5 Social Media Tips for Ecommerce Marketing

If you run an ecommerce business, chances are your customers are active on
social networks regardless of their gender, age, or economic status. In fact,
according to the statistics from social media monitoring site Pingdom:
47% males and !% females use social network sites
"#% of $acebook users are middle aged or older
%he average age of social networking users is !7
#&' to (4'year'olds don)t dominate any *articular social networking site
If you aren)t learning which social networking channels your customers s*end their time at, you)re *robably missing out
on increasing your customer base through online word of mouth. +everage these social media marketing ti*s to get the
most out of your virtual assistants.
1. Go Where You'll Find Your ustomers
,igital and social media marketing offer endless o*tions. $rom $acebook to +inkedIn to %witter to -ou%ube, there are an
endless number social networking channels available that your business can leverage. %he key to winning ecommerce
!irtual assistance is to choose the right channels so you reach customers.
You can learn "here #our customers gather $#%
.sking them. /hile it sounds sim*le, it)s often overlooked. 0ust send out a formal survey to customers or do an informal
*olling on your website, which can *rovide a wealth of knowledge.
1onitoring social sites. %here are a number of free tools such as %rackur to learn how and where customers are talking
about your com*etitors, your brand, or your target keywords. $or %here are also *aid *rograms that are more robust.
+everaging the stats. /hen it comes to stats some sites like $acebook are trans*arent or you can leverage third'*arty
research.
2eview 3ob *ostings, backlinks, keyword rankings of com*etitors, and news announcements regularly to get a 4uick
look into your online marketing health.
&. 'se Social Media to (romote E)clusi!e *ffers
In order for your ecommerce business to build followers on the social channel you choose, you must entice customers
with something they aren)t able to get anywhere else. 5ffer an e6clusive item to social media followers or fans, such as a
weekly cou*on. -ou might also offer 7breaking news7 that they can)t find somewhere else.
+. Monitor What Your ompetitors ,re -oing
/hether your !irtual assistants is new to social media marketing, or you 3ust want to take it u* a notch, com*etitive
intelligence can be very hel*ful. 8onduct a com*etitive audit of your to* five com*etitors on the social web and then
answer the following 4uestions.
/hat social sites are they active on9
/hat ty*e of content do they *ublish9
:ow many followers;views;fans do they have on their site9
:ow do they *romote their *roducts, events, or *rograms9
.. -on't /ust (romote (roducts0Ser!ices
%he main focus of your ecommerce site is to sell *roducts, but your online marketing strategy should include a wide
range of strategies that go beyond *romotional offerings. :ere are a few ideas to try incor*oration into your marketing.
<hare news stories or messages from e6ternal sources
8reate a blog on your site then feed your blog content to your social media accounts
.sk 4uestions, *oll your customers, or *artici*ate in discussions via social media
Post *ictures from com*any events or videos es*ecially when the 8=5 s*eaks
5. Sell (roducts Through Social 1et"orks
1any ecommerce sites use social channels to make it easier for customers to *urchase their *roducts. $or e6am*le,
#'&>>'$lowers was the first ecommerce site to launch a $acebook store, which allowed customers to browse, and
*urchase its *roducts directly through $acebook.
%he five ideas are a good start when it comes to successful ecommerce marketing.
?rian <cott is a *rofessional freelance writer and online virtual assistant. @isit his free website,www.ecomva.com to find
*aying virtual assistant 3obs which let you work from home.