10 Ways to Improve Your eCommerce Performance Using Social Media

Change is the only constant when it comes to social media strategies. The strategies that worked this year are becoming obsolete. And you have to constantly progress in this area and follow the trends if you want to succeed. This article provides seven key tips to improve your brand’s SMM and strategy and improve your eCommerce performance in the coming year.

1. Consider increasing budgets

Over the years, social media channels have become more and more competitive, especially Facebook and Instagram. In 2022, you should definitely consider increasing your budgets if you want to be competitive.

All social networks use machine learning methods. For these machines to learn, they need data, and through social media ad campaigns, they collect and aggregate data to find users that are most likely to generate conversions. Basically, you pay for that data, so the less money you spend, the smaller is your target. Fewer data means more time for optimisation and a longer waiting period for a positive result.

2. Use multiple content formats

Social media provides a unique opportunity to engage your audience through a variety of content formats. There is much more you can do on social media these days than just post to your feeds.

Stories, for example, are a great way to grab your audience’s attention and direct them to other relevant content. You can use Stories to promote other content, or even directly promote products or services.

Use video. Did you know that video marketers generate revenue about 49% faster than non-video users? If you haven’t used video in your social ad campaigns, you are missing out on a lot. Video is not only more engaging than other media, but it can also improve your Facebook ad campaign.

With Facebook Custom Audiences, you can create a “warm” audience of people who have watched a certain number of videos on your page. You can then create a similar audience to search for users who look and behave just like the original viewers of the video.

Why is it important? Because anyone who watches over 50% of a video is most likely interested in the content and therefore more inclined to buy. Facebook now has some really good and lightweight tools that allow you to stitch together even still images to create a video. This can make it easier to use videos in your social advertising campaigns.

Most of the popular social media platforms also provide a live video feature that you can use for Q&A sessions, interviews, and more. The best part about live-streaming is that you can let your audience ask questions in real-time, thereby improving interactivity and engagement.

SEO specialists from Brisbane advise you to experiment with different content formats and use each to your advantage.

Use user-generated content

User-generated content is a treasure trove of fresh and free content that you can use to populate your social media feeds.

It’s hard to create new content from scratch.

It’s harder to do this on a daily basis to maintain your social media posting frequency.

You can use custom content to fill in those gaps, so you don’t have to create new content every day.

This way, you will add the benefit of social proof and increase trust in your brand.

After all, when you see someone else using a product, you want it more, that is human nature.

3. Implement chatbots

While chatbots may seem a little aggressive, research shows that 56% of people prefer to send messages rather than call customer service. The researchers also note that 53% of people are more likely to shop from companies that can be sent a quick message.

Chatbots can help solve customer service issues, provide answers to frequently asked questions, and more.

4. Optimisation at scale and new options

You need to monitor how your campaigns are performing, both macro and micro, and exclude items that are delivering results at above-average prices.

All ad groups must be performing within the desired KPI. Any ad set that isn’t showing or isn’t producing ROI should be turned off to save the budget for better performing campaigns.

The same goes for micro-optimisation at the ad post level – don’t be sentimental about your ads. If the ad does not work, it should be removed.

At first glance, insignificant savings in comparison with labour costs will pay off at a distance.

Learn more about pixels

Every social media platform that allows you to customise targeted ads has pixels. These small pieces of JavaScript code allow websites to communicate with social media to help them conduct advertising campaigns.

Pixels on Facebook in particular are incredibly powerful and should be used in every campaign.

From building a custom audience to creating custom conversions, gaining pixel knowledge is absolutely essential if you want your social media ad campaigns to be competitive in 2022. In addition, when adjusting the pixel, you can tell Facebook which goal you want to optimise for. 

6. Create and Share a Brand Story

People may forget which promotions you ran or what products you wrote about, but they will remember the story.

Stories are better remembered than any other content, so you should create one for your brand.

Share your brand story across various social media platforms and on your website to reach as many people as possible.

People may forget what you are selling, but they will associate your brand with your brand story.

This increases your brand awareness and creates a distinct brand image in the minds of your audience.

7. Respond to audience requests and comments

One of the most important tactics on this list is to respond to audience questions and comments on social media.

Appreciate people for liking and commenting on your posts, answering their questions, and responding to their private messages.

Being responsive to your audience shows that you care, and it improves your brand image.

It will also encourage more people to comment and share your content, thereby improving your social media engagement rates.

If you find it difficult to track audience comments, you can use social media management tools.

Most of these tools provide some sort of integrated mailbox from where you can track and respond to comments and messages from your audience.

8. Use Hashtags

Hashtags are a great way for increasing your conversions. This is because they categorize all content on social media and help people find what they’re looking for more easily. That means that people will find your posts, content, and brand simply because they are searching for the hashtags you used.

This is a great way to reach your target audience, too, as people searching for those hashtags will already be in need of your business. You can use three types of different hashtags to reach your audience. A combination of all three or using just one of them will be more than enough to increase your sales and gain new followers.

Using hashtags that are trending will gain the most attention the most quickly, using product-specific ones will make it easier for people who really need your product to find you, and using brand-specific ones can increase your brand reputation.

9. Offer Discounts and Giveaways

Since you’re already in direct contact with your target audience through social media, you should offer discounts and create giveaways to generate a larger following and increase revenue.

Creating buzz and excitement around your brand is crucial for improving your standing on social media, and it’s a great way to get people to talk about your business. Whether you choose dollar-based discounts, percentage ones, or store credit is up to you. Think about what your audience would like the most.

Giveaways, on the other hand, are great for celebrating milestones. If you want to reach a certain follower count, you can announce you’re holding a contest when that number is reached. 

Don’t forget to check your rank and progress when using these methods. Tools like google rank tracker can be of great help.

10. Turn Instagram into a store

People today are much more likely to buy what you’re selling if it’s offered directly through Instagram. After all, this is one of the most popular social networks today and your target audience is already spending their time there.

You can use your account for placing orders, too, instead of just promotions. Both chatbots and people can work the inbox and take orders that may come in from people.

Of course, always advertise that orders are now available through direct messaging, otherwise people might miss it. 

One other important thing about using Instagram to directly sell your products is to remember to register your account as a Business one, not a personal one.

Conclusion

As you can see, improving eCommerce through social media is entirely possible. It might take some work and consistency to get the results you want, but you’ll definitely get there. People make the common mistake of ignoring social media and focusing only on their website, but those people are missing out on a whole market.