Social media marketing

Social Media Management: 3 Awesome Social Media Management Tools

Sabine Wolf · September 16, 2021 ·

Social media management is a relatively new concept

Social media management is a relatively new concept developed to fill the gap between social media marketing and digital marketing.

Social Media Management, or SMM as it’s more commonly known, is the process of managing your online presence on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by creating, publishing, and analyzing content, you post.

Social Media Management also includes engaging with other users on those sites.

Social Media Managers can use the SharpSpring Social Media Management tool to schedule posts for multiple accounts at once or even find influencers who have large followings in various niches to share their content with them.

This blog will talk about what Social Media Management entails and how it can benefit a business or organization.

Social Media Management is a relatively new concept that has been developed to fill the gap between SMM and Digital Marketing
Social media management is the process of managing your online presence on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by creating, publishing, and analyzing content, you post
Social media professionals can use tools such as the SharpSpring Social Media Management tool to schedule posts for multiple accounts at once or even find influencers who have large followings in various niches to share their content with them
Three social media management software

A social media manager is in charge of taking care of posts on social media sites.

They also make posts, create content and analyze the posts already made.

Social Media managers need to research what type of content is popular or trending in their niche to keep up with the competition.

Social media professionals use tools such as SharpSpring Social Media Management, which allows them to manage multiple accounts at once and find influencers who can share their message to a larger audience.

Make it Easier to Plan Your Marketing Strategy and Improve Results.

The right marketing tools make it easier to plan your marketing strategy and improve results.

Download The Marketing PLanning Tool

SMM manager’s responsibility is to maintain a positive reputation for their employer by responding to negative comments and interacting with potential customers.

The main reason Social Media Management has become so important is that there has been a recent attention shift from Social Marketing to SMM due to marketers being able to publish and analyze content.

Social Media Management is an important aspect of the digital marketing world because it allows Social Marketers to have more time for other projects while also allowing companies or organizations to build brand awareness on social media sites.

Social media management is the process of managing your online presence.

Social media management is the process of managing your online presence on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by creating, publishing, and analyzing content.

Managers also make new posts and research what type of content is popular in their niche.

SMM managers need to maintain a positive reputation for their employer by responding to negative comments and interacting with potential customers.

Social Media has become so important because of the recent attention shift from Social Marketing to SMM, which is due to SMM managers being able to publish and analyze content on social media sites.

What do Social Media Managers do?

Social Media Managers are in charge of taking care of posts on social media sites. CMOs also make new posts and research what type of content is popular in their niche.

SMM managers need to maintain a positive reputation for their employer by responding to negative comments and interacting with potential customers.

Social Media strategy has become so important because of the recent attention shift from Social Marketing to SMM, which is due to SMM managers being able to publish and analyze content on social media sites.

Social media management tools benefits

Social media has grown into an immense industry, with more than 2 billion daily active users on Facebook alone. Social media is a major communication tool used by businesses, governments, and organizations to communicate with their audience.

Social media strategy can also be used for marketing campaigns on platforms like Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook Ads. Social media is so important that it has replaced the newspaper in some cases.

CMOs who use social media management tools and develop social media strategies are responsible for updating their own social media profiles or accounts with relevant information on a regular basis.

They also need to monitor the activity on their pages and respond to comments or reactions from followers if necessary.

Social Media Managers use tools like SharpSpring Social Media Management tool.

SharpSpring Social Media Management is a Social Media management tool that can schedule posts for multiple accounts at once or find influencers who have large followings in various niches to share their content with.

CMOs can use the SharpSpring social media management tool to schedule posts for multiple accounts at once and find influencers who will share their content, so they do not need to create new content.

Social Media Managers need to monitor what they are posting, analyze what works and track their progress by looking at metrics that they can find on the SharpSpring Social Media Management tool.

#1 Social Media Management Platform: HootSuite

HootSuite is most often used for Social Media Management because it has a free plan with limited features.

HootSuite allows CMOs to schedule posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, Yahoo! Messenger, and many more social media sites.

HootSuite also provides marketers with analytics that can be seen in charts or numbers about how well they are doing on social media.

The only downside of HootSuite is that CMOs have to pay for the more advanced features if they want them.

#2 Social Media Management Tool: Sprout Social

Sprout Social is Social Media platform that mainly focuses on Social listening.

Sprout Social allows social media marketers to monitor what is being said about their company or brand by searching for specific keywords, hashtags, or usernames. Sprout Social also provides charts and graphs of metrics to allow the user to track how well they are doing in real-time.

Marketers can also monitor different social media sites with Sprout Social because it allows them to manage your social media posts on multiple accounts at once on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google+. It helps manage your social media posts.

The Ultimate Sales Funnel Calculator

Do you feel like you don’t have enough time? The sales funnel calculator will help you organize your business and get more leads.

Get the sales CalculatoR.

The downside of using Sprout Social is that CMOs have limited analytics for free users; the only metric available is engagement rate (engagement divided by followers). Social Media Managers can upgrade to a paid plan for more detailed analytics such as follower demographics, post comparisons, and conversion rates.

The other downside is that social media marketers may have trouble sharing content on Facebook with Sprout Social, one of the top social media management tools because it does not allow users to schedule posts; they only have the option of publishing them immediately. Marketers need to buy a separate tool for scheduling posts on Facebook.

The final downside is that Social Media Managements with Sprout Social will cost more than HootSuite because of the limited features and lack of analytics available in their free plan.

Marketers must upgrade to one of their paid plans if they want detailed analytics. Social Media Managers need to decide which features are more important for their Social Media Management tools needs before selecting the best social media management tools.

#3 SharpSpring Social media management software

Social media managers use SharpSpring Social Media software to schedule posts on social media platforms at once, find influencers who share content, and monitor what is being said about their brand online in real-time.

A social media management strategy is important because it allows companies to build brand awareness on social media sites and grow their audience through influencers who share content with their audiences.

You can easily manage all your social media networks and social channels including social media ads, social media campaigns, and publishing social media posts.

Conclusion about Social Media Management Tools

Social media management is essentially the process by which you can take full control of your social media strategy, and it’s easy to do so with SharpSpring Social.

Your social media marketing strategy is vital to get the word out.

Social media management software help publishing content regularly, monitoring conversations related to your brand or business, responding quickly to questions and comments, tracking engagement metrics for different posts over time, and more. Social Media efforts is a very important part of your Social media marketing plan because it can help you grow your audience and even increase revenue for your business or brand if done correctly.

Social media management tools should not be taken lightly as a form of social media channels; the rise in social media has led to many believing that they can post whatever they want on Social media platforms and get traffic to their sites without much effort.

Social Media Management marketing is the process of managing your online presence on Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by creating, publishing, and analyzing content like social media posts.

