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December 22, 2017

Leverage The eCommerce Social Marketing Connection

social and e commerce are becoming more intertwined. are you ready?

We regularly discuss, on this blog, the explosive growth and far-reaching effects of social media. Another online phenomena that isn’t going anywhere is eCommerce: the selling of goods and services on the internet. This week we’re looking at the social media marketing and eCommerce connection and why these two things must go hand in hand in your strategy. That’s right, you should have an eCommerce marketing strategy in 2018.

The Marriage of Social Marketing and eCommerce

In order to grasp the importance of eCommerce, let’s look at what it is and its growth over the last few years.

eCommerce By The Numbers

There are three types of eCommerce: Business to consumer (B2C), business to business (B2B) and consumer to consumer (C2C). B2C is what most of us think of when we think about online shopping. Businesses selling their products directly to consumers. It’s B2B that is growing most rapidly, though – businesses selling to other businesses. The other type of eCommerce, with consumers selling to other consumers (like on Etsy or Ebay), is C2C.

The United States Census Bureau has been releasing its “Quarterly E-Commerce Report” since 1999. But eCommerce can be tracked back to the mid-80’s when Compuserve launched the Electronic Mall. Since then, a lot has changed. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the fact that eCommerce, in all forms, is growing and changing.

In 2014, total worldwide eCommerce sales were $1.3 trillion USD. That number increased by a trillion dollars this year (which is not over). It is predicted that in 2021, global retail eCommerce sales will reach $4.5 trillion USD (Statista).

But How Does Social Media Factor In?

Rollouts of features like the ability to purchase products directly from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest prove that the line between social media & eCommerce have been completely blurred. Want some numbers to back up that assertion? A 2016 survey showed that 56% of consumers said they follow brands to look at products that are for sale. 31% use social media to look for new items to buy.

Social shopping is catching on fast. Currently, Facebook is the most popular. One of the reasons this is so popular is because people already browse social media for inspiration. The same study gave insight as to why consumers browse brands on social. It’s for inspiration, but not in the sense of Pinterest offering “101 Ways To Use The Space Under Your Staircase For Under $100” way.

West Elm, a modern chic furniture brand, is a great example of going beyond pretty pictures and stepping into the reality of your home. The site includes a room planner. Put in your dimensions and start designing. Go beyond seeing things look great in a room you don’t have and experience, albeit virtually, how your own home can be transformed.

Instagram has a new feature for eCommerce brands. Tags can be added to an image to show items you sell. Clicking on the tags takes the user to those specific product pages where they can easily be added to a shopping cart.

Instagram is embracing e commerce with tagged images that bring users to the products for sale.

How To Approach A Social eCommerce Marketing Strategy

The first step to combining product marketing and social is to make sure that social channels are set up for your eCommerce business, including making it possible for users to make purchases within the social media platform of their choice. Consumers love the ease of seeing something they like and being able to click and buy without having to leave the site they were on. But adding that button isn’t enough. Here are some tips, tricks, and pitfalls to avoid as you marry your own social media & eCommerce into one strategy.

Don’t Confuse Presence With Power

Just having your brand on social media isn’t enough. You have to be engaged, posting regularly, and responding to users. Additionally, it’s important to remember that PPC and social marketing are two different things. Be sure that your social marketing reflects the experience of your products and the benefit of belonging to your brand’s community. Social has to be social, after all. Tone down the salesy language and save it for PPC, where people expect to see it.

Prioritize & Differentiate

In this post we discussed how each social platform is different. Remember these differences when using social media for business. Target users where they are and never apply a one-size-fits-all practice.

Integrate Your Plan

Just like the lines are blurred between social and eCommerce you’ll want to integrate in other ways. Make sure every page of your site has sharing buttons — especially blogs and product pages. Also, make sure blogs have captivating images marked as the feature image so that when they are shared a relevant, engaging image is displayed. Fluidity between social and your site helps give users a holistic experience.

Don’t forget, your website is also a great place to house those videos we talked about last week.

Get Creative

Your social media eCommerce strategy is a place where you can take risks. It’s free to post to social so experiment with the types of posts that get engagement and do more of them. Don’t forget, Digital Firefly Marketing provides free social media audits – a great way to receive feedback on your current strategy and to learn how to take your social to the next level.

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