Just a mere presence on social media stopped working to boost sales a long time ago. 

Around 80% of business executives think it’s essential to invest additional resources in social media marketing. 

It shows that we’ve moved long past the ‘just post and hope’ strategy. 

Now you need a solid presence in which you operate your accounts thoughtfully and measuredly. 

Below are some of the top ways to leverage social media to boost your Direct To Consumer (DTC) sales and revenue. 

Let’s check them out. 

1. Identify the Best Platform for Your Audience 

“Be where your customers are” isn’t a novel marketing strategy. Brands are practising that ever since the possibilities of personalisation. 

Social media is a big word. There are so many platforms, some popular while others not so much. But popularity has very little to do with selecting your presence. Understand that all social media platforms aren’t equal. You already know your target demographic so try to find out on which social media platforms they’re most active. 

For example, LinkedIn works best if you’re targeting a B2B audience while TikTok and Instagram work best if you’re targeting younger professionals in the B2C domain. 

Once you know where you can find your target audience, you’ll be able to interact with them better and create content specifically for their needs and interests. And once you get the awareness right, you can expect an eventual impact on sales. 

2. Work with Social Media Influencers

Influencer marketing isn’t the ‘next big thing’ in social media marketing. It already is the next big thing. The industry reached $16.4B in 2022 from just $1.7 billion in 2016. Through various influencer marketing strategies like account takeovers, paid sponsorships, giveaways, etc, you can witness a spark in your sales. This is simply because the amount of trust people place in influencers is as good as the trust they place in their friends and family. 

Studies show that influencer marketing is known to deliver an ROI as high as 600% in some cases. Some of the top examples of influencer marketing are Charli D’Amelio and Dunkin Donuts, Julie Sariñana, Ela Velden with H&M, Nick Offerman with My tales of Whiskey, etc. 

3. Simply Purchase Process on Social Media

Your social media sales need to be as smooth as your online store sales. A lot of brands even sell directly to consumers on social media through Instagram shops, Facebook shops, and Rich Pins and Buyable Pins on Pinterest. However, if you don’t have a direct shop on Instagram, ensure that you navigate the user to a checkout page or product page which has listed all the shipping and delivery instructions. 

For example, if an international customer is visiting your page from social media, provide them with the information they can really use before making their purchase. These include the shipping charges, the number of days, the tracking number, etc. Choose an air service freight provider that first delivers top-notch shipping services and only then commits to the customers on your social media. 

4. Share User-Generated Content 

Customers need a sense of assurance before making a purchase from a brand they barely know. Since they’re apprehensive, you give them authentic reviews in the form of user-generated content. This strategy brings online buyers closer to the brand by building trust and credibility. 

Encourage your customers to share their photos or videos with your products and go a step further by sharing that content on your profiles too. It is a genuine way to increase loyalty with your existing customers and encourage your other social media followers to try out your products. 

For example, every holiday season, Starbucks launches the #RedCupContest to promote its holiday-themed seasonal beverages. But the catch? Coffee drinkers need to submit shots of coffee for the chance to win a Starbucks gift card. 

5. Create Valuable Content for Users

Social media provides a great opportunity for brands to get a little personal. Considering the essence of the platforms, you also need to be ‘social.’ Develop content that is reflective of that. Publish compelling content but in a manner that is conversational and engaging enough to urge users to make a purchase. 

Be it your captions or your videos, reels or posts, you need to be original, creative, and informational. Leveraging informational content gives context to your product and gives ideas to customers about how to use the same. You can also promote your blog posts, guides, and any other kind of information that has the potential to convert interest into sales. 

6. Create Brand Specific Hashtags

Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are a game of hashtags. They bring attention to your brand and let you get discovered more easily. 

But it can do more than just spread awareness. With unique and sales-oriented hashtags, you can drive engagement, increase your sales, and bring together a community that is interested in a particular product. 

For example, a London-based womenswear brand named Rixo encouraged their followers to tag them and use the hashtag #humansofRixo. They also clubbed user-generated content with hashtags that extended the collaboration of the users with the brand. 

7. Invest in Social Media Advertising 

Apart from your organic efforts, you need to leverage paid marketing when necessary. Merely finding your target audience on social media platforms is not enough. Social media platforms have paid advertising options in terms of ads or content promotion. Utilise them to ensure high visibility among a relevant target audience. 

However, before you do so, have your KPIs and tracking metrics in place. On Instagram, you can advertise through stories and sponsored posts and videos. You can do the same on Facebook and LinkedIn. 

Finishing Thoughts

Building trust is at the heart of social media selling. Right from using user-generated content to even publishing informative posts, it’s all about going the extra mile to engage and entice customers. If you’re doing that while following the above-mentioned strategies, you’re on the right path to enhancing your DTC sales from social platforms and staying ahead of the curve. 

The post How to Leverage Social Media to Boost DTC Sales appeared first on SiteProNews.

However, not every platform is the right fit for your business. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most popular social media sites and explain why each one may or may not be the one that can grow your brand.

Choosing the Right Social Media Platform for Your Business

Content marketing on the right social media platform is one of the most effective and affordable means of growing your business. Conversely, if you choose the wrong social media platform, you stand to waste valuable time or even damage your brand. First, consider your target audience. Think about the people you want to reach with your content and where they spend their time online — are they spending most of their time on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn?

Next, consider how much time and money you have available. Each social media site offers different levels of access, from Facebook’s free accounts, allowing basic posting privileges, all the way up to LinkedIn’s premium plans providing additional features and benefits. If budget constraints are an issue, consider getting started with one free account. You can always invest resources into a more expensive site later.