If you need help with your social media marketing Matrix Marketing Group offers social media marketing services.

FAQs about Social Media Management

What are some Social Media Management tools?

Social Media Management is essentially the process by which you can take full control of your Social media, and it’s easy to do so with SharpSpring Social. Social Media Marketing entails publishing content regularly, monitoring conversations related to your brand or business, responding quickly to questions and comments, tracking engagement metrics for different posts over time, and more.

What is social media management?

Social Media Management is the process of managing your online presence on Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter by creating, publishing, and analyzing content that you post. Social Media Marketing is essentially the process by which you can take full control of Social media using SharpSpring Social tools.

Why is social media management important?

Social media management is important because it allows companies to build brand awareness on social media sites and grow their audience through influencers who share content with their audiences. Social Media Management entails publishing content regularly, monitoring conversations related to your brand or business, responding quickly to questions and comments, tracking engagement metrics for different posts over time, and more.

How does Social Media Management help companies grow their audience and increase revenue for the business or brand?

Social Media Management entails publishing content on a regular basis, monitoring conversations related to your brand or business, responding quickly to questions and comments, tracking engagement metrics for different posts over time, and more.

What is a social media manager?

Social media managers can be described as the public relation and marketing arm of a company. Marketers typically post statuses to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter on their company’s behalf. They aim to share business updates with followers. They may also focus on creating content that entertains or educates followers about products or services offered by the brand (usually along with links to purchase such products).

Is Instagram vs Snapchat Better for the CMO Running an E-commerce Website?

Sabine Wolf · July 10, 2019 ·

As the head of marketing, the chief marketing officer (CMO) might ask us if they should be using Instagram or Snapchat for their e-commerce website.

Will Snapchat or Instagram help you meet your marketing goals? Every day marketers try to find new ways to promote businesses, attract new customers, and eventually increase revenue.

With the advent of the digital world, specialists received new tools that allowed to achieve the desired results in record time.

Today, there is no better way to connect with your audience than through social media. They have become a primary tool in marketing with Instagram and Snapchat being at the top of the game.

These are two of the most popular applications for image and video sharing that are used by millions of people all over the world.

Both are very different.

Demographics

Snapchat has 190 million daily active users (DAU) for Q1 2019, but Instagram is significantly larger. As of June 2018, Instagram has reached the 1 billion monthly active user mark (TechCrunch, 2018).

Snapchat is really for Generation Y, while Instagram outperforms Snapchat for Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and beyond. Even though Instagram has three times as many users as Snapchat, the younger demographic still prefers customizable but short-lived snaps over Instagram photos and videos.

However, this is likely to change as the platforms adapt to market conditions for key age groups. I wouln’t be surprised to find significant usage increases for either platform, but Instagram in particular, as they pivot to counter Snapchat’s new features.

The question is how to choose the right channel between them that will help to achieve your goals on time and budget?

Instagram vs. Snapchat: The Main Differentiating Factors

While being present on all platforms might seem a great idea, you need to allocate resources wisely, stay within your budget, and get the best results possible.

The choice of social media channel should fully depend on the type of business you run. Some e-commerce companies may benefit from Instagram whereas some Snapchat may be more useful. There are also companies for which the best solution is to use both.

So, which one is for your business. Read on to find out.

Instagram: Important Statistics to Consider

Instagram Userbase

Instagram is slightly older than its competitor. Launched in 2010, it quickly gained popularity and became one of the top social media platforms. The past year was marked by a billion of its monthly users.

The number of Instagram daily users is 500+ million. While this number is a little lower if compared to Facebook, it is the highest among other platforms. The Instagram audience is continually growing and your company can connect with all of these potential customers.

Demographics

According to research by Statista, 71% of the whole Instagram user base is under the age of 35. The app is most popular among users aged 25-34. The second largest group is users between the ages of 18 and 24.

Marketing potential

Instagram is a worthy social network to consider, whether you manage a full-fledged business or are just in the middle of ecommerce website development. It provides unique opportunities for brand and product promotion.

Almost 70% of users look up brands on Instagram. This statistic clearly shows that they are interested in what you are doing on social media and may become your customers. With 80% of users following at least one brand and with more than 200 users who visit a business profile at least once a day, the marketing capabilities of Instagram are very promising.

A report by Mention states that in the USA 71% of businesses are already utilizing Instagram in their marketing efforts.

Instagram Stories

When in 2016 Instagram launched a new feature called Stories no one suspected that it would become so popular. Almost 500 million of Instagram accounts share Stories every day. What’s more, one-third of the most popular stories are those published from business accounts.

Social Media Engagement metrics

Engagement is the reaction your content gets from followers (e.g. views, likes, and comments). It is one of the most important metrics in social media marketing and Instagram is leading here.

Interactions on Instagram are 4x times higher than on Facebook. They are fueled by the visual content-based nature of the platform. Brands and users are very creative about the way they present content to followers.

Types of Instagram ads

Instagram offers a few types of ads for marketing needs.

Photo ads can be made both in square or landscape modes. These are static images with a Shop Now link attached. The link can redirect users to an e-commerce website or anywhere else.

Video ads are videos of up to 60 seconds long. They also allow brands to link out to other resources.

Carousel ads is a few images or videos that are presented in the form of a carousel. Users can swipe between them and view them as one ad.

Instagram stories can also be used to advertise your brand and products. They appear in your friend’s stories in the form of a video or static image.

Snapchat: Metrics You Need to Know

Userbase

Snapchat falls a little short on the number of monthly and daily users. In the first quarter of 2019, this number reached 190 million of daily active users. The number of monthly users reaches 300+ million, which also represents a great opportunity for marketers.

Demographics

Snapchat is a little bit different from Instagram in terms of the user base. According to the Q1 2019 report by Shapchat Inc. in the USA, Snapchat is used by 90% of all 13-24 year-olds and 75% of 13-34 year-olds. In general, 74% of its users are under the age of 34 and 45% of all users are aged between 18 and 24.

Marketing potential

Snapchat is a platform with very active users. The most active of them open the app 25 times every day on average. It is also a very content-rich platform with 400+ million Snapchatters creating new content on a daily basis.

Snapchat itself states that 60% of all the time users watch Snap Ads, they watch them with the sound turned on. Companies invest a lot in such ads and the total spend is projected to reach $767 billion by 2020.

Stories

Stories is what makes Snapchat so special and popular. Users love this feature and statistics confirm it. The number of stories created and published on the platform every day exceeds 400 million.

Engagement metrics

Business Insider made a study to investigate the engagement level of Snapchatters and the results are quite impressive for marketers.

Almost 45% of college students said that they would open a Snap shared by a brand they didn’t know while 73% of them would open a Snap from a brand they know. It gives a unique opportunity to market products among the vast majority of active users.

