What are social selling and social commerce, and how do they differ? Would your business benefit from adding one of these practices to your sales efforts? If you’re like most small businesses, then you may have started with a storefront. Next you built a website. And after last year, your website became a much larger part of your sales strategy, as most of the world turned to ecommerce over in-person shopping.

As you plan your marketing strategy for the rest of the year and beyond, recognize that your social media can also be a part of your ecommerce strategy. In addition to being a personification of your branding, your social channels now have the functionality to make sales directly on each platform.

Expanding your brand conversations into making sales on social media is the goal of these tools. Social Selling refers to cultivating a relationship with your customers on social media with the goal of eventually making a sale. While Social Commerce means your customer is buying your product or service directly from the social media app. There are many ways to execute a social selling strategy on social media platforms. But currently, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest offer Social Commerce, and Twitter is testing this functionality. Here’s an overview of what sales tools are available on some of your social channels.

Facebook Social Selling and Social Commerce Tools

By 2017, a quarter of the world’s population was using Facebook monthly. As a small business thinking about expanding your customer base, it makes the most sense to start on this platform. With tools like Messenger, Groups, Insights, Shop and Marketplace many small businesses can leverage their local fanbase into larger audiences and make sales with social selling. In addition, brands can create active product catalogs right on Facebook with Facebook Shop for social commerce direct sales.

Facebook’s potential customer base combined with specific targeting tools makes this platform an easy place to start. A retailer or restaurant could post a limited time offer for instance, and then boost that content for a nominal charge, getting it seen by more people. Posts can even include a button to take an action.

Companies can sell products and services – including things like webinars and online classes – in the marketplace or in their Facebook Shop. And with insights and targeting tools available, brands can create ads as well, tailoring the audience for each ad deployment.

Instagram Social Selling and Social Commerce Tools

Instagram upgraded their social selling and social commerce tools in 2019 (look for the shopping bag icon in the nav bar of a business profile). Audiences like GenZ now rely on this platform to find and purchase new products right in the app. And, brands with a business page enjoy sales functionality that regular Instagram users don’t have including follower insights.

Selling on Instagram can be as simple as posting beautiful images of product, with an offer, and steering customers to a specific website link to purchase. Or companies can employ ad types like Carousels and Stories. Tools like LinkInBio or LInkInProfile enable Instagram accounts to post a specific website link for each post. (Otherwise there is only the one link in the bio for the entire account).

Using hashtags on Instagram is key. Small businesses can create their own hashtag, and then encourage customers to use it when they photograph and share pictures of the company’s product, place of business or service. Brands can then use that hashtag to find new customers – reposting their user generated content (with permission), engaging with that user’s followers, and tagging the customer. These activities increase the reach of the post.

Next, businesses can set up an Instagram Shop, just like on Facebook. The in-app checkout means customers can buy directly from a brand from their Instagram account. Once a business account reaches 10,000 followers, even more social selling and social commerce tools are unlocked to use, for instance, in Stories.

Pinterest Social Selling and Social Commerce Tools

Pinterest is always a place to collect and save favorite ideas and bookmark things for later. It also has social selling tools – beyond just bookmarking. Three types of “Rich Pins” (pins with extra content) are available to set up your social selling system: Recipes, Articles and Products.

As with all social channels, set up your business Pinterest account with a combination of pins of your own products as well as pins of brand-representative images that are not sales-oriented. To be part of the Pinterest community it is a best practice to pin other people’s images as well. Then leave comments and like others’ content while on the platform. Pinterest business accounts also feature analytics to glean insights into your top pins, impressions, and other KPIs.

In April 2021, Pinterest and Shopify expanded their partnership to make social commerce easier on the platform. And Pinterest also features functionality called Catalogues, allowing businesses to basically set up a virtual version of their stores complete with collections, aisle browsing and even price comparisons. 27 countries worldwide currently have all of this new functionality.

Twitter Social Selling and Up-And-Coming Social Commerce Tools

According to TechCrunch, Twitter is now testing ecommerce features for tweets. In the Twitter “card” system, the product card will link to a shop’s website and feature the product as well as a “SHOP” button. This type of Twitter post could be used not just as an ad, but also as an organic social commerce post.

Twitter is definitely a place for brands to gain insights and engage with their followers. Using practices like social listening and tools like Buffer, Brands can discover how customers talk about their brand. Brands can also use hashtags for locating information, and lists for grouping like-customers together and marketing to them.

Adding Social to Your eCommerce Strategy Can Pay Off

Social commerce is an $89.4 billion market right now. It is projected to grow 8x that over the next few years. Start small, test often and grow your business with social media using social selling and social commerce!

A branded Facebook page has the power to be a gathering place, a showcase or a conversation starter for your company. As a part of your social media marketing, a Facebook Business page is a very good addition to your digital asset family to connect with your customers and build a following for your business.

Why should your brand be on Facebook?

Here are five good reasons why your brand should consider being on Facebook, and a few suggestions on how to use this social media channel and it’s features to build your business.