Some of the Best Social Media Platforms for Growing a Business in 2023

Facebook

Facebook is the world’s largest social media platform, boasting 2.96 billion monthly active users at the end of 2022’s third quarter. If you want to reach a massive audience and capitalize on the benefits of social media advertising, Facebook is an excellent choice. In fact, anytime a business owner comes to me and wants more leads and sales, I almost always start them on Facebook. It provides a wide range of features that make it easy for you to engage with customers and build your brand. You have access to a variety of targeting options for reaching different audiences, a newsfeed to alert followers to what you’re doing, and the ability to host live video events or create custom ads leading to your website.

Instagram

Instagram is another tool that can grow your business. It is primarily a visual platform, allowing you to share photos and videos of the products, services, or events that you offer, and boasts an audience of over 2 billion active monthly users who will see that content if you post it in an appealing way.

Given these numbers, Instagram is ideal for building brand awareness and generating leads since it allows businesses to showcase their products in an artistic way and generate attention with catchy hashtags. Because users engage with each other through comments or likes on posts, it’s also a great place to build a community around your business, generate customer reviews, and sell products.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an excellent platform for B2B businesses that want to find leads, boost sales, increase brand awareness, and network professionally. This social platform has 875 million users worldwide and 310 million monthly active users. The platform allows users to create profiles and connections based on their specific industry role or level of expertise. To get started on LinkedIn, ensure your company page is filled with relevant information about what you do and why people should hire your services or buy from you. The more complete your profile, the better your chance to grow your business.

YouTube

YouTube ranks as the world’s largest video-sharing platform and second-largest social media platform. It has over2.6 billion users and over 122 million active users each day as of 2022’s third quarter. YouTube also makes up a huge part of Google’s revenue, making it an important platform for any business that wants to reach people globally.

The key to growing your business on YouTube is generating creative content that engages viewers. The more engaging your content is, the more likely people will watch it and share it with their friends.

Some of the worst social media platforms for growing a business in 2023

Twitter

Twitter is a popular social media platform that provides an opportunity for businesses to connect with customers on a non-business level. This can be useful in strengthening relationships, although Twitter doesn’t offer the same level of personalization that social media platforms like Facebook do. 

Twitter may help you get your business’s name out there, but it’s not a good platform for growing your business. The platform has so many users that it can be hard to get noticed if you aren’t already well-known. It’s essential to understand how Twitter can be used in combination with other platforms rather than trying to use it alone.

Snapchat

Snapchat is not an ideal platform for business growth. Each month, the platform’s Spotlight feature sees125 million active users, and its Snap Map feature sees 250 million. In terms of social media reach, that is a small user base. In addition, Snapchat primarily appeals to younger users. As of July 2022, users aged 13 to 17 made up 20.5% of Snapchat’s total audience, and users18 to 24 accounted for 39.1%. Given these demographics, Snapchat may not be the best place to advertise if you’re trying to reach older audiences.

TikTok

TikTok is a video-sharing app that allows users to create short videos for followers. The platform boasts 1 billion active monthly users, making it less popular than Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. In addition, the majority of people viewing a post on TikTok will only watch the first 15 seconds before scrolling away. Before your business puts a lot of time and resources into video creation for this platform, be sure it is worth your investment. 

Each social media platform comes with its own audience and its own set of pros and cons. The goal of using any medium is to reach new customers and grow your audience through content marketing. No one social media platform is best or worst for everyone, but some will be better suited for your business needs than others. It all depends on your audience, the time you can invest in social media management, and your business goals for the marketing content. Investigate each platform and make an informed decision about which ones work best for you.

The post Best and Worst Social Media Platforms for Growing a Business appeared first on SiteProNews.

Infographic courtesy of Spiralytics

The post Why Micro-influencers are Better: 11 Statistics to Consider appeared first on SiteProNews.

A recent study revealed that kids aged 8 to 11 would rather become YouTube stars than astronauts. If you’re surprised about this, you’re not alone. Join me in deciphering why the creator economy is so seductive and how to leverage it.

Creators – Who Are They and What Do They Do?

Finding a perfect definition of creators is a tall ask. Some think that a creator is anyone who makes money online by creating a follower base and then leveraging it to sell digital or traditional products, sponsorships, merchandise, or get brand deals.

By this definition, creators = influencers. I disagree.

You may remember a previous article of mine here on SiteProNews where I postulated that influencers are entertainers. Today, the term “influencer” is a bit derogatory, usually referring to content that has zero substance and relies on glam.

You know what I’m talking about: the devoid-of-meaning captions you see on Instagram slapped on heavily-edited photos, typically of conventionally-attractive people.

Influencers are a sub-genre in the creator economy.

The new breed of creators appeal to a more sophisticated audience. Their followers aren’t usually looking for inspirational or aspirational quotes. They are there to learn a skill, a craft, or to consume above-average content. They want to build a business first and foremost, not a cult following.

The power of example comes in handy here: Charli D’Amelio is an influencer. Rand Fishkin is a creator.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a look at what fuels the creator economy.

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Why Does the Creator Economy Keep Growing Exponentially?

This is the question I wanted to answer when I first set out to analyze this industry: why is everyone attracted to it, from children to big corporations and venture capital funds?

The answer is pretty simple: personal brands are gaining more traction than faceless corporate brands because people look for human-to-human interactions. Big corporations (and the companies who strive to earn that name) are often seen as enemies: they pollute, they overwork their employees, the avoid paying their taxes, and so on.

Human-first brands seem more trustworthy, which prompts them to gain more traction – fast! Of course, when a creator becomes extremely famous, they have to deal with hate. They are the corporations of the creator economy now. Still, the scrutiny isn’t even comparable with what traditional corporations get.