Types of Snapchat ads

Snapchat also offers a few ways to promote products.

Snap Ads are videos that are up to 10 seconds long. They are shown among your friend’s stories and on Discover. Snapchat allows you to add websites users can be redirected to.

Snapchat sponsored Geofilters let brands add a filer onto Snaps. When users are in a specific location, they can see geotagged filters and use them in their Snaps. Depending on types of events is an area, cheap geo-filters may not be available and only premium ones are available then.

Snapchat sponsored lenses allow users to apply various effects to their own faces. They can be targeted by age, gender, and categories of interest. The recently added World Lenses feature allows adding augmented reality elements to anything on a photo or video. Cool, isn’t it?

How to Become Successful on Instagram or Snapchat

Social Media Marketing - Matrix Marketing Group — Canva

Whether you plan to present your e-commerce business on Instagram or Snapchat, there are a few things you need to accomplish prior to creating any advertisements.

Define your audience

Knowing your buyer persona is vital for successful marketing as it allows you to precisely target your potential customers with relevant content.

Know where your buyers are

You should also know what your target audience prefers, Instagram or Snapchat. If your current and potential customers are on both platforms, it might be beneficial for your e-commerce business to be present on both too.

Decide upon the type of content

Do you know what type of content your business will benefit from? Should you create photos, videos, or stories? If you don’t know exactly, it is worth trying all of the types. Many brands utilize everything at once.

Public account vs. closed community

When choosing between Instagram and Snapchat, you also need to decide what type of profile you want to have. Do you want your account to be accessible to anyone or be available for a closed community of the most loyal customers?

Instagram vs. Snapchat: Which is Better for a CMO

Is Instagram or Snapchat better for your e-commerce website? It is impossible to answer this question as it depends on the number of aspects such as your buyers? demographics and personal preferences.

These are two of the most beneficial social media platforms for marketers. Below you will find the main advantages that each of them can offer. As well, we’ve added a few downsides you need to be aware of.

The Main Pros and Cons of Instagram

Instagram offers the following advantages to marketers:

Instagram is more mature as compared to its opponent. When you choose it, you instantly get access to billions of users. The user base is broader, thus your chances of finding people that will be interested in the products you sell are higher.
Instagram offers business owners to create a business account. It gives you access to Instagram Analytics, allows promoting Instagram posts as ads, adding links to Instagram Stories, and even scheduling posts to publish them later.
If you create ads, you can target them based on the audience you want to reach and the budget you are ready to spend.
Shoppable posts are a great addition to your marketing toolset. By creating product posts with price, description, and the Shop Now option, you let users make purchases directly from the platform which increases your chances of selling products to more customers.
Instagram allows you to create various types of content and provides you with unlimited opportunities for creativity.

Just like with any other platform, there are a few disadvantages you need to keep in mind:

Instagram makes its users follow strict ToS. They forbid some types of businesses to market their brands on the platform. Before creating an account, make sure that you stay within the list of allowed activities.
As we’ve already mentioned, the vast majority of Instagrammers are under the age of 35. If your products are targeted at other age groups, you may need to reconsider your decision to marketing products here.
Instagram makes it challenging to devise the best long-term marketing strategies. The platform is notorious for constantly changing algorithms. And you need to stay up-to-date regarding all and every one of them.

The Upsides and Downsides of Snapchat

Snapchat is a unique platform in regards to its main mechanisms. Its benefits are as follows:

You don’t need to struggle with creating great content and posting it to make an attractive feed. There is no feed-in Snapchat. Depending on the way you consider this particular feature, it may be both the biggest advantage and disadvantage.
Snapchat is a great tool if your products are targeted at the so-called Generation Z. As you already know, its users are mainly college students, teens, and adults under the age of 25. If these people are not your audience, consider another social media channel.
The unique nature of Snapchat makes it possible for companies not only to showcase products but provide customers with insights into the life inside your company.
Snaps are a great way of promoting limited and special offers. They should be included in your marketing strategy as they are a sure way to increase your Snapchat audience.

Snapchat has a few characteristics that may be seen as downsides:

Snapchat is ephemeral in nature. Depending on the type of Snaps you add or send, they disappear within a predefined time period. It means that you need to constantly create new content for visibility on the platform.
The user base is smaller and when we compare it with the one of Instagram, it is an obvious weakness.
Are millennials your target audience? If yes, Snapchat might not be the right choice for you as you won’t be able to get the desired results and all your efforts will be fruitless.

Instagram vs Snapchat: It’s Time to Make Your Choice

Marketers nowadays have a lot of opportunities to promote their products. Social media are a useful tool for reaching a wider audience, expanding digital presence, and eventually increase revenue.

Whether you use Snapchat or Instagram, or both, make sure that the channel aligns with your audience, business model, budget, and products you sell. It may be worth testing each of them and figuring out which one is the right fit for your further investments.

Your ecommerce business, online store, or online retailing your online business can thrive if you use Instagram or Snapchat. However, it really depends on your target audience. You can boost your leads and e-commerce store web traffic by adopting new digital transformation technology and creating a better customer experience.

Your goals should be to create a connected customer experience that your customer will keep coming back and back again.

We’re listening.

Have something to say about Instagram vs Snapchat? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Maria Redka is a Technology Writer at MLSDev, a web and mobile app development company in Ukraine. She has been writing content professionally for more than 3 years. Maria researches the IT industry and the app development market to create educative content for the company’s clients and build MLSDev as a brand. The opportunity to share her knowledge with people who are looking for valuable information to understand more about app development is something that motivates Maria and inspires her to create more quality content.

Social Media Automation Strategies for Startups in Food and Beverage

Sabine Wolf · May 13, 2019 ·

Startups in the food and beverage industry need social media automation tools for their social media accounts.

As a business owner who wants more time, use these social media automation strategies and get back some.

For anyone running a business today in the food and beverage service industry, you’ll know of how much competition you have. Given our need for nourishment, it should be no surprise that people love to spend a lot of money on quality food. The problem is that with so many startups in the industry to overcome, you can feel more than a little overwhelmed.

What if you could automate your social media posts, blog posts, social shares on all your social media platforms? Business owner and startup food and beverage companies post content on their social networks and it creates brand awareness, customer engagement, and more sales.

For one, get your marketing plan ready. That can be a lot tougher than it might sound – at least at first. If you would like to make it easier for your start-up to succeed, then you might wish to look at some of the ideas we have for you below. These are all aimed at making sure you can use social media automation to help improve the chance of your start-up being a success.

This might help you make the most of social media, and to ensure that you can build up your following.

Why do I need to use social media for my start-up in the food/beverage industry?

