The short answer: attention. More than 3.7 billion people worldwide use social media and spend an average of 142 minutes a day on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or Pinterest to find information, share content and gather inspiration. It is still widely believed that younger, internet-savvy target groups in particular are reached via social networks. However, older customers (aged 55 to 64) are also active and are twice as likely to respond to brand content on social media than young people. This offers online shops enormous potential to be seen by the respective target group and to direct customers to the shop with suitable content. In addition to attracting attention, social networks can also boost the brand and even generate direct sales.
What added value social media profiles should offer your online shop
Offer inspiration
For many people, social media is an opportunity to immerse themselves in other worlds and discover new things without leaving their own couch. Therefore, try to offer inspiration with your posts and present your products in suitable situations to avoid the impression of advertising. Create a desire for something new and awaken the desire and need for the products in your online shop.
Points of contact for customers
One of the main reasons for the popularity of social media is the opportunity to interact with other users - whether friends, acquaintances or strangers - on a single platform and become part of a community. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest therefore offer companies good opportunities to get in touch with potential customers, respond to questions and provide advice. It is particularly important to focus on building a basis of trust so that the dialogue is on an equal footing and not a virtual sales pitch. An active presence on social media can also be an opportunity to gain an overview of users' opinions on the company or products through user comments or mentions of your own brand without having to actively ask for them.
Customer loyalty and customer service
Once initial contact has been made with the community, it is important to keep the attention of your followers with interesting and creative content and to whet their appetite for more. Here too, the focus is not on selling individual products, but rather on seeking interaction with your online shop's customers to find out which social media content is particularly relevant and which is not. In general, the more natural and authentic your social media content is, the less you will appear as a disruptive advertising factor in your customers' feed. The more present you are on social networks and the larger your shop is, the more important the topic of social media customer service will become. The younger generation in particular would rather write a Facebook message when they have a question than send an email or pick up the phone. So make sure you have enough resources available for this topic. Use as few text modules as possible and take your time - especially for critics. Personalised responses to questions and complaints can work wonders and turn dissatisfied buyers into fans. Always remember that many social media areas are publicly visible. Even if you can't convince a critic, other people reading the conversation might. With active social media customer service for your online shop, you also relieve your hotline and email support.
Selling on social media
We have already covered this topic in detail in the blog post Winning new customers with social commerce. To summarise briefly: many social networks also offer companies the opportunity to sell their own products. With Instagram Shopping, for example, up to five products can be linked to a picture and offered for sale. The customer then reaches the company's online shop via various pages and can buy the product. This function offers companies the opportunity to not only label products in the description under the image, but also to show the most important product details right at the start of the customer journey. There are also major advantages on the user side: when searching for the product they have seen, customers do not get lost in your shop and ultimately give up in frustration, but are directed to the right page with just a few clicks.
Which social media channel is the right one for my online shop?
Companies can use social media to address customers directly and advertise in a targeted manner - without a great deal of effort. However, not every platform is suitable for every company. Industry, content and target group determine which platform works best for you.
Facebook is an exciting channel for companies simply because of its size. This is because 1.49 billion people use the platform every day, giving it around 4 million likes every minute. Another special feature: hardly any target group is not represented on Facebook. The network is therefore suitable for almost every company to generate new customers. The catch: as Facebook is increasingly limiting the organic, i.e. unpaid, reach of pages, companies have to advertise their posts in order to attract the attention of a larger target group on Facebook. This is because the algorithm ensures that the posts are not displayed in chronological order on the user's page, but are sorted according to relevance. Facebook marketing expert Thomas Hutter explained very well back in 2013 why Facebook does this and even has to do it.
Images, videos, stories. Visual content takes centre stage on Instagram. Companies from the fashion, catering, crafts and art sectors in particular have a good chance of being seen by the 15 million German users. However, online retailers from other sectors can also showcase their products well with good images. The choice of hashtag is particularly important on Instagram in order to be found via the right search term. As with Facebook, it also makes sense to advertise your own posts on Instagram in order to appear on user pages. Promoted posts on Instagram achieve an average interaction rate of 2.4 per cent. In addition, collaborating with influencers on Instagram can attract more customers to your site - read our blog post on this topic: Instagram and e-commerce - a hot team .
Over 322 million people worldwide are inspired by the images on Pinterest. In addition to their own images, users can also pin the images of others and create pinboards on various topics. In contrast to Instagram, the images are staged much more strongly here, giving the platform the character of an advertising catalogue. Similar to a Google image search, users can enter their search terms and receive a list of matching suggestions. Since March 2019, companies in Germany have also been able to advertise on Pinterest. The visual search engine thus combines the advantages of search and social media advertising. Pinterest also gives users the opportunity to check how much the products displayed cost and whether they are still in stock using a purchase function.
Social commerce for your online shop
You can also get a detailed overview of the possibilities of social commerce in our blog post: "Winning new customers with social commerce".
Social media as a valuable marketing tool
As with other marketing elements, the same applies to social media: The appropriate placement of content at the right time is of great importance. When selecting the social network as well as the content for the individual platforms, care should therefore be taken to ensure that a consistent corporate image is maintained that is coherent. After all, only a consistent appearance can strengthen the trust of the target group and, in combination with the right communication, generate satisfied customers with purchasing power. The wide range of social media channels offers companies a variety of opportunities to disseminate customised content and interact with users depending on the industry and target group.