There’s a second reason why the creator economy keeps growing at an incredible pace: it has a lot of support from a lot of other industries.

Let me reveal a secret about how I differentiate between trends and fads: when in doubt, follow the money.

VCs are already taking the creator economy seriously, pouring millions in solutions that support their work. And it’s not just them.

A lot of existing companies have amended their products and added new features to support creators: from easy online payments on Stripe to full-stack solutions for marketing, selling, and emailing your followers like ConvertKit, you can get started for free and without writing a single line of code. At most, you’ll pay a commission out of your sales, as it happens with Stripe and ConvertKit.

Low Entry Barriers, Towering Growth Barriers

The low entry barriers like being able to get started completely free make the creator economy even more attractive. And that’s perfectly understandable: who wouldn’t want to ditch a monotonous job and build their own products – plus a massive fan base?

However, with low entry barriers come very high growth barriers.

Only 10% of creators make more than $10,000 per year. Very few of them make a livable wage, which is why a lot of them still hold on to their day jobs.

As the creator economy expands, I expect the competition to get even tougher. This is why I recommend you spend at least three months testing your idea before you quit your job or your lucrative business to sell digital products.

You can spend the first month in the ConvertKit Grow Your Audience Challenge – it’s completely free to join and it will take you through all the steps you need to start building an audience online and to vet your idea.

My top recommendation for anyone looking to join the creator economy is to take a close look at their skills and at their marketing prowess. Is there something that you could be talking about for 30 minutes with no advance notice?

If so, you’ve found your niche, congratulations! Don’t worry if it seems too small or too esoteric. There are people making six figures a year selling crocheting courses.

The next step is to find the right approach: should you be selling courses, eBooks, digital downloads, community access, or all of these things? I advise you to start with one and then expand.

How to Leverage the Creator Economy

If you’re a company looking to partner with a creator to increase visibility, you can offer them a deal for direct advertising (following the influencer model), you can sponsor their newsletter, or you can partner with them on pretty much any type of campaign you can think of.

Not sure how to choose the right creator? I recommend you look beyond their numbers: sure, large audiences mean more people will see your brand. But this is useless if there is no real fit between your brand and that of the creator.

The first thing to look for is an audience overlap: does the creator’s buyer persona match your own?

Secondly, look for engaged communities. How often do their followers engage with the creator’s post? Do they get meaningful comments? Can they spark real conversations?

Lastly, look for trust signals: how successful are the creators in selling their own products? If they have a 1% email conversion rate that’s stellar – but expect yours to be much lower in case you decide to sponsor them. Trust transfers are never 100%.

Wrapping Things Up

The current beauty of the creator economy is that it’s open to anyone. But make no mistake: it’s just as hard to “make it” there as it is to climb the corporate ladder, especially if you have no connections to fuel your growth.

However you feel about creators, it’s important to know they are here to stay. Some of them will morph into behemoths, while others will enjoy catering to a niche audience – just as it happens with any kind of business.

The post The Creator Economy – What Fuels It and How to Leverage It appeared first on SiteProNews.

With the current cost-of-living crisis, interest rates increasing, and inflation, home buyers will be even more reluctant to make such a substantiation purchase or rent a new property next year.

With this in mind, and following a 70% increase in interest in ‘benefits of social media marketing’ in the last 12 months according to Google Trends, digital marketing specialist Wild PR provides insight into why a social media strategy should be a top priority for estate agents in 2023.

1. Target First-time Buyers with TikTok

TikTok has gained huge popularity over the last few years with a highly-targeted For You Page which shows videos up to 10 minutes long and matches a user’s individual likes and dislikes based on previous engagement on the app. 

With a predominantly young audience, Tiktok is a great place to market to first-time buyers. By researching popular trends and audio, estate agents can share advice and insight on how to get onto the property ladder, what to look out for and more. The platform can also be used to highlight key properties, provide an online viewing, or for any fun behind-the-scenes content.

Tiktok is also becoming a powerful search engine, with users turning to the app to answer their questions. Recently, a Google exec disclosed that their research shows almost 40% of young users used TikTok or Instagram to look for a place for lunch instead of Google Maps. With this in mind, estate agents should implement TikTok as a tool in their social strategy, sharing informational content surrounding commonly asked questions by those looking to get on the property ladder. 

2. Use Instagram Reels to Improve Reach and Engagement

As nine in 10 Instagram users watch Instagram reels, estate agents not using the tool are missing out on a trick.  Reels are currently favoured by the Instagram algorithm, which is more likely to recommend them to people who don’t follow you than feed posts. They even have their dedicated feed and are heavily featured in the Explore tab.

Allowing videos to be up to 90 seconds long, estate agents can showcase the various stand-out elements of a home and provide a walk-through of an entire property. Reels can also display user-generated content, such as customers receiving the keys, a couple’s first night in their new home, and much more!

3. Create Enticing Instagram Highlights

Instagram highlights, a cluster of archived stories that appear at the very top of your profile, are a handy tool to make a better first impression, organise your content and have a more professional look. These appear right after your Bio and can quickly explain what your page is about.

Estate agents can use Instagram as an extension of their website, and highlights can be used to segment the different types of services and properties on offer, for example, detached and semi-detached homes, to make it easier for users to navigate through your profile. Each highlight can include a unique link to a property or service page, increasing the potential click-through rate. 

4. Host Live House Viewings on Facebook Live

Estate agents can use Facebook Live videos, which average 64 billion views per day, to run virtual property viewings alongside their in-person viewings to maximise their audience.

Your Facebook audience can join in the house viewing from a phone or laptop, making it easier for estate agents to reach their target audience. Facebook Live videos also have a real-time chat function, allowing you to answer any questions about the property as you move through it, increasing the chances of people moving through the sales funnel. 