Why not save time and resources with proven social media automation strategies.

The answer to that is simple: social media allows you to interact with people in real-time. They get to see what you offer and can appreciate your business. Social media makes it easy for you to show them what you do – and how your food is being made.

They get to see what you offer and can appreciate your business. Social media makes it easy for you to show them what you do – and how your food is being made.

That is a major part of the process. Social media automation in this industry is important. It helps you to add a human face to the start-up and to take away the confusion and uncertainty.

Others might find your whole industry to be a touch confusing, or they might find your products in particular hard to grasp. Whatever the reason, the following social media automation strategies should help in making this possible.

So, where do you need to start if you wish to tap into the various benefits of social media automation for your start-up in the food and beverage industry?

1. Mouthwatering photography

First off, quality photography is an obvious place to start. You are selling food and drink, so logic dictates it is a good idea to show people what they will be getting. We think you should look to use a professional photographer for this.

Someone good at capturing food and beverages is an investment your business should be happy to make. They can help to make sure that your photos will look delectable, showing the items you sell in the most beautiful light possible. It will help to make people want to try out your food, but it will also make them share it around.

When you see a beautiful piece of food on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc. you feel compelled to share it. You can imagine eating it, and the flavors that must burst out from that piece of food.

With the help of a good photographer, you can encourage others to have that automatic impulse to share your latest and greatest foods with the rest of the world.

Done right, this can make it easy to boost automated sharing and reputation-building in your business.

2. Great customer service

No business or start-up will get anywhere without good quality customer service, though. Therefore features like chatbots and automated integration with Twitter Direct Messages and Facebook Messenger is essential.

Your business will enjoy being able to tap into this part of the industry. You’ll also be able to do a lot more to help your business grow, as people will appreciate how easy it is to get answers from your start-up.

In the sharing age of social media, transparency is by far and away from our most powerful weapon and companion. Using social media to our advantage can go a long way to making our business more likely to succeed. This is why making customer support and communications channels so easy to access will only help your business.

If you ever worry that your start-up is making the wrong impression, be sure to show how easy it is to contact you. The easier people feel it is to get answers from your business, the more likely they are to try out your service.

3. Use Facebook for market research

We also recommend that you use Facebook to do as much market research Mobile Signal as you can. With the help of Facebook, you can find who you should be targeting. Look around the Facebook Ads system. The fact it allows you to break everything down to things like likes, interests, location, even age, and income, makes it super-simple to find out who will be most interested in the product you are selling.

Let’s say, for example, you want to sell your workout meal to someone. You would look for people whose interest include sport, fitness, running, and dieting. You would also look for people who are in affluent areas with a lot of greenery. People who live in these areas are more likely to go out running than someone who lives in a concrete jungle.

If you do this, then you can run some Facebook Ads to promote your products to different markets. Run them for two weeks, and see what results you get back. Once you find your true market, you can automate your Facebook ads to tap into that market.

4. Pull back the curtain

Another great place to start for making your business shine is to pull back the curtain a little. On social media, one of the best things you can do is show the world the human element behind your business.

Instead of sending people to look at your business as ‘just another food start-up’ –show them who you are. Build some videos that deliver interviews with major players in your business. Show people what they are getting if they will use your food: show them the philosophy behind what goes into your food.

Show them where you get ingredients from, the building process for your food/drink products. Letting people in on your little secrets will encourage them to do the same and to share that with other people. It makes your start-up more authentic and removes any pretensions about your food being ‘secret’ or anything like that.

Today, many people want to know what they are eating. If you pull back the curtain, you make people more likely to trust your products. And in social media, trust can be your most powerful currency possible.

5. Share your story through social media

Your story, too, should be shared as much as you can. Many people do not do this. They sell their food/juice product as some kind of generic food product. Instead of telling people who you are why they should trust your expertise in food, most try to sell the product.

In the food and beverage industry, though, most people want to know what you think makes your food so great. That might seem obvious, but it is a factor that passes many people buy for various reasons. With that in mind, we recommend that you spend more time telling people who you are.

It’s a simple thing, but it’s a powerful thing at the same time. People love to know who they are buying from. So, if you tell them why you got into the industry, what your motivations are, and how you can help them, they’ll be far more likely to buy from you. That story will get shared on a lot more on social media, too, than some generic content about how ‘great’ your food is.

Keep this in mind if you aren’t getting much social media traction.

6. Access to manufacturing & communications channels

Another useful tool you should use is giving your users access to manufacturing and communications channels. People feel a lot better when they know who is involved in the creative process and in creating anything they eat and drink. If you do not take that seriously, then you soon find that many people will just go elsewhere.

To boost the results of any social media campaign we recommend that you spend more time showing people involved. They’ll feel better knowing where it is being created, and who is behind both manufacturing and communication processes. It’s a smart and simple way to show people who you are and why they should trust you.

Again, social media is all about showing people you are more than just another faceless start-up. It’s about adding more detail to who you are, showing them you care and that you are transparent. That is very much a good place to start for any business in the food/drink industry, where trust is essential. Open up this side of your business, and people will come back in their droves.

7. Find influencers and tap into their networks

The food and drink industries are loaded with influencers and experts. People who have thousands of followers and who are more than happy to promote the products they like. It might cost you in free shipments and trials, but you can get some of these influencers onboard if you let them try your goods.

They will be able to then give their community an honest appraisal about what you make. This will be better for reputation building and helps you to tap into hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands, of people who might be interested in the goods you create.

It’s these little things that can make all the difference for a start-up. Getting an influencer onboard means you have the chance to be seen by all of their viewers. Even if just a few of them share the promotion from the influencer, you could see automated changes and improvements to your follower count.

Best of all, influencers often see their posts getting shared, commented on, and looked at, for days after they were posted. This creates automated, residual increases to your personality and profile on social media and beyond.

8. A supportive environment

Any business serious about making a go of success has to be in a supportive, transparent, and open environment. Alongside customer support of a high standard, make sure that our business stands for something.

From backing important charities and causes to donating a portion of your proceeds to something of import, you can do a lot to show that your business supports others rather than keeps its profits to itself.

These little things are the noble deeds that can make you get a lot more shares on social media. Creating an environment that shows your business as one who stands up for those in need will do wonders for your reputation. It’s this consistent approach, though, that is almost certain to make a difference to how your business performs with social media marketing.

With all of this in mind, you might feel more than a little ready to take on the challenges of the day to come. Social media automation is hard to get right, but if you were to keep all of our ideas in mind you would be much more likely to make it successful. It’s still tough, but these foundations should go a long way to making your start-up stand out.

This rounds out our discussion about social media automation strategies and food and beverages startups.