1. Your next customer is looking for a local business just like yours

Potential customers are using Facebook to find a new favorite neighborhood restaurant, plant store, realtor or dentist. You might not think of it this way, but Facebook is a search tool just like Google. People use Facebook to ask their friends about their experiences with businesses all the time…in front of all their other friends. They use Facebook to look up your business to see what your food looks like, what your office interior looks like, what people say about you, and more.

Facebook organically suggests brand pages to people who are located nearby. Facebook also suggests brand pages to people whose friends already like that page and engage with that business. If your brand is not on Facebook, you’re not benefitting from this simple suggestion.

If your business is on Facebook, friends can recommend you easily, give you good reviews and chat about you with their circles. Facebook is a good way to be a part of the conversations that are already happening between friends all over the country…but especially in your local trade area. By having a page, you can present your brand to your community and host those conversations.

Local customers are also looking for events in their area, and Facebook Events – another great Facebook feature – helps you easily create and post an event page with its own URL and mechanism for inviting people right on Facebook. Have a fun outdoor pop-up event next month? Build an Event page and share it. Need volunteers for a non-profit help day? Facebook Events can rally neighbors to help.

2. Engage Your Employees Digitally to Show the Human Side of Your Company

You want people to think of your business as a person that they like. They need to connect to faces, names, voices and personality. Showing the human side of your business endears your brand to your customers, and creates loyalty. You already accomplish these things in your place of business with your own employees, so extend this personality and corporate culture onto your page, giving your employees a digital way to connect with the company. This both gives them the emotional reward of connectivity and shows their friends publicly what a great company you are.

Your employees are your ambassadors. Highlight their accomplishments and their awards on your company’s page, and their networks will see that engagement as well. Value your employees publicly to build positive company culture not just among your current employees, but with your future employees.

3. Your Future Employees Are Keeping Tabs on Your Company

When you use Facebook to showcase your company, you are speaking directly to not just your own employees, but to their communities containing your future employees. Convey the personality of your company and attract new employees who are already a good culture fit.

Facebook also has another helpful feature called Facebook Jobs. Companies with a Facebook Business page can build a job post easily and immediately post it into the Facebook Jobs bank. Your followers will be the first to see your job posting – which also resides as a post on your business page. Who better to be your next employee than someone who already knows all about your brand? Facebook jobs also appear in Google search and display job local to the searcher.

4. Your target demographic is on Facebook

Do you know who your customers are? Facebook Insights can help you discover the demographics of your customers, to better market to them. When people like, visit and comment on your page, you can gather information from their Facebook profiles that is helpful for your business. Using this information, you can pivot what your business does to meet your customers’ needs.

For example, if you are a CPA and your Facebook followers continue to ask you what seems like the same tax question over and over – that might be a cue to write a blog post on your website that addresses that very topic. Then, share that page on Facebook so that your followers get the information they need. And voila, you are the voice of authority and their hero.

5. Build Your Digital Presence with Facebook Traffic

On Facebook you can present information and tell stories about your company a little bit at a time; much like you would become good friends with a person over a period of time by sharing little stories about yourself. These stories give weight to your SEO and give your company better Google Search Ranking.

You can drive traffic to your website from your page. Sign up new email list subscribers. Build your authority in your field by curating and sharing relevant and useful articles. In addition, offer special sales to customers, incentives for activity on your page and hold contests or promotions.

Facebook Business pages are one of the important tools many small businesses use in their digital marketing plan. In conclusion, with 2.4 Billion active Facebook users, more and more small businesses are utilizing a Business page to connect with their customers – and future customers – through daily conversations and brand story telling.

With the ever-growing presence of technology in our world, social media is something that should not be overlooked. It should actually be at the forefront of your business, giving people an idea of what you are all about and hopefully prompting them to become customers! Whether you are skeptical about the use of socials to generate business or have an active presence on all platforms, there is something to be learned for everyone! Here are some ways you can boost your business on social media:

Engage in Comments Timely

Simply put, you want engagement! Facebook and Instagram use this as a primary factor when determining what to display. Posts that have more comments are displayed more prominently within feeds and pages.  Also note that the faster you respond, the more likely others will too, which can spark a conversation and increase engagement. Some companies employ a social media monitor whose primary focus is to react timely to comments.

Measure On-Platform and On-Site Success

Google Analytics is an excellent tool to see if your social media strategy is measuring up. It tracks follower growth, engagement, distribution, and on-site performance. Analytics also measures on-site behavior, so you can see the average time a user spends on your website.

Improve Search Engine Ranking

Good news- social media can improve your search engine ranking! When your social media share rate increases, your domain authority increases! This leads to an improved search engine ranking. Hence, more visits to your socials will also increase your social media page ranking, improving your chances of being one of the top ranked pages.

Drive Traffic

Relying on only your network to drive traffic is completely nonsensical! Social media expands your brand reach and generates traffic organically. If you don’t have a profile yet, create one and use it to share customized content. You want to make sure your audience can seamlessly share your content!

Conclusion

Using social media to boost your business is as important, if not more important, than other business-boosting tasks. Front Porch has provided these tips as a way for you to dive deeper into your social strategy. We want to see you succeed with your socials!

Digital marketing continues to win this marketing season as digital marketing spending continues to rise. This is not new. In 2016, eMarketer.com projected digital spend would exceed television by as much as 36% by 2020. 

According to WebStrategies, the following are earning their spots on marketing budget rosters:

• Email marketing – Email marketing continues to be the best player to generate ROI.
• Social media marketing – A solid first-round pick. In that category, Facebook continues to hold the top spot and Instagram comes in 2nd.
• Search and display marketing – Search and display marketing still earns the largest share of digital marketing budgets. In 2018, 78% of those surveyed indicated a plan to increase their Google Ads budget. Online display (banner ads, online video, etc.) takes the second share.
• Live events – This is another competitor making a comeback. Two thirds of marketers plan to increase spending on live events in 2019. This is not a surprise as the digital world faces fierce competition and privacy challenges.
• Video Marketing – The MVP for growth in digital marketing budgets goes to online video. Investment in this category is expected to more than double 2016 numbers by 2021.

With the rise of Facebook Live, live events and video are teaming up (think megachurches with pastors appearing on screens, political candidates announcing intentions via live video and the use of video as part of the in-home sales trend in the beauty and cosmetic categories).

Regardless of your industry, here are 4 tips for video marketing:

1. Mind your audience. Take care to advertise to your target, not yourself.
2. Don’t complain just for the sake of complaining. You can sell your brand without negativity.
3. Keep it short and simple. The clock starts running as soon as your audience clicks on your link. Don’t fumble around. Have a solid plan and stick to it.
4. Be clear in your play-calling. You are the quarterback for your brand. Run or pass, assist your audience by clearly telling them what you want them to do and how they can do it.

To score with any marketing campaign begin with the end in mind to increase your opportunity for success. There are still significant advantages to veteran players such as traditional media (now referred to as “offline”) in terms of building awareness, extending reach and driving your brand message.

It is important to find the right balance between online vs. offline spending. That ratio will vary from brand to brand. Let us be your marketing coach and manager. We can help you find that balance and manage that content.

Today, social media is a huge part of people’s daily lives. It is used as a way to communicate, keep up with family and friends, see what’s happening around the world and network virtually with business connections that we may not have the opportunity to meet in person.

Social media is such a major component of people’s personal lives. It should be a sure sign for small businesses that a social media presence is an absolute must to build and grow. It is a way for businesses to interact directly with current customers. It is also a way to reach potential customers.

These days, consumers and clients want to engage with businesses through social media and expect businesses to be present on multiple networks. The key to using it successfully is choosing the right networks and consistently updating content. With all the platforms that exist today, the big question for small businesses is, “Which networks are right for my business?”

At Front Porch Marketing, we are big proponents of social media. It is the foundation of almost every marketing plan we create.

Some of our favorite social media networks on the Porch:

• Instagram – for sharing visual content
• LinkedIn – for B2B companies
• Facebook – presents a huge opportunity for consumer engagement
• Twitter – allows businesses to keep on top of what is being said about their industry and stay ahead of the competition

What small businesses have to do is figure out which networks are the right fit for their company based on their target audience. Each reaches a different set of demographics. Once the right networks are defined, it’s critical to share content and interact with customers in a timely and consistent manner. This creates an awesome experience for the customer and any potential customers who may be watching.

If you are looking to establish, expand or evaluate your social media presence, we can help!

We on the Porch are passionate about Branding! We have talked about branding. We have talked about lifestyle branding. Now let’s talk about how photos define your brand.

Simply put, pictures are as integral to your brand as grapes are to wine! They bring your brand to life. Beautiful photography can be used in so many ways! Photos can be used on your website, for sales materials, market/trade shows, third-party training materials and for social media.

Delivering your brand message via social media is imperative. Of the top five social media sites, two of them are 100% visual! You can’t gram or pin without a photo, so what should that visual be? Your visual storyboard is just as important as your branding message.

Considerations:
Studio Shoot or Location Shoot?
Obvious or Subtle?
To Demonstrate or Not to Demonstrate?
Features need highlighting?
Professional or smart phone?
How to Represent the Brand?

Hold up a minute! How to represent the brand? Yes, remember all the branding work you’ve done around brand promise, brand characteristics … these need to be applied to your photography.  A simple three-question quiz to ask when choosing a photo to represent your brand:

1. Does it match your brand personality, characteristics and definition?
2. Does it evoke emotion?
3. Does it illustrate your story?

Should you invest in professional photography? Heck, yes. There is a direct correlation to sales for almost all the brands we represent. Photography matters. It is worth the investment.

Need proof? Here’s our Client L’Amour Des Pied’s showroom floor before and after an investment in photography.

Our world is served to us on screens and those screens can’t give us a 5 sense experience, we must rely on the photo to evoke necessary emotion. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.