Estate agents with offices across the UK should consider creating different accounts for each region to target their Facebook Live videos better. Multiple accounts offer a significant advantage compared to mass marketing content from one singular Facebook page, increasing engagement and clicks to the website. 

5. Use Your LinkedIn Profile to Build Credibility

LinkedIn shouldn’t be left behind in estate agents’ social media strategy; with 830 million members from over 58 million registered companies, LinkedIn is the home of professional social media users.

LinkedIn has a wide variety of business details that can be added to your page or your employee’s page, such as accreditations, years of experience and the price range of homes you specialise in. Your LinkedIn profile can also form part of your social media marketing strategy. Potential customers may be more likely to reach out for your expertise after discovering more professional details about the company. 

If your agency also offers commercial properties, you can use the platform to target business owners with commercial listings. As Linkedin allows you to set up Showcase Pages, you can set up a commercial Showcase page as well as regional pages to target new regions. Showcase Pages have built-in analytics, just like Linkedin company profiles, to help evaluate the success of posts and engagement and to monitor audiences.

Kayleigh Morgan, Account Manager at Wild PR, comments, “Social media is an effective way to reach new audiences, build trust and authority and also to show your brand personality, which is crucial when high-stake purchases and consumer confidence is involved.

“Technology, customer needs, consumer perceptions and competition are constantly changing. This means social platforms are constantly evolving, as are how people use them. As we move into 2023, estate agents must adopt a social media strategy and keep up to date with the latest changes so they can adapt accordingly.” 

The post Five Key Ways That Estate Agents Should Be Using Social Media in 2023 appeared first on SiteProNews.

Social media is where many of us get our news, find the latest trends, shop, and — of course — consume much of our entertainment. And over the past decade, we’ve rapidly seen celebrities on social media go from being influencers to influencers now being considered celebrities. 

The global influencer/thought leader marketing industry has more than doubled since just two years ago. By the end of 2021, just under $14 billion was being thrown at influencers who, in return for payment, would sponsor and promote a particular product or service. Influencers have become so influential, in fact, that they now have their own dedicated talent agency: Orland-based Izea. Last year, Izea’s revenues grew by two-thirds, and, even with other segments of the economy slowing down, the company is on track to post healthy growth in 2022.

Izea’s founders realized early on that brands would need influencers more than influencers would need brands. Now, the big debate is not if you market on socials, but who you market with — specifically, whether to go macro or micro. Macro-influencers are defined as accounts which have over 100,000 followers (or over 1 million for celebrities); micro-influencers, on the other hand, are most likely to have accumulated roughly 1,000-5,000 followers.

There is one major caveat, however. Influencer marketing isn’t just about the numbers. In fact, successfully marketing your brand with influencers is much more about their engagement rates with followers than sheer audience size.

Find Your Niche

According to ratings giant Nielsen, more than 9 in 10 consumers trust earned media or influencer/thought leader marketing more than traditional, paid advertising. But not all influencers are created equal, and brand managers will need to do some homework in order to find the right influencer match and score the best results.

While getting a shout-out from a major account or celebrity can make the kind of splash that creates ripples for days, using micro-influencers is actually a more effective way to target a specific audience. Like niche brands, micro-influencers have cultivated a loyal core of fans. Their followers are already interested in a specific industry, skill set or even a cause. 

For example, fitness is one of the most popular niches on social media. When gyms were closed during Covid, thousands of personal trainers took their regimens online, attracting millions of virtual clients as a result. Though some have gained followings in the tens of thousands (or more), most are micro. Still, those followers are likely to engage with a personal trainer’s routines on a regular basis. They are also much more likely to use sponsored products — protein bars or powders, for example — in order to get the results they see on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok.

Authenticity Matters

For decades, big corporations paid television networks large sums to create a veneer of authenticity, often to no avail. That big box store is just never going to feel as personal as the boutique on Main Street, nor will a restaurant chain with thousands of location feel as authentic as the family-run, hole-in-the-wall diner. 

The same principle applies on social media. Micro-influencers are more engaged and connected with their followers because they have more time to foster and maintain relationships with them. They don’t have to mimic intimacy, they create it simply by being responsive to comments and direct messages. In addition, people are far more likely to believe that a non-celebrity actually uses the product or service promoted rather than assume it’s just about a big paycheck. In essence, authenticity has become the great leveler among micro-influencers.

Stretch Your Budget

As a further benefit for brand managers seeking to create partnerships, micro-influencers cost far less than their macro counterparts because rates are typically calculated by number of followers; the higher the number, the higher the rates. But savvy marketers and brand managers will pay more attention to user engagement to get an even better deal. 

An important question to ask is: “How responsive is the influencers’ audience?” Thankfully, it’s easily answered by scrolling posts for metrics, such as the number of likes and comments per post a micro-influencer receives. 

Better yet, by eschewing high macro-influencer rates, brand managers will free up their budget to work with these influencers in greater quantities. This is extremely important because it allows them to shop around until they find the right influencer whose followers are especially responsive to their brand’s value offering.

Despite all of the algorithms and formulas, trial and error is still the lifeblood of marketing. By going micro, you’ll leave money on the table for making your ad campaign as effective as possible.

The post Working with Micro-Influencers to Go Viral appeared first on SiteProNews.

Effective social media content is critical for customer engagement and business growth. Failing to create a strong schedule for releasing this content can cost businesses thousands. Below, I share the best practices I’ve learned throughout my career.

Why Content Schedules are Mandatory

Having a content plan and schedule is the heart of a business’s entire social media strategy. While most business leaders understand the need to develop content, some don’t understand why it’s necessary to develop a content schedule.

