Retailers assemble! Find out below how to use social to not only attain but retail customers.
There is no denying that social media has taken on a world of its own. What started out as platforms for people to link up and make friends has now led to a change in the way that people use and interact with brands online. Buffer’s recent 2019 report showed that 73% of marketers believe their social media marketing has grown from somewhat to very effective, highlighting the importance of these platforms. Knowing the importance of social media marketing is all well and good, but how does one effectively use the platforms to reach new customers?
A study by Sprout Social showed that 91% of consumers will first visit the applications or websites of the brands that they follow, meaning the need to draw these consumers via Social media is growing more every day.
Physical Marketing
Brick and mortar retailers can use physical awareness to advertise their own social media. One tactic is to have your tags and handles displayed clearly at key locations like tills or fitting rooms. Make the experience as seamless as possible - as the customer is paying, they’ll clearly see how to connect with your business online. Why not try packaging! As a customer is unwrapping your product they’ll again be able to see the key links and tags to your social accounts.
Hybrid Advertising
Retailers also have both organic and paid content at their disposal to help attract new customers. Organic content is the natural unpaid posts that are published onto social media feeds. They are very useful when communicating your core business values or messaging, without appearing too sales-focused. Paid advertisements, on the other hand, utilise specific algorithms of social media platforms to reach your target audience. A good example of this is Facebook paid ads - they are super useful at helping businesses attract new customers.
Seamless Experience
Once a customer is on your social media page, whether that be on Instagram or Facebook, it needs to be a seamless and clear transition to your website. Make sure you add links to your website in the social media bios, posts, and stories. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for customers to access your website. The easier the journey, the more likely you are to attract this potential new customer.
Regular Engagement
Once you have a follower, you want to keep them loyal and present to the brand. People like to follow trends and see others like themselves interacting with or using products that they’re interested in, this makes your products seem more accessible and desirable. So it’s important for retailers and brands to interact with this audience pool. Lucy and Yak have a perfect balance of just this. They’re known for encouraging consumers to share a selfie in their clothing, this allows them to utilise user-generated content to reach a wider audience. As a retailer, we encourage you to engage with your market through general conversation or by offering incentives.
Once you have the consumer, keep them happy and use their positive experiences to your advantage. A study by JD Power found that customers actually prefer to organically use social media when showing off how satisfied they are with a particular product. Just like Lucy and Yak, brands across the globe should use social media in highlighting how satisfied their customers are.
Final Thoughts
You now have the full customer acquisition arsenal of tactics for social media. However, the journey is not yet complete. Just like for consumers it is important for you to stay up to date with the trends of not only your current audience but also your potential audience. What trends are people engaging with? What's the current look or style for both adapting your product and your adverts? Sites such as google analytical or Sprout social enable you to follow the hashtags and mentions of your brand, which you can then use to your advantage. Keep listening to your audience.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how we use social media to help clients acquire more customers, or if you just want to chat about your social marketing strategy, get in touch with us today.