Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap: What s Now, What s Next and What You Need to Do

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Abner Lawrence
6 years ago
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2 Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap: What s Now, What s Next and What You Need to Do Social media is evolving. In the past decade, we ve gone from solely sharing on social channels to selling as well. But while the lines between e-commerce and social media are beginning to blur in some ways, a distinct gap between the two remains. Both social platforms and retailers alike are trying to figure out the best ways to leverage social media s massive popularity for e-commerce. Where does your online business currently stand? Have you bridged the gap? Or are your social strategies antiquated and ineffective? The best thing you can do as a retailer is keep your ear to the changing social landscape and make sure your business is agile enough to adapt to new features, devices and channels as they come. In this ebook, we ll walk you through what the social media world looks like right now, the e-commerce trends we see making an impact on social media strategies in the future and the many ways you can finally bridge that shrinking gap between e-commerce and social. We ll explore both what s happening now and what s on the horizon. What s Now: How you should be using social media Which platforms are popular today What s Next: The ways social media is enhancing e-commerce How e-commerce channels are becoming more social

Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap.................................................................................. 3 What s Now Today s social landscape is like a crowded party.

3 Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap What s Now Today s social landscape is like a crowded party. Actually, it s like many competing parties, all making noise and trying to attract the most people. Sometimes it s hard to sift through that noise and find your voice. If you re trying to strengthen your brand and drive conversions, the most important thing to keep in mind is knowing your audience. What demographic are you trying to reach with a particular post? Young? Older? What platforms are they using? What platforms would they be most likely to share the post on? Or purchase an item? Although knowing your customers is a long-established rule of marketing, it s especially important when it comes to the fast-moving, multifaceted world of social media. Social media use varies significantly between generations. Some older generations still differentiate between an online self and an offline self. For younger consumers (e.g., millennials, Generation Z), there isn t much difference between the two. They have operated online for most and sometimes all of their lives. When building your social media strategy, keep the following components in mind. You should aim to: Understand the difference between the many social platforms Develop an audience-outreach plan based on demographic differences between audiences and platforms Set appropriate goals for conversion Monitor responses and adjust your strategy accordingly Update, engage, maintain and repeat

4 Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap How You Should Be Using Social Media Social media is a great way to cut through the clutter of traditional sends. People get sick of finding hundreds of s in their inbox (especially around the holidays). Your s are likely to get lost, if not just deleted indiscriminately. Plus, social media provides you with a way of interacting with shoppers and customers. So be sure to take a multipronged approach and not just focus on sales. Engage in conversation. Build your brand. Customers will quickly grow weary of a firehose of self-promotion. Also, understand how your customer shops during different times of the year. During the holidays, for example, your audience might likely be shopping for others and not themselves. Is it Mother s Day? Back to school? How should you tailor your message to their current needs or mood? How important are your return shipping policies for a particular time of year (will the order get there before Christmas)? It s important to constantly ask yourself questions like these to ensure that you re putting yourself in the mind of your intended customers and speak directly to them. One of the advantages of social media is its immediacy. You re able to adjust your strategy on the fly and engage with your customer base, whether it s related to customer feedback, a newsworthy event or time of year. Now let s take a look at some of today s popular social channels and how you should use them as an online retailer.

Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap.................................................................................. 5 Facebook Facebook is typically still the first name that comes to mind when it comes to social media.