Creating and adhering to a strong content schedule will set your business on the right path to achieving your goals. Neglecting to do so can cost you a lot of time and effort. If you don’t know when the right days of the week and times are for releasing content, then it doesn’t matter how brilliant or funny your posts may be. They risk going out when the platform’s users are lower, and fewer eyeballs translate directly into fewer views.

At the end of the day, marketers want views because we want sales, and poor planning can also lead to wasted opportunities from this angle. Failing to engage potential customers through social media at the right times means losing them and their orders.

Timing Is Everything

Understanding the best times to release content is necessary before creating a content schedule. When first starting any social media account, conduct a study to see which time windows will work best. To do this, track your engagement during different time slots and days of the week for at least the first three months. Afterwards, conduct an extensive analysis of the results and generate insights.

As a result of following this process, our social media team came to the conclusion that our most effective content schedule for TikTok is every Thursday and weekends, 7 PM and up Philippine time. Once we knew when to deploy our content, it became easy to set up a schedule to grow our presence organically.

In my experience, it’s best to plan and decide what content to release each day of a given quarter during the previous quarter. For instance, my team determined what content will go out in January 2023 starting in October 2022, when we brainstormed ideas, picked topics, and set Q1’s social-media calendar. We finalized our scripts and mockups for the content in November and produced the actual posts and videos in December.

Doing this ensures ample time to produce all the necessary content to complete your calendar. It also enables your team to focus on other important tasks, such as community management, paid ads execution, and live sessions.

Continuous Improvement

I recommend conducting multiple studies so that you can compare results for different kinds of content. One productive direction is to spend three months tracking the numbers for unpaid, organic campaigns, followed by at least one month paying to boost posts or distribute ads. It’s also productive to set up studies that measure the effectiveness of different topics and styles of posts, or different audiences that were targeted for ads.

Each run will yield different results that can then be applied to the next run. Over time, you will refine your understanding of what works best for your business. Even if you get a good result on your previous campaign, I advise continuing your research efforts because social media constantly evolves. What worked previously may only work sometimes the next time.

Consider generating two different kinds of reports on the results. A seven-day report of the past week will give you fast insights into which content is getting the most traction and has more potential to go viral. Results after 30 days will supply overall insights on which content and schedules performed well over the previous month.

How to Decide What Order to Release Content

Categorizing your content can help you determine the order to release it in.

“Always on” content is content that has proven its effectiveness and will work no matter what day your team releases it. Once published, it’s 100 percent sure to be well received by your audience. I like to release “always on” content in a steady stream to keep our metrics robust, no matter what other experiments we might be doing.

“Filler content” is made up of experimental posts that should only be incorporated periodically into your feed. These are opportunities to try new things. Since their effectiveness is unknown, however, they should be buffered by plenty of dependable content on either side.

“Seasonal content” is mostly about celebrations and holidays. Company anniversaries and meaningful birthdays would also fall into this category. This content must be yoked to specific dates, so when building your calendar, schedule it first. Once that is done, add the other kinds of content around it.

The one type of content that can’t be planned is “Urgent/ASAP.” These posts ride on trending content locally or worldwide. Since they tend to be highly time-sensitive, try to release them as soon as possible — typically within the following 24 hours.

These kinds of posts can also happen when your company hits a significant milestone, but no one thought to prepare content for it. When that happens, prioritize getting the new post out immediately and move the other scheduled content accordingly.

The Smartest Investment

In my experience, many business owners don’t have the time to learn the nitty gritty of creating content schedules and social-media campaigns. The smartest investment they can make for their business is to hire an expert to handle those responsibilities.

Without a doubt, social-media marketing that follows a tried-and-true schedule can help leverage your business.

The post Creating Strong Content Schedules for Social Media Marketers appeared first on SiteProNews.

Having realized the importance of a website, you decide to go ahead and create a website for your business. What next? Is it enough to just create a website and do nothing after that? Will creating a website alone ensure success for your business? The answer, of course, is “No”. You need web traffic. You need to ensure that people visit your website in order to grow your audience and market share.

Online traffic can come from different sources; however, for most sites, the largest source of traffic comes from organic search. Getting organic traffic can be difficult, which is why so many businesses use search engine optimization (SEO) to gain organic visitors.

There is no doubt that SEO is a very effective method to drive traffic; however, a downside is that it could take a very long time to achieve a high ranking for your targeted keywords. So, if you are in a competitive niche and want your website to rank on the first page of Google, it could take months or even years.

You don’t need to get disheartened, as there are other non-SEO-related methods to bring more traffic to your website, thereby building your audience for your business.

However, let us be clear here: Having an SEO-friendly website is never a bad idea. This blog is not an endorsement of neglecting SEO entirely; instead, think of these tips as ways to drive traffic while your SEO takes time to kick in.

How to Increase Your Website Traffic Without SEO

There are various methods that will help you drive traffic to your website without relying on SEO-driven organic clicks. Here are some of them:

Social Media Marketing

• Social media marketing has the potential to bring more traffic to your website, raise brand awareness, and ultimately connect your target audience with your website.
• Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have more than a billion monthly active users. This means your website could be seen by a large number of people.
• Each social media platform has its own set of unique features, so you should plan and carefully choose the right platform to execute your social media campaign effectively.
• Treat your social media campaigns differently depending on your industry. If you’re a software company, for instance, focus on providing details about your offerings and the benefits they provide. On the other hand, if you sell dresses, make sure to include pictures of the clothes you’re selling, since people will want to see them first! Here, you are looking to capture traffic by sharing images, so Instagram should be your go-to option. By contrast, the first business might see better luck on Twitter or Facebook.

