Why Social Media has Become Ecommerce's Best Friend
08Jan

Why Social Media has Become Ecommerce’s Best Friend

On what feels like almost a weekly basis, social media continuously evolves as an even stronger tool businesses can utilize to better position themselves in front of customers and sell more products. Facebook in particular has evolved from profile pages for individuals, to adding Groups individuals can be a part of, to business pages, to marketplaces to sell products and so much more. We know Facebook is constantly striving to make themselves a better resource for companies around the world, so it’s no surprise that social platforms have nicely tied into ecommerce.

We recently viewed an infographic from Prima Software about the growing influence of social media in ecommerce marketing strategies that featured some intriguing statistics. For example, did you know that 95% of online adults (age 18-34) are most likely to follow a brand via social networking? Businesses that get creative with their social media content usually attract the most followers. Some great examples of brands that do this can be found here.

Additionally, 26% of Facebook users like using Facebook to browse for new items to buy and a staggering 75% of customers say they use social media as part of the buying process. That’s an enormous group that you could appeal to just purely by being on Facebook and regularly updating your business page. Facebook and other social media platforms provide another layer of credibility for your business while also enabling you to integrate the culture and personality behind it for consumers to see and connect with.

Another interesting subset of their infographic included that 55% of people make a purchase after social media discovery. Social media is quickly becoming one of the most influential tools for selling product, most likely due to its visual component, influencer endorsements, and ease of linking to the product or service. As for which platforms were the most influential, Prima Software reported the following:

  • Facebook is the most influential at 78%
  • Instagram and Pinterest tie in at second and third most influential, both with 59%
  • Following that was Twitter with 34%
  • Finally, Snapchat with 22%
How can your dealership take advantage of this?

You may be thinking that this data seems focused on consumers looking for a different type of product, however these numbers might pique your interest a bit more:

  • As of late 2018, there were more than 750,000 construction companies in the United States. (Blue Corona)
  • 45.1% of contractors at these companies visit social media sites. That’s nearly 329,000 people you could connect with!
  • 94.2% of contractors use Facebook
  • 17.5% of contractors use Twitter
  • 38.7% of contractors view work/company related material on social media
  • 69.8% of contractors visit Facebook at least once a day
  • 62.5% of contractors visit Twitter at least once a day

It’s clear from the evidence above how vital it is to be active on your business social media accounts. Here’s how you can utilize each of the different platforms to influence the purchasing decisions of your target customers:

  • Facebook: Build your dealership’s brand awareness by giving your business some personality and interacting with your customers online. Speaking of customer interactions! Be sure to reply to any customer queries that come in through your Facebook messaging. Customers are moving to social media more and more to get a timely customer service response, so don’t ignore your inbox!
  • Twitter: This is arguably one of the best platforms to help drive customer engagement to really interact with your customer base. You can do this in creative ways like facilitating shareable hashtags that customers can tag you with in photo contests, for example. It’s a great way to get feedback from your customers through features like Twitter polls and more real-time interaction online.
  • YouTube: A great way to post short and quirky videos your dealership may have pieced together to highlight the faces of your business. The dealership becomes more than just a brand. It allows those researching your company to get an idea of the personality behind the business and what kinds of interactions they can expect.

We predict that social media will only grow and continue to have a strong hold on the ecommerce market. If you haven’t already gotten into the social media game, it’s time to contact us about our GoSocial services by emailing us at marketing@commercialwebservices.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelsey Fritz
Kelsey is the Marketing Coordinator at Commercial Web Services where she monitors the latest marketing advancements to better educate dealers on marketing trends that can further their business goals.

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