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The Confluence Of Content And Social Media: Insights For Success In 2014

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One study has suggested that as many as 90% of American small businesses are on social media today. Social media has taken hold in the business world: it’s one of the easiest ways to reach new customers, and one of the three pillars of SEO in 2014. It’s also low cost and has a fairly low barrier to entry. The accessibility of social media sites is a boon, especially for eCommerce sites that need to constantly reach new customers and stay connected with existing customers about new products and sales.

Whether you’re hoping to increase engagement with customers, build your brand, funnel traffic to your website, get people interested in your products, or increase sales conversions, social media can help. But the social media marketing landscape is murky: there are numerous potential channels available and they don’t all yield the same ROI. Here’s a strategy guide for eCommerce sites navigating social media in the year ahead.

Companies who target their efforts see the best results

Every social media manager wonders: what’s the most effective social media marketing platform for businesses to focus their efforts on? Now, thanks to rapidly advancing social media analytics and market research, it’s possible to understand which social networks are driving the most sales. Here are some important takeaways from the latest research about social media success and selling online in 2014.

One overarching theme in recent research is the benefit of properly targeting your social media efforts. If you want a better understanding of how social media influences your customers’ decisions to purchase your products and services, there are a few important questions that you’ve got to ask. In this case, a bit of smart consumer research will go a long way toward directing your social media strategy.

Most importantly, you need to know where your customers are actually spending their time online. Are they using Facebook frequently to engage with businesses and connect with friends and family, or do they spend most of their time on Twitter or Pinterest? The next step is to dig a little deeper into how your customers are using these platforms.

For example, a Pinterest user is going to be looking for different things than a Facebook user. Pinterest users be using the platform to find new recipes or ideas for DIY crafts, while typical Facebook users may be on the lookout for personal updates or current events. The platforms where your customers spend the most time also determines whether you should focus on video, microvideo, visual, or written updates.

A recent whitepaper by VisionCritical outlines how you can most effectively use each network to connect with your customers. They suggest that in order to make the most out of your businesses’ social media presence, you need to first understand which types of content are going to result in maximum engagement on which networks. It’s also important to pay attention to the culture of the network and the audience. To get a better sense of what works for each platform, do research into businesses that have experienced significant success with their social media efforts. This will help you get a better sense of which approaches yield the best results.

For more in-depth guides on getting to know your audience, I recommend:

Buying behaviors vary by category on social media

An important takeaway from recent research is that consumers are more likely to make purchases from certain types via social media than others. Data from the VisionCritical study shows that 25% Facebook and 34% of Twitter users reported buying tech tools or electronic devices after seeing recommendations or shares via these specific social networks. Categories that didn’t fare as well on the two major networks were crafts and DIY and home décor.

Less than 10% of Facebook and Twitter users reported making recent purchases in those categories. However, those categories had higher conversion rates on Pinterest. 21% of Pinterest users reported buying something craft and DIY-related, and 18% purchased something under the home décor category.

Category matters with regards to social commerce. It’s important to note that this is just a snippet of data based on one recent study. In order to get a better idea of what products your customers are purchasing via recommendations on social media, it’s best to go ahead and ask them directly. This can help you uncover some invaluable information about what your customers are buying, and steer your future marketing efforts to improve your sales conversions via social media.

For more insight on determining which social media network is right for reaching your customers, see my recent article, How to Determine Which Social Media Network fits Your Business.

Specific platforms influence buying behavior

When it comes to social commerce, not all platforms are created equal. Some social networking sites still produce higher conversion rates than others. This holds true even if you’ve followed the best practices suggestions about tailored content and culture. That’s not to say you shouldn’t pay attention to these metrics – it’s still important to know what works best for each platform. But you can expect higher sales conversions from some sites as opposed to others on the whole, and knowing this information can give you a hypothesis to test.

The trends suggest that visual content will continue to surge in popularity on social media in 2014 (if you’re interested in more insights about what’s hot this year on social, visit The Top 7 Social Media Trends of 2014). Image-based social networking sites like Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr are experiencing significant growth. But the way people are using these platforms is shifting. Data suggests that more and more people are using these sites to create virtual product wish lists, which creates a unique opportunity for marketers hoping to make the most of social commerce. The culture is shifting from simple photo sharing to users actually creating lists of things they want to buy.

As far as the other major networks go, research also indicates that Facebook is outperforming Twitter in terms of sales conversions. According to ecommerce growth company Curebit, their clients acquire up to 30% more customers via their Facebook marketing efforts. A representative from the company suggests that the higher customer acquisition rates are a result of the interpersonal dynamics of each network. Facebook users are more likely to know and interact with their virtual friends in real life than Twitter users, so they’re more likely to take product recommendations seriously. The trust factor helps boost traffic and drive sales.

I speculate that advertising may also have something to do with the higher customer acquisition rates. Facebook also uses retargeting in their advertising to increase the chances that a customer will make a purchase. You’ve probably noticed this advertising technique if you’ve recently searched for a product online then logged in to update your Facebook status. If not, pay attention to the ads on the right hand menu next time you do! I bet one of the products you were interested in appears in a Facebook ad on your homepage. It can start to feel like a specific product you looked at is following you around the web via ads.

Conclusion

When it comes to making sales on social media, research suggests that companies need to pay attention to a few key points to maximize their conversions in the year ahead. Companies that target their content efforts will see the best return. A quick customer survey can help shed some light on how your business can direct its social marketing strategy. It’s also important to explore which product categories are piquing your customers’ interests on social media. And remember, when it comes to social commerce, the platform you choose to use for your business matters.

Has your company experienced any recent successes with using social media to drive sales growth? Let me know what’s working for you now in the comments below!

Image source: schools.utah.gov (public domain)