• LinkedIn is ideal for those who are looking to collaborate with other businesses and Twitter is ideal for those whose business requires them to share updates quickly on a regular basis.
• Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, and LinkedIn are some of the most popular and widely used social media marketing channels.

Email Marketing

• Email marketing is a tried and tested method that can both drive traffic to your website and increase repeat visits from quality leads. An effective email marketing strategy can help you connect with your target audience in a personalized way, regardless of which age group you’re targeting or where they are located.
• It is true that email marketing is a very powerful tool to generate traffic; however, there are certain rules you need to follow to maintain good ethical conduct.
• The first basic rule is to seek permission from users before sending them emails – have them “opt in” rather than purchasing external email lists. This can be done through a call to action button on your website.
• You should clearly explain why you are asking for their email address and what they will get by signing up. You can give them access to certain offers or articles that they might find useful.
• Once they have signed up, you can start sending them emails; however, you should make sure that you do not send more emails than what was promised. If you had told them that you will be sending only one email every week, you should stick to that.
• If you want users to open your emails, you should offer value in every email that you send. If you have launched a new product or service, you can promote it in your email and include a link to your promotion so that users can easily locate that on your website.

Content Marketing

“Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue” – Andrew Davis, Author.

• You can build a strong relationship with your audience if you deliver high-quality content. High-quality content means the information that you provide should appeal to your audience and should be impressive enough to get them to visit your website again and again.
• Content marketing may not be an ideal option if you are looking for quick results; it’s like SEO in this way. However, it is a great strategy to drive more traffic to your business in the long run.
• PDFs, audio files, infographics, case studies, books and ebooks, and so on are some examples of content marketing. While each one is effective in its own way, infographics are preferred by many for two reasons. Firstly, showing statistics, charts, and graphics to support your data and numbers increases the trust factor among your audience. Secondly, many readers prefer visual content, as the human brain tends to process visuals better than text.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)

• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is an effective strategy to display your content in front of an audience whenever they search for keywords online.
• PPC requires you to spend money on ads, unlike SEO; however, it can be an ideal strategy for those who want to gain more exposure for their brand in a short period of time.
• Many users click on a site only if they know what the site is about. PPC allows you to utilize ad extensions on your ads while advertising on Google. Ad extensions help users gain a better understanding of your site, thereby making your ad stand out.
• Another benefit of using PPC is that it is measurable and trackable with the help of things like the Google Ads tool combined with Google analytics. You can see how your campaign is performing including impressions, clicks, and conversions.

Display Advertising

• Display advertising is not the same as PPC, which displays ads based on a keyword search in Google. Display advertising is a mode of online advertising where marketers advertise their products or services in the form of banners, images, and videos on relevant third-party websites based on users’ search behavior or the keywords that they have used in the past
• Site placement advertising, contextual advertising, and remarketing are the three basic types of display ads.
• Display ads can be a boon for those who are looking for quick results, as they can trigger conversions at a faster rate for the brands being advertised.

Other Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website Without SEO

Here are some other methods that you can use to increase your website traffic without relying much on SEO.

• Promotional giveaways
• Guest blogging
• Influencer marketing
• Pinterest marketing
• Referral marketing
• Inbound marketing
• Affiliate marketing
• Video marketing

Final Thoughts

Now that you know there are several methods to increase website traffic without using SEO, you can plan and utilize them and also mix these strategies to attract more users to your site, thereby increasing awareness of your brand online.

Remember, SEO increases website traffic and ensures your website gets higher search rankings in the long run. Therefore, you should make sure that you actively work on it with your website, even if you are utilizing other non-SEO strategies.

The post How to Increase Your Website Traffic Without SEO appeared first on SiteProNews.

If you’re looking to boost your online following, the first step is to find a niche you can create intriguing content for. Once you have that niche, grow your following by posting regularly, engaging with your followers, and networking with fellow creators.

Finding Your Niche

If your goal is to grow an online audience, focus your content around a specific topic. In other words, find your niche and own it. Where can you offer expertise? What do you talk about effortlessly? What topics do you enjoy researching? Where do your passions naturally turn? As you answer these questions, ideas for niche topics should become fairly obvious.

As you accumulate niche content, you’ll begin to attract followers as an authority — and, hopefully, the best source of information — on the topic. For example, as a dental hygienist, I noticed an overwhelming lack of information on oral hygiene and decided to focus my social media content there. My content in this niche rapidly gained a large following. Pursue your passion, and people with an interest will follow.

Engaging Followers and Networking with Creators in Your Niche

Increasing your audience starts with engaging followers. Think of building an online audience like building a relationship. Your task is to create a back-and-forth conversation. Your content may be fascinating, but if you don’t offer people the chance to talk, they won’t stay long.

Entice your followers to share their thoughts, and when they respond with DMs and comments, answer them. When viewers see an active conversation, they’re more likely to join in on it.

Get to know other creators who post content in your niche. These people are not your competitors — they are your friends. Collaborating with them boosts your authority and excites your viewers. Making guest appearances on other channels and hosting experts on yours provides access to new audiences interested in your content.

Start networking with these creators by following their channels, liking their videos, and commenting on their posts. If you notice someone posting great content, share it and give them credit. When they reciprocate, build a relationship and make plans to collaborate. This positive atmosphere goes a long way toward attracting followers on social media platforms.

Posting Engaging Content

Posting niche information is not enough; your content has to be engaging enough to hook followers and keep them coming for more. Be an expert on your audience as well as your niche. For example, when I post to TikTok, I know I’m likely to reach followers between the ages of 16 and 24. I also know this audience is best targeted through a combination of humor and education.

