Social media love it or hate it it's here to stay. And while on a personal level most of us would agree that a feed full of selfies and pictures of meals adds little value to our lives on a professional level social media done right can do a lot for your brand. If you need any convincing here pay attention to this little snapshot of stats, KPIS and Ecommerce Metrics:
Note however we say social media done right . Too many businesses do it wrong committing the same tired old mistakes that are at best a waste of time and money and at worst damaging. So to hit the sweet spot of social media marketing so it works well for your brand here are five common ecommerce mistakes to avoid and a few pointers on what to embrace.
Remember it's social media not antisocial media. So be sure to engage with your communities. This means starting conversations as well as responding to comments the good the bad and the ugly. Otherwise you risk looking like you don't care. This certainly won't grow your community and it more than likely will shrink it.
There are few things more soul-destroying than being stuck in a one-way conversation with somebody and the three words you hear most from them are 'me' 'mine' and 'I'. This applies to social media too. If you make it all about your brand you'll bore the pants off people. Make your posts about your followers for your followers weaving your brand news in where it feels right and relevant for both parties.
Canned' posts used sparingly and in the right place at the right time in the right tone are OK. But too many give off an unnatural feel to your feed that followers will quickly pick up on and be turned off by. People want to interact with your brand like it's a friend not an automaton.
This is extremely dangerous as it can mean the leaking of offensive posts that damage your brand reputation and see you hemorrhage followers. These can be deliberate (a disgruntled employee going rogue for example) or accidental who can forget Epicurious' horribly misguided tweets using the Boston bombings to promote breakfast recipes? See below and shudder: Ensure you have a policy in place to avoid social media storms like this and change passwords regularly so only the right people have access.
Even a simple typo can be damaging. And if too many slip through followers may lose trust in your brand. For if you're sloppy on social where else are your standards lacking? So check your posts once. Check them twice. Check them thrice. And where possible pass them by a pair of eagle eyes. Inevitably mistakes will happen. When they do as long as you haven't offended anyone apologize amend and where possible make like The Boston Globe and make 'em LOL. So now you know what not to do when it comes to social media marketing for your brand here are a few pointers on what to do!
Social media is a waste of time and money if it lacks focused effort. You need to choose the right channels for your target audience with a clear set of goals and metrics to measure your success. Sporadically posting across various platforms is just shouting in to a void. You need to approach social media like you would any marketing campaign to benefit from it.
Don't fall in to the trap of vanity metrics which focus on growing large numbers of followers regardless of their value. What's the point in a huge following on Facebook if few of them are engaging with your brand and contributing to your bottom line? Instead you should be measuring the effect social media has on your business.
Ensure that all your social media posts regardless of platform are true to your brand in tone voice personality and values. Social media gives brands huge opportunity to connect with customers on a deeper level. So leverage it to the utmost.
While social media is predominantly about generating awareness of and building communities around your brand you can also use it to drive conversions by using 'Where to Buy' technology to make it shoppable. Like it share it buy it! Contact our team today to learn how ChannelSight can bridge the gap between creatives and conversions by making any or all of your social content shoppable!
