Lots of ecommerce brands are on social media. You probably don’t see most of what they’re sharing because a lot of them are just posting links and images of the products they sell. They use social media like its their website or their catalog. And that’s just not what people are looking for on social media.
Sharing content on all the various social media platforms is an opportunity for brands. There are lots of people looking for lots of content. But you have to understand the type of content people want on each platform and cater to that.
You also have to understand that the social platforms want to keep their users on said platform as long as possible. If you lean into that you have a chance to succeed.
So here are a few ways to promote on social.
1. Q&A
If you’re struggling to find your footing on social media a great place to start is with questions and answers. Look for the questions your target audience is asking and provide the best answers you can. You could find those questions on social media. You could take questions you get via email or on your website and share the answers on social media.
Let’s say you sell hiking boots. You see that someone on social is asking what boot is best for a hike in a certain terrain. This is a great opportunity for you to provide an answer. Not necessarily by just sharing a link to a certain boot, but by giving information that can help the person.
Do this enough and people will start asking you questions directly and you can even ask for questions when you need more content.
2. Engagement
Beyond answers it’s good to engage with other people’s content. That’s what social media is all about. You don’t have to just post your own content. Commenting, liking, etc. is a very large part of social media. You like when people engage with your content. Pay it forward and really look to engage with other content on social media. If you are that brand selling boots, like it when someone posts randomly that they are out hiking. Make a comment about how beautiful the park is where they are hiking.
3. Frequency
Big brands with large followings can get away with sharing just once in awhile on social media. Those that have been successful on social media for a long time can often get away with sharing just once in awhile on their accounts.
But if you’re reading this I’m guessing you’re looking for better results on social. One way to get there is by sharing more. Usually a lot more. Like multiple times per day.
Higher frequency and experimenting with different kinds of content will give you the data you need to learn what works and what doesn’t. The more you share the better you’ll get and that will build and build. It’s difficult to know for sure what will work in your individual situation. You have to do a lot of guessing and testing.
4. Stories
Stories are good to share on social media. You could take some of your best reviews and share those. Stories have been a form of human communication probably since the beginning. We learn from the stories of others. We can see ourselves in their situations.
You don’t have to share only the stories about your brand and its products. You can share stories about how customers are using your products. You can share ideas they’ve had for using your products. All kinds of things that can be helpful to others.
5. 90/10 Promotion
By now you probably realize that promotion isn’t a big part of successful social media. It’s just not what people are using social media for. But it is good to promote once in awhile. I wouldn’t do it more than 10% of the time with the content you’re sharing. It’s probably more like 99/1 or even less. But the point is that you’re not going to have success by only promoting and selling your products. Learn that lesson as soon as possible. There are other avenues to focus on if that is your intent.
Conclusion
You can have success on social media. You can have success if you’re a large or small ecommerce shop. But there is a large time commitment involved. Social media marketing really isn’t something you can do for a couple minutes a day and be successful. It’s really a full time job. If you’re in on that hopefully the tips here can help you get the success you’re looking for.