I started by posting primarily comedic content in my niche. When I won a loyal audience, I began introducing more educational content by answering questions from followers and offering tips on dental hygiene.

Posting Consistent and Regular Content

If you hope to grow your following, posting consistently is essential. Regular posts enable your content to rank higher in search engine results. Search engines index fresh content in your social media posts and display them when people search for those same keywords on search engines such as Google or Bing.

Posting regularly allows you to know your followers better. The more often you post, the easier it is to see which posts engage followers and which fall flat. You can establish patterns between the posts that attract new followers and higher views.

Designing content on a regular basis requires commitment. Success on certain social media platforms — such as Instagram or Pinterest — means posting multiple times a day. On TikTok, where I generate content, brands post an average of 1.8 videos per week, and the top 25% of active brands post content five times a week or more. Research finds a correlation between the frequency of your posts and the size of your audience. Accounts with 1,000-5,000 followers publish around one weekly video, while accounts with over 1 million followers post three or more.

When it comes to content, my advice is quality over quantity. However, quantity cannot be ignored. When you have chosen a platform, research how often the popular creators in your niche post, set a schedule for yourself, and stick to it.

Content batching is a technique that saves time, maintains consistency across your posts, and enables you to post regularly. Instead of planning your daily topic, shooting footage, creating graphics, editing, posting the content to your channel, then starting all over again the next morning, batching involves producing a week’s-worth of content at once.

Preparing a week’s worth of content at once may seem time-consuming, but it spares hours in the long run. When you engage in one task, rather than bouncing from one to another, you focus your energy and accomplish far more.

Remember, building your online audience takes commitment and dedication. Discover your niche, then post engaging and regular content. You’re in it for the long haul, so dig in, do what it takes, and don’t be discouraged.

The post How to Grow an Online Following appeared first on SiteProNews.

What an incredible number it is, isn’t it?

Highly qualified marketers know:

Time does not stand still. All of us have to continue to further educate ourselves on the latest influencer marketing trends to stay up to date. Otherwise, your knowledge will become obsolete and you fail to increase your competitiveness.

The consequence is that you lose valuable business opportunities and clients.

This article will focus on likely influencer marketing trends for 2023 which you need to keep on your radar. Then, increasing sales will be a walk in the park for you.

1. Analytics Will Play a Much Larger Role

Most brands have started paying more attention to influencer analytics. In the end, the priority is on results. These matter the most to marketing executives. However, most brands neglected the analytical component in the past.

Without analytics, you cannot improve your future campaign results. Engagement rates, average sales, and total revenue generated per influencer are crucial to evaluate campaigns and their effectiveness.

Otherwise, you cannot respond to questions such as:

• Which niche do the most successful influencers belong to?
• Does follower size affect campaign results? Do larger or smaller influencers perform better?
• What type of cooperation is best suited to our marketing goals?
• Are there different results depending on the social media platform?

You need to quantify your information to compare influencers’ results. This is not achievable without carefully analyzing which influencer collaborations work.

Brands have recognized how crucial the analytical process is to succeed with influencer campaigns. Hence, in 2023 analytics will become a whole new ball game in influencer marketing.

2. The Beginning of Pure Professionalization

Amateurs were looked at fondly in the beginning of influencer marketing. The whole business was something new and fascinating. Nowadays, companies expect a certain standard when working with influencers.

Excessive prices, unfriendly communication, and influencer fraud will put you on the blacklist and not on the company’s radar.

Ensure that you forge win-win professional relationships. This includes having a media kit ready, sending all the required information, and dealing respectfully with prospective business partners.

3. Influencer Marketing Must Gross All of Its Costs

The time is over when brands could just realize influencer campaigns without having to primarily focus on achieving sales. Influencer marketing has lefts its infancy behind. It is no longer just a PR matter. Brands are focused on the whole media package, including ROI, branding, and reach.

Results matter. Especially now, brands cannot pour money down the drain. Employees must justify expenses in front of their bosses.

Better ensure your influencers deliver the results you promised. Otherwise, a future collaboration will disappear into nirvana.

The all-defining question is:

Does the influencer collaboration fulfill the planned ROI goals?

If this is not the case, you will get in trouble with your boss.

4. Your Professional Network Become Even More Important

Mega influencers are flooded with dozens, even hundreds of collaboration requests. They do not have the time to answer all of them. Either a hired employee replies to your inquiry or you get no answer at all.

In the rarest cases, they reply themselves. Having the right contacts will become even more decisive in 2023. Only then, you can realize high-quality campaigns to reach the pinnacle of influencer marketing success.

Let’s say you are an employee of a major player such as a reputable influencer marketing agency. You probably have to cooperate with other agencies as well.

You will never cover all niches and subjects. Therefore, you have to build yourself a network that will be profitable for both sides long term. Thus, professional relationships are absolutely crucial to persist in the influencer marketing industry for the long haul.

5. Scaling Influencer Marketing Campaigns

Brand managers are not satisfied with realizing one monthly influencer campaign. Many marketers plan to realize campaigns at scale. Dozens if not hundreds of campaigns are their goal. To realize such a number of campaigns, you need to carefully consider how to proceed.

Brands have to think about how to partially automatize research, pitching to, and negotiating with influencers. If they cannot solve automatizing their influencer campaign approach, it will become more difficult to continuously increase sales.

6. Lack of Data

Many social media platforms developed tools to restrict third-party access to users’ data. This trend will continue in the future. Scandals like the Cambridge Analytics gate are deeply embedded in people’s minds. The unrestricted access to millions of Facebook data sets led to massive protests by privacy groups.

