Impact of Social Media on the Retail Industry

For instance the quotShare a Cokequot campaign which eventually made its way around the world featured a Facebook ad in 2012quotThe ad invited Facebook users to create their own custom Coke can as well as share virtual cans of Coke with their friendsquot explains The Payments Association quotThe campaign was so successful that the Facebook website saw an 870 percent increase in traffic and the CocaCola Facebook page had a 39 percent increase in fansquotCocaCola was hardly the only brand utilizing Twitter Instagram Facebook and others to get its message out From small momandpop stores to bespoke makers to public companies marketing online soon became de rigeurNot All Good Social Media Retail ChallengesIn addition to bringing in audiences though social media also brought and continues to bring challengesPrevalence and Ease of Negative ReviewsIt39s easier than ever to tarnish a brand39s image by posting negative reviews The number of consumers who leave positive reviews does exceed those who post negatively 53 percent compared to 35 percent However a company still runs a serious risk of ticking someone off and seeing their image impactedSiloed DepartmentsSocial media success depends on curation and intention Too many companies however have scattered approaches to social Perhaps they focus on creating beautiful visuals but don39t have a good system for responding to negative reviews for example This leaves customers feeling talked at rather than talked withDeclining Organic EngagementAs social media exited its infancy the paytoplay model burst onto the scene Large brands and even small ones should now expect minimal organic growth The use of prioritized content such as Reels on Instagram can help somewhat but businesses who want to see serious improvement must now work ads into their marketing budgetsChoosing the Right ChannelsIt39s not always clear which channels are the right ones Who hangs out where And when And what do they do there Knowing where to find your audience is half the battle and it requires research to figure this outMaximize Your Social Marketing ImpactSocial media is a tool you can use well if you know how Here are five places to start1 Do Your ResearchMarket research has always mattered and never more so than now Luckily social media analytics offer a wealth of data from which to draw insights about who your customers are where they live when they39re active and what they like Put that information to use immediately2 Choose the Right PlatformsTo some extent you can draw broad conclusions about your audience Twitter reaches industry leaders Instagram reaches millennial shoppers and TikTok is huge with Gen Z influencers However you will need to experiment for a while to find the right platform for your product imagery copy and so forth Once you gather data for a while you can confine your efforts to one or two successful platforms3 Integrate Your StrategyIt39s important when implementing an intentional social media strategy to do away with siloing The right approach involves art directors marketers salespeople customer service and analytics all working together to create seamless campaigns paired with excellent customer service4 Use Influencer MarketingInfluencers have a lot to offer For the price of a product or two and perhaps a lowcost payment ordinary people will showcase your brand on their social feeds This can lead to a major uptick in organic traffic5 Pay to PlayWhere necessary you might want to consider buying ad spots These get lots of eyeballs on social media And although it hurts to loosen the purse strings statistics show you39ll likely get more bang for your buck with ads than pounding away at organic trafficOverall social media has had a huge impact on the retail industry It39s no longer possible to run a viable business and ignore it If you want to see the best possible profit margins for your company these tips will give you a significant return on your investment so try them todayPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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