, you can create and share a lot of different original content on social media.

2. Sharing social posts from customers

Sharing reviews of your products, testimonials, and other user-generated content is a great way to connect with more potential customers.

3. Providing customer support

More people than ever expect eCommerce stores and other companies to provide customer support through platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and addressing support issues through these platforms can help improve customer satisfaction.

4. Running special promotions, giveaways and sweepstakes

This is a great way to boost customer engagement, build loyalty, and make your social media presence more exciting.

5. Investing in paid advertising

Websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram let you run paid ads, and offer advanced tools for market segmentation and choosing a target audience, which makes paid social advertising very effective.

The Benefits Of Social Media For eCommerce Stores

Still not sure if social media really matters for eCommerce stores? Here are just a few of the benefits you can enjoy if you invest in your social media presence.

• Build a better brand image – Social media is a great way to put your brand’s values, principles, and attitude forward, and build a more consistent brand image. This can help enhance brand loyalty, relatability, and more.
• Boost content marketing efforts – By sharing original content like blog posts and videos on social media, you can bring more viewers to your website and improve the overall effectiveness of content marketing – social and content marketing are a perfect pair!
• Enhance SEO in Google, Bing & more – Search engines like Google love results from top social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and more. By making sure you have a good social media presence, you’ll rise higher in search engine rankings when a customer searches for your brand.
• Improve your organic advertising efforts – Social media gives you access to an organic (non-paid) audience of people who are interested in your content, and will share information about your products with their peers via word of mouth.

Interested In Social Media Marketing For eCommerce? Contact Us Today

As you can see, investing in social media marketing can be a powerful way to build your brand’s image, reach more people with your products, and get more conversions – and that all means increased profits.

But if you’re not sure how to get started, Australian Internet Advertising is here to help. We specialise in web design and social media marketing such as Facebook Marketing. We can help you develop a cost-effective, sustainable, and effective social strategy that will translate directly into business growth. Contact us now to schedule a consultation and get started.