In addition, social networks consider establishing their own influencer marketing platforms. It is an enormous market that could be financially interesting for them.

Aside from receiving influencers’ insights, other data will become more and more restrictive. In addition, it becomes more and more challenging to spot fake followers. So, influencer marketing managers might need to rely more on personal recommendations.

7. Use of In-house Talent

Companies will focus on in-house talent when looking for influencers. They will resort to shareholders, employees, and customers for influencer talent. Business leaders already encourage them to develop and use their talents for the company’s benefit.

This is a much cheaper option for companies and can lead to long-term growth.

For instance, many employees share personal insights as well as career- and industry-related advice on their LinkedIn profiles. Some brands have already started to use social media listening tools to identify loyal customers. Brands can entice customers to share UGC (user generated content) by rewarding them with free products and event invitations.

How to Prepare for Influencer Marketing in 2023 – A Conclusion

Influencer managers will face many obstacles in 2023. A careful preparation, though, will enable marketers to achieve their aims in the upcoming year. However, strategic preparations are crucial to achieving your revenue goals.

Brands interested in using influencer marketing are not the only ones facing challenges. Influencers have to adapt their process as well. Companies expect a professional approach from influencers. Otherwise, they will not be considered for future campaigns. Hence, influencers should professionalize their online presence, communication, and the overall realization of influencer campaigns.

Companies take notice of these influencers and will warmly recommend them. This is a win-win situation for every side.

The post 7 Influencer Marketing Trends You Need to Know for 2023 appeared first on SiteProNews.

LinkedIn is also a great tool for landing new clients. You can network with people you already know, see who they know, and invite them to connect.

Now that you know LinkedIn is a great place for prospecting, let’s look at how to actually use it.

1. Optimize Your Profile

First impressions are extremely important, and your profile on LinkedIn is no exception.

First, make sure your profile is professional. This means using a professional headshot, writing a concise summary, and including keywords.

For keywords, check out your LinkedIn recommendations and endorsements. These will give you an idea of what types of things clients are saying about your services. Then, incorporate them into your profile.

2. Use Groups to Find Clients

LinkedIn Groups are a great place to meet and connect with potential clients. There are groups for every type of business and industry. Search for groups related to your area of specialization.

Once you find a relevant group, start contributing. Answer questions, comment on posts, and start a conversation.

Over time, you’ll build a reputation for being knowledgeable, and people will start to recognize your name.

3. Use the LinkedIn Premium Features

LinkedIn Premium is the paid version of LinkedIn. However, it also includes features that can help you grow your brand.

One feature, in particular, is InMail. InMail allows you to send personalized messages to people who match your targeted search. With a basic LinkedIn account, you can only send messages to people in your network.

With LinkedIn Premium, you can target your ideal clients, and send them messages directly, regardless if they are in your network or not. LinkedIn guarantees higher response rates with InMail so it’s definitely worth checking out.

4. Use the Power of LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn’s Sponsored Content and Text Ads are another paid feature that can greatly expand your reach and increase your visibility.

LinkedIn sponsored content allows you to publish long-form content on LinkedIn.

With Sponsored Content, you can target specific demographics, interests, and locations. You can also choose who your audience is, and only reach people who fit your criteria.

LinkedIn’s Text Ads are similar to Google Adwords, but LinkedIn allows you to target your ideal clients based on job title, company, industry, location, seniority, and more.

5. Use LinkedIn to Manage Customer Relationships

LinkedIn is much more than just a professional networking platform. LinkedIn allows you to manage and track all of your client and prospect relationships.

This allows you to keep track of who you’ve worked with, how you’re working with each client, and what you’re currently working on.

Utilize CRM LinkedIn tools to manage your network, add insightful notes and tags, easily export LinkedIn contacts, and bulk disconnect from connections that no longer add value to your network.

6. Post Regularly

Consistency is important. Without consistency, you risk losing followers. Post regularly to keep your followers engaged.

Posting regularly can also help you stay top of mind when it comes to connecting with new clients.

To keep up with a consistent posting schedule, you can create a LinkedIn content calendar. In your calendar, include topics you want to cover and plan out your future posts.

Additionally, you can use social media scheduling tools to schedule your posts in advance, so you can stay focused and get the most out of your time.

7. Publish Valuable Articles and Case Studies

Publishing valuable content will help establish you as an authority in your field.

The key is to include keywords in your posts, so they show up in LinkedIn’s search. When people search for topics related to your work, they’ll find your content.

Case studies are another great way to add value to your posts. Share an example of how you worked with a client or company. If you work in a specific industry or type of service, consider publishing case studies related to that industry.

8. Ask for Recommendations

Recommendations are a great way to increase your credibility and show potential clients that other people trust you.

Ask clients to write you a recommendation on LinkedIn. You can also ask colleagues and business contacts to write a recommendation.

Recommendations are powerful, so it’s important to ask for them. Just remember, people are more likely to write a recommendation if they feel connected to you so focus on building strong relationships first.

Now It’s Your Turn

LinkedIn is a powerful tool that can help you grow your business. By tapping into the power of LinkedIn, you can generate more business leads, connect with your ideal clients, and expand your network.

The post How LinkedIn Can Help You Find New Clients appeared first on SiteProNews.

Infographic courtesy of BangProductions

The post Finding a Perfect Audience appeared first on SiteProNews.

Infographic courtesy of M2OnHold

The post How To Build Trust With Social Media Marketing appeared first on SiteProNews.

But here’s the thing: most blog articles go viral for unknown reasons. Everyone who’s ever had a “viral happy accident” happen to them subsequently tried to re-create that scenario. They rarely succeed.

There are two major problems with chasing online fame (and nothing else):

1. It rarely happens. