There are over 3 billion people today who use social media. That’s almost half of the world’s population at your fingertips!
Social media is accessible to the individual, but getting started as a brand isn’t always straightforward. What platform is the right fit? What kind of content should you post for your audience?
So, to help you, we’ve compiled a list of the 16 best social media steps to grow social. Let’s dive in:
Develop a Strategy for Content
Not planning is the equivalent of planning to fail. To deliver the best posts on social media, you need to develop a game plan for the type of content you’ll be sharing. Here are some of our best recommendations:
1. Research Your Target Audience
Before you even get started with social media, do some research on your audience. No single channel fits everyone: what platforms do your customers use the most? What are their demographics (gender, age, location, etc)?
This tells you where to find your audience. But what kind of content do they consume? Memes? Blogs? Podcasts? Do they love infographics or informal posts?
Answering these questions gives you a solid idea of what type of content will resonate the most with your audience.
2. Take a Look at The Competition
A crucial next step in creating a strategy for content is to take a look at your competition. Go through other brands’ social media pages and get an idea of what content they’re putting out there.
Now, we’re not encouraging you to copy whatever your competition is doing. Instead, try to understand what’s working for them and see how to apply some of the same concepts to your social media.
Suppose you can see that specific posts get good engagement and others do not; learn from what is (or isn’t working) for that brand. Looking beyond competitors, you can find other brands that do social media really well and copy their practices into your space/industry.
3. Create a Posting Schedule
Consistency is critical to growing your follower base. Social media algorithms tend to favor accounts that publish frequently.
The best way to stay consistent is to use a social media calendar that keeps track of your content. Check out platforms like Sprout or Hootsuite.
You must outline which channels you want to use (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc) and how much you plan to post. We recommend that you post 4 – 6 times per week for the best results.
Wow With Photos
It’s not enough to post pictures of your products on social media. You need content that will stop customers and grab their attention.
That’s where optimizing your brand photos comes in. By making your pictures eye-catching and engaging, you’ll spike the customer’s interest and drive traffic to your website.
Here are some of our best tips to make sure your pictures look on point:
4. Include a White Background
A white background on your Instagram pictures is an excellent way to showcase your products. It does a great job of highlighting the colors and details of your products.
5. Use Apps to Style Your Photos
Sometimes, the filters that come with Instagram aren’t enough to style your photos the way you’d like. Thankfully, there are various apps you can use to improve the quality of your photos, such as:
- Snapspeed: The app is one of the best photo editing tools. It gives access to various advanced editing features, such as adjusting the white balance of your photos or the geometry of buildings.
- Canva: Canva is a free tool you can use that gives unlimited freedom in styling your pictures. The platform comes with various templates you can use for social media posts.
- A Color Story: You can use this app to make specific colors pop in your social media pictures. The app comes in 20 different colors designed by professional photographers.
- A Design Kit: This software makes it easy to personalize content by layering stickers, fonts, and designs over your photos.
6. Hire a Professional Photographer
Lastly, If you have the budget, consider hiring a professional photographer for your social media pictures. Not only will it help create a steady flow of posts, but it also makes sure you’re posting the highest quality content possible.
Focus on Branding
To stand out on social media, you want your accounts to reflect the look and feel of your brand. There are various tactics you can use to make your online presence feel unique, which include:
7. Use Hashtags
Don’t underestimate the power of a hashtag—social media posts with hashtags average more engagement than posts lacking them. An excellent tactic to give your social media presence a unique feel is to use branded hashtags. They help followers find content created by you and build a community around your business.
Hashtags are another way for people to find your brand. Use hashtags that are on-brand and resonate with your audience, product, and message. Don’t just add them in to throw a wider net; be specific and purposeful in what you use.
To stand out on social media, you want your accounts to reflect the look and feel of your brand
8. Keep Your Visuals Consistent
To excel at branding on social media, you want to make sure that the visuals on your page are consistent. On Instagram, for example, select a theme you want to use for your page and stick it to it throughout your feed.
It does help to experiment with different types of posts and visuals from time to time. Optimizing your feed over time means you try different things and do what works the best!
9. Find Your Voice and Tone
Lastly, you want to find your brand voice to spice up your social pages with personality. What’s your type of humor? What are your brand’s qualities? Next, think about how you can express these features in your captions.
Messaging is extremely important in marketing and social media especially. Will you talk about products directly? Talk about life? How you speak to your audience will be the key to keeping or losing them.
Offer an Experience to The User
To create epic content for social media, you want to focus on delivering an experience to your followers. This way, they won’t feel like just another prospect and will be encouraged to engage with your brand.
Here are some of our best tips to make your social media more memorable:
10. Share User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content (UGC) consists of any form of content that you create for your customers.
If you have any pictures of customers using your product or testimonials, consider publishing them on your social media pages. Not only does it humanize your brand, but it also allows the customer to share their experience.
11. Organize Contests and Giveaways
Another way to engage your audience on social media is through contests and giveaways. You can also use these to leverage existing customers into bringing new followers to your brand.
You have many options, from simple comment-to-win contests to asking followers to ask users to drop a caption in exchange for a prize.
Promote Your Products
As an e-commerce brand, you don’t want to settle with just engaging content for your audience. You need to also think about how you can promote your products to drive more sales.
12. Include Product Link to Your Pictures
On Instagram, it’s possible to add product links to your images. That way, as customers browse your feed, they can also click on the picture to land on your store and purchase the product that interests them.
13. Add Product Links to Instagram Stories
You can also include product links as part of product links on Instagram. Since its algorithm heavily favors stories, it’s a great way to boost your reach and drive more traffic.
14. Run Targeted Social Media Ads
Another great tactic with an excellent ROI is running ads on social platforms. You can run ads that target anyone who’s liked your page, follows you, has visited your site, or even go after new customers that match your existing base.
You can also structure your ads based on where the customer is in the sales funnel. For example, you can run a retargeting campaign whenever a customer abandons their cart and doesn’t follow through with their purchase.
Build a Relationship With Your Audience
Lastly, long-term success on social media consists of building a relationship with your audience. Here are small things you can do to engage them and form a bond:
15. Respond Fast to Your Audience
Customers want you to respond quickly to their requests on social media. For example, Twitter users expect to receive a brand response within a few hours.
If you cannot address their needs quickly, you risk losing them forever. It’s why you want to make sure to reply fast and get their issues solved quickly.
Most of the platforms have automated responses you can enable. Facebook Messenger, for example, has a host of options for answering common questions.
16. Engage With Your Followers’ Posts and Comments
To build a relationship with customers and show that you care, you can reply to their comments and engage with their content.
Customers love receiving personal messages from their favorite brands. It makes your brand feel more human and encourages a conversation between you and the customer.
Final Thoughts: Best 16 Social Media Practices for E-commerce Brands
There you have it! These tips should give you a roadmap of where to go with social media. It will take a bit of time, but by applying these sixteen tactics consistently, you’ll see your following on social media grow exponentially.
So what are you waiting for? Go out there and take action!