Wrap up on social media automation strategies

Startups and entrepreneurs in the food and beverage industry need to manage their social media channels better. But first, do some social listening to get the context and tone of any conversation.

Once you do it’s time to post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest or Snapchat via of a post scheduler.

There is plenty of social media automation platform, Buffer, Hootsuite, and more.

We’re listening.

Have something to say about social media automation strategies? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn.

How to Combine Your PR with Your Social Media Strategy for B2B or B2C Startups

Sabine Wolf · April 25, 2019 ·

As a startup team did you paired your PR with your social media strategy?

Startups who fail to plan are doomed to fail. So why risk it? That’s why a well researched public relations strategy is vital to ensure the success of your startup idea.

When I say PR (public relations), probably the first thing that crosses your mind is writing press releases. You’re right.

Still, there is one thing you need to consider.

With the rise of digital marketing, public relations (PR) has changed a lot. Apart from publicists and spokespeople, a solid PR team should also include a copywriter and a social media manager.

The reason for that is simple – unlike traditional branding, online branding is not one-dimensional. The role of your PR team is to make your brand more relatable and nourish stronger customer relationships.

And, one of the key channels that may help you here is social networks.

As a member if the startup management team, do you want more brand awareness? You can do this by boosting your social media presence with PR. So let’s dig in.

The Strategic Use of Social Networks can Increase Brand Reach

Social networks are seeing steady growth in the number of users. In 2019, this figure has reached 3.484 billion. Most importantly, three-quarters of these users are publishing social media content every day, making these channels extremely noisy.

How noisy? For example, did you know that there are 60 million active business profiles on Facebook? 300 hours of video are published on YouTube every minute. Over 95 million photos are published on Instagram daily, while 500 million Tweets are posted each day.

These stats prove one thing – the social media landscape has become extremely competitive. With millions of social media posts posted each minute, the lifespan of your press releases will definitely be shorter.

Still, social media helps you boost the reach of your content.

By choosing the right social media channels to support your PR efforts, targeting the right audiences, and encouraging social sharing, you can help your content go viral and increase your brand exposure. Stats back me up on that. For example, did you know that Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, contributed to 90% of social traffic to B2B websites?

Having a Crisis Management Plan is Crucial

Unfortunately, social is not all rainbows and butterflies. If they’re not careful, your social media strategy can turn to a full-scale crisis. Just remember Wendy’s that published the notorious Pepe the Frog meme or a U.S. Airways employee that accidentally uploaded an X-rated photo to their official Twitter account.

In both cases, the companies’ PR teams acted fast and took the right steps to minimize the damage.

When using social media, PR teams need to think beyond scheduling media interviews and pitching press releases. They’re also responsible for using the brand voice consistently and protecting a business’ image across multiple channels.

Above all, PR pros need to work closely with social media managers on creating a solid crisis management plan that will back them up on such situations.

Only this way will they be able to prepare for potential crisis situations and take the right steps to protect the company’s reputation. Most importantly, they need to test the crisis plan consistently to see whether their tactics hold up.

PR and Influencer Marketing Go Hand in Hand

Over the past few years, the power of branded content has plummeted. Following a multitude of brands on social networks, online consumers don’t know who to trust anymore.

They focus on reading online reviews and customer testimonials before making purchases. Stats say that 90% of customers claim that online reviews impact their purchasing decisions.

Precisely because of that, social media is not the place for journalists and professionally-trained social media managers only. The trends mentioned above have led to the rise of influencer marketing. Simply put, influencers have an extensive following and build strong relationships with their audiences.

Brands should choose influencers within the same niche, ones that align with their values and target the same audience segments. They should be authoritative people your customers appreciate. For example, let’s say you’re running a local, Sydney-based business.

Just like you will hire a PR from Sydney that understands your local market, you should also consider teaming with a local, micro-influencer whose messaging resonates with local audiences. Research says that non-celebrity influences are more relatable and that they have a 10x greater impact on purchasing decisions.

Social Media is all about Direct Interactions

In today’s hyper-connected age, customers use multiple social media platforms, channels, and apps when communicating with brands. Namely, an average customer expects brands to answer their questions within 30 minutes. Moreover, the majority of online consumers will unfollow brands that ignore their comments and messages.

This is where social networks shine, as they give brands an opportunity to communicate directly with their target audience, provide faster answers, and even gather feedback. Unlike traditional PR tactics that are focused on polished brand messaging, social networks are a two-way street.

The top social media marketers and PR professionals know that your social media strategy must be integrated with your PR plan. So you must align your startup’s business goals with your social media goals. Do you have any?

People will constantly send messages, upload user-generated content, and share their reviews of your business. Whether positive or negative, their feedback is an extremely valuable source of customer information and you just need to learn how to turn it to strengthen your PR efforts.

Use chatbots to engage them and inform them about the latest industry news. Also, social media monitoring tools and social media management tools will help you stay on top of both direct and indirect brand mentions, allowing you to participate in your customers’ discussions in real-time.

The purpose of aligning PR with social media is removing the barriers in brand-customer interactions. It’s all about humanizing brand experiences, helping people feel like their opinions are heard, and building genuine relationships with them.

Use Social Networks to Build Relationships with Journalists

Social networks are a great opportunity to identify the best news sites in your niche and get closer to them. Your goal is to get yourself noticed by a journalist before reaching out to them. Follow them on Twitter. Like their posts and leave meaningful content.

This is also an amazing opportunity to learn more about the journalist you want to connect. You will be able to see what type of content they usually share, what writing style they prefer, and what their recent work and tone of voice is.

Sure, this doesn’t mean you should drop your other activities and spend countless hours observing your news feed. There are also many research tools like Buzzsumo or hashtag tracking tools like Hashtagify that will help you identify authoritative online resources.

Over to You

With the rise of digital marketing, PR needs to adapt. It needs to be more customer-oriented and focus on creating a relatable brand image.

Although this is not an ultimate guide to using social media in PR, I hope it will serve as a solid foundation for your further research.

The techniques mentioned above, such as working with influencers, building relationships with journalists, or real-time feedback are key to engaging customers and ensuring positive brand experiences.

We’re listening.

Have something to say about your social media and PR strategy tips? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn.

Elaine Bennett, Digital Marketing Specialist, is a marketing specialist and a blogger, currently based in Sydney. Topics that she covers include marketing, branding, entrepreneurship, and SMBs. She’s especially interested in social media and technology. Loves coffee, music and video games.

Instagram Marketing for Micro-brands: 10 Proven Strategies to follow in 2021

Sabine Wolf · April 22, 2019 ·

Instagram marketing is critical for most micro-brands to launch its brand

.ugb-b3b439b.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Instagram marketing is essential if you are a micro-brand. Are you flushed with cash and no matter what you do it turns to gold? Hey, call me.

Instagram was launched in October 2010, exclusively on iOS, as a photo and network sharing social networking site by creators Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. The Android version was released in April 2012. I’ll cover Instagram marketing so you can employ these techniques and grow.

It’s a social network that provides a great marketing platform to reach potential customers from every corner of the world.

As of January 2020, Instagram has more than 909.8 million monthlyusers. There are over 25 million business profiles on Instagram. It has grown from a mere social networking application to a global platform for social media marketing.

It allows brands to showcase their products as well as influence their buyers. Instagram has over 500 million daily active users. As compared to other social media networking sites that have less than 0.1% regular engagement, Instagram boasts a whopping 4%. Thus, Instagram proves to be a great platform for the implementation of marketing strategies to increase brand awareness and value.

What is Instagram marketing?

instagram marketing plan — Source: Canva

Instagram marketing is the way that brands use Instagram to connect with their target audiences and market their offerings. Instagram has achieved popularity as a new method for brands to show off their cultures, recruit new employees, engage with customers, and show off products in a new light.

It’s a social network that provides a great marketing platform to reach potential customers from every corner of the world.

To improve your Instagram marketing, you need to increase your following regularly. The more people that come in contact with your brand and follow you on Instagram, the larger your audience is that you can potentially reach every time you post.

Learn and implement these Instagram marketing tips that will help you grow your brand. You can do this for free. Okay, yes it will take your time. There is no free lunch.

.ugb-005809d.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

.ugb-e562036.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Instagram Marketing for Micro-brands

denver instagram marketing — Source: Canva

Micro-brands are small-scale establishments that are usually recognized only in a particular area or by consumers of a specific market. These are mainly associated with products like jewelry, undergarments, electronics, clothing, and cosmetics, etc.

.ugb-72af3d8.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

.ugb-4223db2.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Successful Instagram Marketing

More than 95 million photos are posted every day on Instagram. As there are 25 million business profiles on Instagram, it is necessary to stand out in the horde.

.ugb-f9dd258.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Marketing Goals

Brands and businesses have to set goals. Among the many goals they could set, the following can be achieved through Instagram marketing:

.ugb-c7dc0db li::before{background-image:url(‘data:image/svg+xml;base64,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’)}.ugb-c7dc0db.ugb-icon-list ul{columns:1}

Showcasing products and services
Building a consistent community
Increase brand recognition and brand awareness
Showcase the brand’s values, ethics, and work culture
Advertise to future or potential customers
Increase brand loyalty and customer’s trust
Share the company’s news and latest updates with the customers

.ugb-e249805.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

.ugb-10f6b4b.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Getting Started with Instagram

First of all, use your business e-mail or phone number to create the account. Then, switch your account to a business account through the Instagram account settings. But, you must have a Facebook page before creating an Instagram business profile.

.ugb-8bae197.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Follow these Instagram tips in this post.

Optimization of your profile and Instagram marketing

Your Instagram profile is like the gateway to your brand. The characteristics of your profile will determine the viewer’s attention and preferences.

Check out these tools for brand identity>>>

.ugb-06b8454 li::before{background-image:url(‘data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB2aWV3Qm94PSIwIDAgMTk0IDE5NCIgeG1sbnM9Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cudzMub3JnLzIwMDAvc3ZnIiBzdHlsZT0iZmlsbDogIzA2OTNlMyAhaW1wb3J0YW50OyBjb2xvcjogIzA2OTNlMyAhaW1wb3J0YW50Ij48cGF0aCBkPSJNOTYuOSAyYy01Mi40IDAtOTUgNDIuNi05NSA5NXM0Mi42IDk1IDk1IDk1IDk1LTQyLjYgOTUtOTUtNDIuNi05NS05NS05NXpNNzguMiAxNTAuNGwtMTAuNi0xMC42TDExMC4zIDk3IDY3LjYgNTQuMmwxMC42LTEwLjZMMTMxLjUgOTdsLTUzLjMgNTMuNHoiIGZpbGw9IiMwNjkzZTMiIHN0cm9rZT0iIzA2OTNlMyIgc3R5bGU9ImZpbGw6IHJnYig2LCAxNDcsIDIyNyk7IHN0cm9rZTogcmdiKDYsIDE0NywgMjI3KTsiLz48L3N2Zz4=’)}.ugb-06b8454.ugb-icon-list ul{columns:1}

Username – Pick your brand’s name as the username, so it’s more easily recognizable. If in case the username’s already taken, at least try to retain the initials of your brand’s name in the username.
Profile Picture – the first thing that catches a visitor’s eye is the profile picture. Thus, using the brand logo or trademark will contribute to brand recognition.
Instagram Bio or Description ? with a limit of 150 characters, you have to create a brief and appropriate summary of your brand. The bio is the only place where you can insert URLs. So, inserting the URL of your brand’s website can increase website traffic.

.ugb-f4fc4e5.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Improvisation of content for and Instagram marketing

Beauty attracts people. Thus, make sure that your content is aesthetically pleasing. Your Instagram page should look clean and attractive.

.ugb-5a374b9.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Use Instagram Filters and Editing Apps

There are plenty of filters and effects that can be applied to photos to make them more attractive. Also, consider using photo editing apps that offer a multitude of effects to complement the photos? overall aesthetics.

.ugb-dcc955a.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Use catchy Instagram captions

Write simple and easy-to-understand captions. You can create slogans or taglines. The first few lines of your captions should be appealing so that the viewer is compelled to click more.’

Use Hashtags and Instagram marketing

Use highly followed, most viewed, and trending hashtags to gather a number of viewers. You can also create your brand’s own hashtag. All you have to do is put the # before your brand’s name.

.ugb-15c6360.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Instagram Ads

You have to use Facebook’s ad platform to create ads on Instagram. The process is a bit long but extremely simple once you get used to it. You should plan out your budget and determine the amount of money that you can spend on ads. Instagram ads can increase website clicks, sales and improve brand awareness. Â

.ugb-e5fd824.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

IGTV

Instagram TV or IGTV allows you to post lengthy videos. You can add videos of interviews; showcase your products, etc.

.ugb-6ae4b1c.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Instagram Stories

Instagram stories can allow you to present your work or share your day-to-day moments at your business. This will highlight your authenticity. You can also mention other accounts or use hashtags in the stories. Instagram’s user base and its search capabilities provide great opportunities for businesses to be discovered.

.ugb-98a4752.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Instagram Live

You can use the Instagram Live feature to do live unboxing of your products. You can arouse your viewers’ curiosity and keep them engaged this way.

.ugb-ace6a52.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Consistent Posting

Regular or periodic posting on Instagram will keep your content viewer rates high. Also, you should post at the times when the number of active users is high. According to research, Mondays and Thursdays have the highest user engagement. People are most active during the off-work hours on weekdays. But, you should also consider the time zones.

