The Impact of Social Media on E-commerce Sales

All areas of human life are rapidly expanding into the virtual space. Not only personal communication but also work and business move into virtual space. Millions of users are attracted by the wide range of communication possibilities offered by social networks. It is not surprising that social networking has been a magnet for businesses, especially e-commerce. The need to analyze performance data is another consequence of integrating e-commerce into social networks. Here are the best e-commerce report templates and additional features to help you analyze your business data.

Why social media is important to increase e-commerce sales?

Social media is a vital tool for businesses to interact with their customers, build brand awareness, and drive sales. The power of social media to shape consumer behavior and influence purchase decisions is indisputable. Also, e-commerce companies create a convenient and personalized shopping experience for their customers by integrating social media.

Millions of active users spend a significant amount of time browsing their news feeds on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and X. Businesses can tap into this huge pool of potential customers and increase brand awareness by connecting their e-commerce platforms with social media. The integration enables customers to share their favorite products and purchases with friends and followers, further extending business reach.

The ultimate goal of any promotion is to increase sales and increase profits. To achieve this, the business sets intermediate goals, including:

• Increase traffic to the site;
• Expand reach of target audience;
• Increase brand awareness;
• Work off negativity;
• Increase user loyalty;
• Increase engagement;
• Build trusting communications between the company and customers;
• Conduct direct sales on social networks.

To solve these problems, we need new subscribers, positive reactions to posts and comments. Therefore, you should create a store promotion strategy and adjust it at intermediate stages of work.

What is included in the strategy for promotion on social networks

Here is an approximate plan, the stages of which can and should be adjusted taking into account the specifics of a particular business.

1. Selecting social networks to be present.
2. Development of page management style.
3. Filling content.
4. Connecting the store functionality (if available).
5. Working with the audience.
6. Paid and free promotion tools.

We’ll tell you step by step about all the stages.

1. Which social networks to choose for presence

   According to our research, large projects such as marketplaces use from two to seven social networks. An online store should focus on those where the target audience is most present. At the same time, you need to take into account the size of your budget for SMM and targeted advertising.

   Telegram: The audience is more involved and has specialized interests. Unlike most social networks, people come to messenger groups and channels to communicate on serious topics.

   TikTok: The video social network seems to many to be a platform for teenage entertainment. Meanwhile, it offers solutions for different types of businesses that help brands grow. For example, functionality with which viewers can find and buy products directly from TikTok. According to the site, TikTok users are 1.5 times more likely than other social networks to immediately buy a product they saw on the platform.

   Instagram: is still an effective promotion tool for some categories, such as cosmetics, children’s products, self-development products, handmade goods, and sporting goods.

   Facebook: is a popular global platform, the creative audience of large cities aged 25-50 actively visits it. Popular product categories include electronics, clothing, jewelry, and home decor.

   When creating a social media strategy, it is also worth considering the capabilities and target audience on platforms such as YouTube. These are social media with a wide content area. Next, you can evaluate the need for your brand to be present in more niche social media.

2. What should be the style of running a community?

   It must meet the needs of the audience and reflect the brand of the online store or products. Graphic design should be developed based on the corporate brand book or official website, if there is one.

   Tone of voice (TOV) is a unique style of communication with clients. Depending on the values of the brand and the audience, it can sound respectful, bold, or authoritative. It should be maintained in all fasts.

3. How to fill the community with content

   At this stage, quality and regularity of filling are important. To achieve them, you need a content plan. It should include a publication schedule, topics of posts and their types: selling, engaging, entertaining, surveys, competitions, promotions, etc.

   What types of posts can be in the online store community:

   • Getting to know the brand and products;
   • New products, promotions;
   • Reviews, product tests;
   • User reviews, if possible with photos and videos;
   • Storytelling
   • Photo and video reviews.

   You should also prioritize the products, categories, and promotions that need to be placed in the group’s stories to reach a larger audience.

   Remember that quality content is important to get views, reactions and positive comments. Therefore, photos and videos need to be shot with good equipment. If you want to use customer photos and videos that are not very high resolution, use an editor app to cover up imperfections with creative styling.

4. How to connect the online store functionality

   Social networks have built-in functionality that allows a business page to function as a full-fledged store. Management is carried out directly from your social network account. You can also manage stores from it. E-commerce tools allow you to create a full-fledged product catalog, synchronize balances with CRM, accept orders and payments, and launch promotion. A potential client does not need to go from a social network to a website to make a purchase. This makes the user journey shorter and increases conversion.

5. How to work with an audience

   Subscribers, their reactions and comments are what you need to successfully increase traffic and awareness on the Internet. You should attract visitors to your page on a social network through promotion, which we will discuss below. The following recommendations will help you retain your audience:

   • In response to negative feedback and complaints, the most effective way is to ask to send additional information in private messages, for example, order number, date. Continue working on the negative in personal correspondence so that it is not visible in the comments of the online store.
   • You should be grateful for positive reviews on the Internet. Let the client be pleased that his comment did not go unnoticed.
   • Questions on a social network must be answered and comprehensive information provided. If there is an article or video on the topic of the question, provide a brief reference and a direct link where you can watch/read in detail.
   • Feedback from community members should be collected through the reviews section, comments, and surveys. This way you will receive data to improve your product range and customer service. In addition, subscribers will create UGC content that can be used for stories on the social network and publications on the online store website.
   • Polls or posts that invite people to share their opinions can show the audience that their opinion is valuable and influences the product range and customer service.
   • Contests, prize draws, and promotions help increase the activity and involvement of subscribers. Use them in promotion to introduce new members to the brand and inform about new products.

   It is better to manage business pages on social networks not from the personal accounts of SMM managers, but from a specially created corporate profile. Otherwise, on the employee pages you need to indicate their positions in the online store. This will make it clear that this is an official representative and not a private person.

6. How to promote an online store

   To do this, every social network has paid and free or shareware tools. In the first case, the business pays directly for advertising placement, traffic, leads or conversions. With free promotion, expenses are only needed to create content and pay for the work of employees or a contractor.

How influencer marketing influence on sales?

Influencer marketing has become a powerful strategy for e-commerce companies to drive sales through social media. Social media influencers can increase brand awareness and customer trust by recommending products and services. Such marketing is effective because consumers trust recommendations from celebrities they follow and respect better than traditional marketing collateral. By partnering with influencers, e-commerce businesses can use their authority and accomplishments to drive sales and brand awareness.

Summary

Social media integration has changed how customers interact with e-commerce businesses. The rise of social commerce has created a convenient and easy shopping experience, allowing customers to purchase products directly through social media platforms. This integration makes the shopping process easier and more enjoyable, allowing customers to complete transactions without leaving their favorite social media apps. In addition, social media has become an important channel for customer support. It allows companies to address customer concerns and questions in real time, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.