5 Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap Facebook Facebook is typically still the first name that comes to mind when it comes to social media. The original social giant remains the landscape leader, with a massive and active global customer base. Recently, Facebook announced that it had one billion people logged in within a single day. 1 That s one out of every seven people on earth! Facebook is a great platform for users to connect to family and friends. It s also an effective channel for users to connect with brands they love and Like, share or discuss various products with their networks. Facebook Best Practices Checklist Focus on visual messages Strong images, enticing offers Vary the content Brand-building content and sales-driving content Make sure all content is relevant and newsworthy Use Facebook s business tools Offers & Events, Photos and Videos, Ads, Locations, Promoted Posts Twitter As popular as Twitter is, its concise, text-driven nature hasn t made it the most lucrative channel for product promotions, which tend to do better with strong visuals. Instead, Twitter is well suited for news or promotions that are time-sensitive. Twitter presents an opportunity for retailers to broadcast short messages. It s best used when you can engage with industry influencers (like, say, fashion bloggers if you sell clothing) and customers. 1 Twitter Best Practices Checklist Focus on concise messaging (140-character limit) Make your content timely Engage followers with questions and calls to action Expand your strategy with Twitter s variety of business tools Promoted Tweets Promoted Accounts Cards Organic Tweets

Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap.................................................................................. 6 Instagram Instagram has seen massive growth in the past few years.

6 Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap Instagram Instagram has seen massive growth in the past few years. It s an image-based platform, so it s great for showcasing your products and building brand awareness. It can also be a compelling way to tell an informal story about your company through images without issuing an official press release. Because Instagram doesn t allow direct links to your website or product pages, it s not going to have as high an ROI as other channels. Instagram is more about building your brand. But keep your eye out for future buy buttons. Instagram Best Practices Checklist Understand that content is king, and make sure every post is a work of art Follow industry influencers Their likes and interactions build buzz Make your posts concise, timely and relevant Participate in the community. Don t unload your own content and walk away. As a general rule, for every photo you post, you should 1) like three other photos, and 2) comment on one or two other photos Schedule posts intermittently to avoid overwhelming followers Pinterest Pinterest is another great platform for finding customers both new and existing and driving conversions. Again, it s important to know your audience here. Pinterest users are primarily women. As with many other social platforms, photos are everything on Pinterest. Also, because of how the platform is set up, long, vertical images tend to work best. Pinterest Best Practices Checklist Make sure your visuals are high-resolution and beautiful Crop visual elements to maximize your feed real estate Plan your inventory stock to accommodate the fact that Pinterest pins last longer than posts or shares on other platforms Focus on outreach to influencers like bloggers, journalists and other tastemakers Spend time on SEO and crafting effective keywords Product and board descriptions drive Pinterest search results Plan content for both loyal customers and new shoppers

7 Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap What s Next Trend #1: Social Platforms Are Embracing E-Commerce Luckily for retailers, many social channels have recognized the value of e-commerce and have introduced features to make it easier to sell via social networks. Many of these innovations can help your bottom line: buy buttons, rich pins, Facebook s dynamic product ads and Twitter promotions, just to name a few. Buy Buttons Surprise, surprise: Everyone wants a buy button. Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest have all thrown their hats in the ring in recent years. Even Instagram is experimenting with the idea. Social media is no longer just about sending traffic to your website. Very soon, many customers will be making transactions directly on social platforms. This means that the way you build your brand awareness on social is all the more critical, as it may be the only experience consumers have with your brand before deciding to purchase.

Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap.................................................................................. 8 Rich Pins Posts on most social platforms have a fairly short shelf life.

But sometimes product data or prices change, and rich pins allow you to keep your listings up to date. Potential customers get a notification when information about one of their pins changes.

Dynamic Product Ads Ads on Facebook have been around a while.

8 Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap Rich Pins Posts on most social platforms have a fairly short shelf life. The layout of Pinterest, however, is a little different. Content tends to last longer than, say, a tweet, because users carefully curate and save the pins on their boards. But sometimes product data or prices change, and rich pins allow you to keep your listings up to date. Potential customers get a notification when information about one of their pins changes. Rich pins also let users know if the product is currently in stock, creating a better customer experience and giving you better ROI for customer clicks. Dynamic Product Ads Ads on Facebook have been around a while. What makes dynamic products different, though, is that you can serve ads to consumers for products they have already expressed interest in. As a result, there s a greater chance they ll revisit the listing and ultimately make a purchase. Twitter Promotions The days of restricting yourself to 140 characters are long gone at least for Twitter advertising. Twitter has evolved, and retailers should, too. In addition to tools such as Sponsored Tweets and Sponsored Accounts, Product Cards can give you an edge on Twitter. Product Cards make tweets larger in the stream and add a visual element, allowing you more room to communicate with consumers. With Product Cards, consumers are able to see more about the product before they click, which brings better informed traffic to your listings. More information gives the user a better experience than a short text ad and ultimately increases your ROI.

9 Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap Trend #2: E-Commerce Is Increasingly Social In the same way that social platforms are catering more to e-commerce, many of the new e-commerce channels that are cropping up have been developed from the outset with mobile and social in mind. For these channels, Likes and shares and tags are a vital part of their business models. For years, consumers have used marketplaces and search engines to search for specific products. These new social channels, on the other hand, are more like brickand-mortar shopping malls of yesteryear, bringing the concept of low-key browsing and discovery to the web. Here s a look at some of the platforms of tomorrow. Polyvore Polyvore has become a social media powerhouse. Based around mixing and matching items in the interior design and fashion categories, it s like playing paper dolls with real accessories and clothes. Polyvore s founder actually built the site while remodeling his house, because he was overwhelmed with all the options on the web and needed a good way to keep the many ideas organized. Polyvore is a great option for home and apparel retailers to find new customers. While the site is popular, it s important for retailers not to overwhelm Polyvore users. Monitor your performance data and only use products that are performing well on other channels, or products you think will do well. Then, continue to review your data and adjust your strategies accordingly.

Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap.................................................................................. 10 Houzz Houzz is the Pinterest for remodeling and interior design.

Users can also find local service providers (if you sell cabinets but don t install them, Houzz has that info for customers).

However, it s a shopping mall that has 350,000 stores, and where 80% of its traffic is mobile. 3 Wanelo users might browse their phones for different product options when at brick-andmortar stores.

10 Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap Houzz Houzz is the Pinterest for remodeling and interior design. The idea behind the site is that users can create ideabooks for their remodeling project, and retailers can promote their products. Users can also find local service providers (if you sell cabinets but don t install them, Houzz has that info for customers). Houzz has 25 million monthly visitors, and 90% of those users are home owners. 2 Wanelo Wanelo a combination of Want, Need, Love is the site most often compared to an online shopping mall. However, it s a shopping mall that has 350,000 stores, and where 80% of its traffic is mobile. 3 Wanelo users might browse their phones for different product options when at brick-andmortar stores. Or they may just engage in a little couch commerce from home at night. Because it s primarily mobile-based, it s used in all scenarios. As such, it s a great place for brands to both build their brand and drive conversions. On Wanelo, users can follow other users. Or they can follow retailers whose style they like and wish to share. They can also save products to their own feed. Today, there have been more than 3 billion products saved by Wanelo users. Wanelo also has a buy button, so users can purchase directly from the site without leaving. 2 Houzz company data 3 Wanelo company data

11 Bridging the E-Commerce and Social Media Gap #TrendingNow Social media and e-commerce channels are slowly but surely trying to create a seamless world where consumers not only interact with brands and other social users but share, shop and purchase products. Now, more than ever, social is more aware of shopping and shopping is growing social. With the continued rise of mobile devices and the proliferation of new social channels, retailers will be increasingly looking to social media to have a larger impact on their e-commerce bottom line. What that means is a need for flexibility in your social strategies. ChannelAdvisor Social Commerce enables retailers to easily share, promote and test their products on a growing number of social sites, using just a single feed. So whichever way the wind blows in the social media landscape, you and your products will be there, bridging the gap and providing an easier way for your consumers to connect with you. To learn more about how ChannelAdvisor can help you optimize your social strategies and bridge the gap, info@channeladvisor.com or call And for the latest e-commerce news and tips delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to ECOMmunicator, our monthly e-newsletter. Trust us. Be Seen. To learn more: Call US UK AU Visit info@channeladvisor.com Copyright 2015 ChannelAdvisor Corporation. All rights reserved. The global standard for e-commerce leaders.

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