.ugb-5401224.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Instagram Marketing Strategies for 2021

.ugb-396a5a9.ugb-spacer{height:30px}

Analyze your Instagram audience

Get information regarding Instagram demographics and target your audience. More than half of all the Instagram users are young adults in the age range of 18-29 years old.

There are more female active users than active male users. Products usually have a target customer. Thus, you have to ensure that your content is reaching out to your targeted future or present customers.

Also, you have to analyze the demographics of your followers and the people who engage with your posts. It’ll be more beneficial for your brand if your posts and contents favor the preferences of your audience.

.ugb-bdc2cc7.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Track your competitors

Track the activities of your competitors. By doing so, you’ll be able to understand as well as take inspiration from their marketing schemes. But, while doing so make sure that you don’t indulge in plagiarism. Your content should always be unique.

.ugb-2594708.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Interact more with your followers

Reply and react to comments on your posts. Do not try not to ignore your followers messages. This might seem like a major headache, but it’s a sure method to maintain a friendly relationship with your followers and keep them content.

.ugb-8094c9b.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Hire or collaborate with Instagram influencers

In recent years, the concept of Instagram modeling’ has gained a lot of popularity. There are many Instagram users who have a large number of followers. When offered a handsome deal, they can endorse your brand products on their Instagram profile.

You can also collaborate with Instagram bloggers and writers who can give a shout-out to your brand through their posts. This will increase brand recognition as well as brand popularity.

.ugb-8456b77.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Announce contests, discounts, and takeaways to attract customers

Sales and discounts attract customers better than any other marketing strategy. You can also hold contests or random giveaways. Many Instagram businesses run contests that require someone to follow your account or post pictures with a particular hashtag to enter.

.ugb-e8b19e3.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Be woke about social matters

You should be aware of social concerns and matters. Posting about trending social matters is a good way to broaden your scope of view. You can develop slogans or taglines regarding such social matters favoring your brand’s reputation.

.ugb-492bdee.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Seek customer’s feedback and Instagram marketing

Encourage your customers to drop their feedback through comments or messages. Positive as well as negative feedbacks will help you in improving your product’s quality and secure a better position in the market. This will also build up the customer’s trust in your brand.

.ugb-c6e87d9.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

.ugb-a29b1a4.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Credit your employees – use their faces

According to a study from Georgia Tech, pictures with faces get 38% more likes and 32% more comments than the ones that are materialistic. Introduce your employees through the captions. This will help in creating a positive ambiance and bring put your sense of humility, thus enhancing your brand reputation.

.ugb-80e40a9.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Use other social media networks to promote your Instagram profile

You can also use other social media networking sites to reach a larger audience. You can promote people to check out your Instagram profile through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. You can also share your Instagram posts to your Facebook page.

.ugb-229fd9e.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Have a good sense of humor with your micro-brands

The last few years have basically been the year of memes and intellectual jokes. At the end of the day, you have to keep your customers and viewers happy and satisfied. So, why not keep them laughing, instead!

.ugb-374bb77.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Conclusion for Instagram Marketing

There are over 1 billion Instagram accounts. There are over 800 million monthly active users. It has the highest user engagement rate among other social media networking sites. Thus, Instagram is a powerful tool for you to expand your business.

Successful Instagram marketing can increase your brand value exponentially. The key to success in Instagram is to keep the viewers engaged. Instagram users want high-quality content. Thus, you should maximize the use of captivating visuals in your posts.

The caption content should be interesting and unique. Also, never post false stuff. This can hamper your brand reputation and lead to distrust in your brand.

.ugb-cebd356.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

.ugb-1debdd5.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

Around 50% of Instagram users follow at least one business and out of this 60% say that they discovered the business through this platform. There are many businesses that have risen to prominence through Instagram marketing, for example, stand-up comedians, writers like RM Drake, etc.

Thus, effective Instagram marketing can increase the brand value of small scale micro-brands. Unlike other forms of marketing, Instagram marketing is cheaper and quickly produces results.

Have something to say about Instagram marketing and micro-brands? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Aditya works as a Growth Assistant at AirTract.Com, a social platform wherein people ask questions, read and write articles, share knowledge and experience. He has a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science Engineering and has been working in the field of Digital Marketing for the past two years. He is also a voracious reader and a big sports fan.

.ugb-6e2cdc2.ugb-spacer{height:50px}

General FAQ’s

What is Instagram marketing?

Instagram marketing?is the way that brands use?Instagram?to connect with their target audiences and market their offerings.?Instagram?has achieved popularity as a new method for brands to show off their cultures, recruit new employees, engage with customers, and show off products in a new light.

What is a microbrand?

A microbrand is a small-scale brand recognized only in a specified geographic location, or by consumers in a specific micro-market or niche market. The majority of microbrands are owned by a microbusiness, though this trend is changing due to the expansion of the Internet and the advancement of micromarketing tools.

How do I start Instagram marketing?
7 Powerful Instagram Marketing Tips (That Actually Work)

1. Switch to a business profile ASAP.
2. Use free Instagram tools.
3. Post product teasers that will (gently) urge people to buy.?
4. Create sponsored ads.
5. Use Instagram Stories.?
6. Partner with influencers for a wider reach.?
7. Collect user-submitted photos.?

Why is Instagram important for marketing?

Importance?of?Instagram Marketing?Strategy nowadays. Social media?marketing?helps you to increase your brand awareness. And companies need to reach consumers, and when done correctly, they tell those consumers that their brand is active and focused on communication.

How much does Instagram marketing cost?

You can expect that you will have to pay somewhere between 20 cents and $2 per click (CPC) on an?Instagram?campaign. If you prefer to run your ads on a?cost?per million (CPM) basis, focusing on impressions, then you are likely to pay around $5 per 1,000 visitors on?average.

How To Combine Social Media And Ecommerce For Better Results

Sabine Wolf · April 5, 2019 ·

Social media and ecommerce go hand-in-hand.

Social media and ecommerce thrive in a connected age: a 24/7 world in which anyone and everyone can connect and consume with just a few clicks.

You likely already use social media marketing as part of your ecommerce marketing strategy. But to really get the most out of it in 2020, you need to take it that step further.

Here’s how you can combine social media and ecommerce to get better results today.

If you want to reach potential customers, build brand loyalty, drive traffic, you must build sales funnels, share content on social channels, then get your customer to share on the social media networks and management platforms.

Give your followers a reason to click

If you’re after more traffic and leads, SEO will always beat social — facts. But if your SEO is stalling and you want to outpace your competition, social media strategies are a savvy strategy that serves you well.

