Get Social On Your E-commerce Website

What is social media? 
Social media is the means by which one communicates, collaborates, shares with others via technology. It is usually thought of as a personal profiles used to communicate with friends, but it can also be used for many other purposes. One can create professional profiles on LinkedIn or a brand can use this it in a strategic way to gain buzz about their brand and communicate with their customers through many social media mediums.

Why use social media?
Businesses can now use applications to improve their social media web pages. One app can made a Facebook page work as an e-commerce site, where people can purchase items right off of Facebook. Another app lets businesses add promotions, sales materials, and product presentations right to the page. You can create e-newsletter campaigns, give promotions using social media, and allow for customers to communicate with friends while shopping online. It is important that business using social media match their social media campaigns to their overall marketing plan.

This graph represents the shares in which social-generated e-commerce sales has contributed to. The data is from tracking sales that were referred to by a social media site. As you can see, Facebook takes up the largest share. Now I will provide some examples of what social media can do for you.

1. Increase Customers
Your online presence will help you reach people that you would have never been able to reach before. It opens up your audience and the people that you will be able to make an influence on.

2. Decrease Advertising Costs
Compared to traditional media such as TV commercials and print advertisements, social media is a cheap alternative that will generate sales if you use it correctly.

3. Measurable Results
With social media, you are able to see what people are interacting with by seeing what they are clicking on and how many people clicked on it. You are able to see these results quickly, and then adjust to those results so you are able to make a better impact.

4. Generate Content
Your content can consists of special promotions or testimonials from employees or customers. This is increase trust and the raise the value in which people see your brand.

5. Increased InvolvementSocial media allows for communication with customers. You are able to hear about what is working for them, what is not working, hear their complains, and their praises. You can use this information to decrease problems. When people talk about your brand it increases brand buzz and word-of-mouth communication, which is an important factor in generating sales.

6. Narrow Targets
You are able to target your audience by more specific demographics than before with social media. You are able to find these people quickly and get your message out their.





Sources:

http://ecommerce-software-review.toptenreviews.com/5-ways-social-media-will-increase-your-ecommerce-business.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-and-pinterest-in-social-commerce-2013-9

Landing Pages for E-commerce: The Basics

A landing page is a webpage that appears when a search engine optimized ad is clicked on. The landing page will represent the ad, if it does not then you are spending your money on clicks that will not make a sale. Different ads call for different landing pages. This will help generate leads that will sell products. It is not a homepage which rarely changes, but a page that may be on the web for a limited amount of time that the promotion is being offered. Google AdWords is one way that people use search engines to optimize promotional ads to gain traffic and sales. Here is a graphic of the driver process:

This graphic represents the process by which e-commerce businesses need to follow. The driver or drivers lead to specific landing pages, which leads to the homepage, the questionnaires, and the couple that was offered by the driver. You may ask, why the questions? This is the most important part by far. This will give you a database of interested customers by which you can personalize advertisements and promotions.

The design of landing pages needs to be done right. The page need to be designed in a strategic way that connects with the customer. The first thing you need to do is make sure that the ad will be relevant to the customer. You can do this by creating keywords and ad lines that relate best to what you are selling and promoting. This will cause someone to click on your ad and stay on the page. After they click the ad what is going to make them stay?

The headline: Once the ad is clicked on this is the first thing people see. It is your chance to communicate and draw attention to the visitor.
The central promise: This has to do with what you have to offer to your customer. Make this clear to them.
Great Copy: Copy is the text within your ad. The words you choose have to do with whether a person will keep reading or not. The message needs to be clear and concise. Make sure you get to the point so that someone understands what you want them to do.
Call to action: If you do not tell people what to do, they are most likely not to do anything at all.
Images: Use photographs that are compelling and unique. Be creative with with you choose. Do not be like everyone else.
Unique Design: Use a design that people are drawn into. Don't use what thousands of other people are using already.

Here is an example of a landing page designed with a compelling headline, clear promise, an intriguing photo, and a call to action.