How to Drive Retail Sales Using Social Media

The world of e-commerce is booming, thanks to social media, and many customers are using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to influence their shopping decisions. In fact, 87% of shoppers look at a brand’s social media pages before making a buying decision. And since 71% of small businesses are in line to start selling on social media platforms by 2023, it is important to consider how you can take advantage of these platforms to drive up your online and in-store sales instead of letting your competition get ahead.

With more and more people turning to Facebook and Instagram for store hours, news and sales, social media platforms have quickly turned into the best places to promote a brand, products and services. High-quality and captivating content can ensure that you have higher brand visibility, increased conversions, and a boost in sales. To help you go about this process, let us begin by first looking at social media marketing.

 

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing uses a wide array of content forms on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok to accomplish a company’s goals. For instance, you could craft captivating videos with an endearing message to your viewers or create infographics, high-quality photos, and even written content to attract customers to your eCommerce store.

The platforms you use will depend on the type of business you own. If you own a bicycle shop, posting content on LinkedIn might not be the best route for you, however posting Reels on Instagram or creating TikToks of your bicycles in action or a store tour may better suit your brand and reach your target audience. 

Once you’ve figured out which platforms to find your target audience, how exactly do you market to these customers? From paid media to organic social media, there are a ton of ways to gain attention no matter what your budget is. 

 

Types of Social Media Marketing

There are different approaches to social media marketing and the type you will choose depends on the type of business you run. Below are some of the most popular and effective methods you can use for your retail store.

 

Paid Advertising

One of the most flexible marketing methods is paid advertising. This is the case because you are presented with a diverse range of options to go about your social media campaigns. For starters, this type of online marketing comprises an ad that is displayed depending on the page content or what is entered by a user on the search engine. A cool feature to ads is that you can choose your audience demographics. So, if a user’s interests and demographics match your ad, they will see it. 

Examples of paid ads are photo ads, video ads, story ads, and messenger ads. These ads have different costs depending on how many people you want to see them and how long you would like them to be visible for, so check to see the pros and cons of each.

 

Influencer Marketing

At a basic level, influencer marketing uses product mentions and endorsements from individuals who have built an online reputation as experts and thought leaders within a niche and have a dedicated social media following. When you use influencers to promote your products, retail store, or service, their recommendations will act as social proof to your store’s prospecting customers. As you handle inventory management, the influencer will handle the marketing bit.

If you are unsure where to find an influencer, a good way to begin is to choose one social platform. Then, social listening to identify where people are having discussions around your industry, find the most influential voices on the platform, and begin conversations around how you can collaborate with them to increase your sales.

 

User Generated Content (UGC)

Essentially, this is the original content of a specific brand that is user-generated and posted on social media. It can be photos, videos, testimonials, reviews, or a podcast. As a retail store, you can even use UGC on other channels, like landing pages, email, and even the checkout pages of your eCommerce store.

Nowadays, customers are specific about the brands they shop from and interact with, especially Gen Z. It is not only the customers who want customer-generated content, but 60% of marketers also find quality and authenticity as key elements of effective content. Get your customers to share their experiences with your product or service and use their content to promote your retail products. Additionally, to support this type of marketing, customers are 2.4 times more likely to watch UGC over brand-driven content.

 

Organic Social

The most budget-friendly approach is organic marketing. It encompasses being active on social media platforms to engage your audience and generate new leads that will grow your sales. In addition, you have to curate interesting and engaging content to capture the attention of your target audience. One way to do it is to use keywords and hashtags to draw a wider audience, as you encourage your loyal or existing customers to share your content in exchange for incentives like discounts or gifts.

To achieve the best results with organic marketing, begin by optimizing your social media profiles. Here are some tactics to apply. 

  • Generate an easy-to-recognize brand logo or photo to use as a profile picture.
  • Create a username that is easy to remember.
  • Insert a link in your bio that is trackable to your website.
  • Use naturally sounding keyword-rich descriptions in your bio.

Is Social Media Part of Your Strategy Yet?

About 2.31 billion people use social media. In that number, your audience is waiting for you to reach out to them with promotional content that will attract their interest. The problem is that other brands are also trying to woo your customers to get to the point of sale. So, if you lack an effective social media marketing strategy, your efforts will be edged out by 77% of businesses with a sound plan.

Get started on your social media marketing efforts today and see where the results take your business. Once you’ve attracted so many customers and inventory is too much to handle manually, SKU IQ will be here to have your back with effortless inventory management. Connect SKU IQ today and start syncing your Point-of-Sale with your eCommerce account. Start your 30-day risk-free trial now!

 

Experience effortless inventory management! Connect SKU IQ today and start syncing your Point-of-Sale with your eCommerce account.

Sign up, it’s FREE!

Experience effortless inventory management! Connect SKU IQ today and start syncing your Point-of-Sale with your eCommerce account.

Sign up, it’s FREE!