Your guide to marketing using social media for online retailers Building and expanding brand recognition, generating traffic to your website, and improving the number of leads and sales are all very important goals that can be accomplished by having a presence on social media. Nevertheless, your accounts are not only platforms for the purpose of sharing information and communicating with visitors in order to achieve those objectives. The use of social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, may be an effective method of marketing your goods and services to the people who follow you. The people of Canada are quite active on social media. 75 percent of women and 62 percent of men use it on a daily basis, according to a research that was published in 2019. Moreover, according to a survey that was conducted by PayPal on the subject of social commerce trends, 47 percent of Canadian users are purchasing on social networks, spending an average of $77 each month. Nevertheless, in spite of these data, a significant number of proprietors of small businesses continue to be unaware of the benefits that may be gained by selling on these widely used platforms. It is for this reason that I have compiled this guide: not only to assist you in comprehending the significance of e-commerce social media marketing, but also to provide you with practical advice that can help you increase traffic, leads, and sales. social selling that is organic To begin, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the distinctions that exist between social selling, the utilization of sponsored advertisements, and the real utilization of a platform as a marketplace. When you engage in social selling, you are establishing a natural connection with potential consumers and cultivating connections with them in the hopes of converting them into paying clients. It’s about getting to know your prospective consumers in order to create connections and reputation in a natural way. In order to do this, you should ask them questions that are interesting, react to their inquiries in a timely manner, and constantly respond to any comments or concerns they may have. The greater the amount of trust and loyalty that you establish with a follower, the greater the likelihood that they will become a paying client. When Rose Marie Swanson, one of our clients, wants to connect with her audience, she asks questions that are interesting and engaging. On the other hand, selling on a social media marketplace is rather distinct from really selling inside a platform or marketplace. What this entails is making use of the selling features of the platform in order to aggressively promote your items. Two instances are shown here. Markets on Facebook Facebook shops are available to you if you have a business profile on Facebook at your disposal. This brand-new tool gives you the ability to add items, arrange them in a variety of categories, contact with consumers, and monitor statistics about things like views and clicks. Your consumers will also be able to access your business on Instagram since Facebook is the owner of Instagram. It is possible for people to locate your Facebook shops by visiting your business’s Facebook page or Instagram profile, as well as by using Facebook advertisements or stories. read: advertising on social media without alienating customers with your content Among the many marketing methods available, social media is among the most effective: People that like and/or follow you are considered to be your fans, which means that they are already a part of your target group. You may expand and reach a huge audience by using content and advertisements. It is possible, however, that individuals will be reluctant to sell on these sites. If you do not handle this in the appropriate manner, you run the risk of alienating your audience, which might result in them unfollowing or liking you. This is because they anticipate a discussion in both directions and material that is interesting, rather than being targeted with advertisements. See our website for more reading. Instagram posts that may be purchased The year 2018 saw the introduction of this interesting capability in Canada, which allows companies to tag brands and goods in their organic Instagram posts. To see further information about the product, your audience may touch on it, and then click on it to purchase it. In order to make use of this service, you will be required to create an Instagram business account via Instagram. As an additional need, your company profile has to be linked to a Facebook catalog. You may increase traffic to your account page or website by utilizing paid advertisements in addition to social selling and selling on a marketplace. You can also use advertising to create traffic to your website. According on the nature of your small company, you could decide to run paid advertisements on the following platforms: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google Ads or Display Ads on the Google Display Network, YouTube (including in-video ad placements), or any combination of these. When it comes to making use of these paid advertising possibilities, it is important to bear in mind that you are not need to limit yourself to employing static graphics. It is possible to include videos into your advertisements in order to make them more interesting when you are utilizing social media marketing for e-commerce. There may be various advertising alternatives available inside each platform. You have the option of selecting among carousel advertisements, slideshow ads, collection ads, messenger ads, and so on when you are advertising on Facebook. An example of this would be the Canadian grocery store chain Spud.ca, which uses Facebook advertisements to blend social selling (the provision of useful information) with product promotion. Not only can it be difficult to comprehend all of the many types of advertisements, but it can also be difficult to establish and maintain accounts and budgets. Because of this, it is often a good idea to engage a professional marketing firm for your small business. For whatever reason you are contemplating using social media for online business, it is very necessary to devote the necessary amount of time and energy to ensuring that your interactions are not just engaging but also compassionate. On our website, you can find out more about how to use empathy within marketing. I hope that my guide to promoting your e-commerce business using social media has provided you with some ideas that will help you sell your goods and services more successfully. due to the success of your firm, a. frieden, Susan