Your social content doesn’t exist in a bubble. To really get the most out of a social ecommerce strategy, you should create content that compels your followers to click through to your online store.
A concerted social strategy boosts site traffic. Create and share useful or informative content on social that compels your followers to click. How-to guides, product walkthroughs, explainer videos, and so on — all these encourage your followers to visit your store by providing value.
And remember, don’t go in blind with your social content. A data-backed strategy will reap you the biggest rewards in the long run. Use a social optimization tool, that helps such as SocialOomph to identify what types of content return the highest click-throughs and engagement. Armed with this data, you can then fine-tune your strategy and allocate resources to the type of content that works best for your brand.

Downloadable content is a great carrot that entices clicks and provides customers with real, actionable value. Ebooks, essential guides, and product analysis are all great lead magnets that will give you better results. (Here’s how to create an ebook in mere moments using Canva).

Get savvy with your paid social ads

As a growth and sales channel, social is easily the most affordable. It’s virtually free to use, from setting up a business page to sharing content.

The only real cost of social media for ecommerce is your paid ad strategy. While this will probably be the most expensive aspect of your strategy, it’s still relatively cheap. It’s also a worthwhile use of your budget, as they are highly effective in driving sales.

Paid social ads are great for growing your online store. They nestle alongside content and updates from your customers’ friends and family, so paid ads get noticed when customers are already receptive.

Take advantage of the in-built targeting function offered by most social platforms. These let you target your ads at those customers who are most likely to respond to them, increasing conversions as a result.

Takeaway tip: while paid social ads are inexpensive, you can still keep costs down by being savvy with your budget. Don’t splurge your ad spend straight away — increase it in increments as your conversion rate grows.

It’s also worth A/B-testing your ads to find the format that gets you the highest gains. Facebook’s built-in split-testing tool is useful, but there are plenty of other apps that you can use to help you find the format that works for you.

Embrace built-in social selling for multichannel e-commerce

For an out-of-the-box solution to getting better results with social media and e-commerce, look no further than social selling.

As the name suggests, this refers to the marketing and selling of products on social networks. This is an easy but effective way of driving sales on a platform where your customers are regularly active and an avenue every ecommerce business should explore.

Virtually every social platform offers social selling: Facebook has its Shop, Instagram has its Shoppable posts, and even Pinterest has Product Pins.

These easily integrate with most ecommerce platforms to let you sell products alongside your existing online store — notably, Shopify’s store service has pioneered social sales for small-scale entrepreneurs on Instagram and Pinterest for years, even integrating social sales with Amazon and POS for truly multichannel ecommerce.

Thanks to social platforms like Instagram, social sales have now become possible in mere seconds. Instagram’s recent rollout of its Checkout feature lets customers make purchases within the app without the need to visit an external website.

And the e-commerce relationship goes both ways: the data gleaned from your social selling is fed back into your ecommerce dashboard, so you can use it to fine-tune your online store strategy as well.

Takeaway tip: the trick to successful social selling lies in picking your best products and pushing them to the fore. These are your ‘gateway’ products, the ones that will pique customer attention and get your brand noticed.

Once you’ve hooked prospective customers with your bestsellers, use your online store to upsell other products. For example, if your best-selling organic tea is enough to pull a customer to your store, promote an accompanying tea strainer or a complimentary tea in a side panel on your product page.

Sell where your customers are always active

Part of the allure of social media for ecommerce success is its capitalization of platforms that customers are regularly active on. Social media is a busy place, ripe with engaged customers who are receptive and eager to spend their money.

Look at any online business, and you’ll find that they have a social strategy that spans more than one social platform. Such a strategy extends your reach and casts your net wide, allowing you to get a bigger slice of the e-commerce pie.

But it’s not enough to maintain a presence on these channels. A coherent social strategy that delivers value to your followers and creates genuine customer connections takes advantage of this populous arena.
Takeaway tip: When choosing a social platform for your e-commerce strategy, don’t spread yourself too thin. Sticking to the most popular platforms is a good rule of thumb, but it pays to research and finds the social networks that your customers are most active on.

Build a customer community to make sales for days

In e-commerce, a loyal customer is a repeat customer. They will return to your online store time and again to make a purchase. And there are lots of things you can do to create these customers: discount codes, freebies, great customer service — the list is endless.

But your social strategy plays a vital role in generating loyal customers by creating a community. Because it doesn’t matter if you’ve got the best product on the market — if you haven’t built up a solid community of engaged customers, you’ll struggle to keep driving repeat sales.

Your social media presence is the heart of your customer community. Connecting your followers on a genuine level, speaking to them in a personable brand voice, and sharing interesting or useful high-quality content — this all fosters an engaged customer community.

As a consequence, these customers will shop with you again and again, not (just) because they love your product, but because they love your brand too. A tool like SocialReferral can help you supercharge customer referrals from social.

Takeaway tip: a customer community is just that — a community. As such, the relationship between yourself and your customers should go both ways. When your customers engage with you on social, so too should you engage with them.

Invite interaction on your social content with blog posts, quizzes, polls, questions, and competitions to strengthen your customer rapport. But you should also respond to your customers’ input — take the time to reply in a genuine way to your followers, beyond a simple like and a “thanks!” This takes time, but it’s an investment with big returns for your ecommerce strategy.

Ecommerce and social are a match made in heaven.

And while you’ve probably already embraced the benefits of social media for your ecommerce website and ecommerce growth, you shouldn’t rest on your laurels. Follow the tips above and combine your social and ecommerce strategies to enjoy more sales, higher engagement, and better growth well into 2020.

The most valuable perspective may be the one you don’t have.

KNOW YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT PATH.

Get your comprehensive analysis of how your digital marketing programs are performing, with tangible recommendations that move your business forward.

Wrap Up

Your customers are on social media sites, but as a social media marketer involved in e-commerce, it’s important to develop an integrated digital marketing plan.

Do your marketing research and find out where your audience is on social platforms, and listen. You will learn a lot and will help you develop stuff that your audience will want to read, love, consume and share.

We’re listening.

Have something to say about this article? Please share it with us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

General FAQ’s

What are social media and ecommerce?

Social media refers to websites and applications designed to allow people to share content quickly, efficiently, and in real-time. Ecommerce, also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions.

Why use social media and ecommerce?

Social media is a powerful tool for ecommerce websites. A complete social media presence also includes direct sales through some networks and having the back-end tools in place to let customers share products and recent purchases with friends and followers through just a single click.

What are E-commerce and its types?

Transaction of money, funds, and data is also considered e-commerce. The ecommerce services are provided online over the internet network where a transaction occurs. These business transactions can be done in four ways: Business to Business (B2B), Business to Customer (B2C), Customer to Customer (C2C), Customer to Business (C2B).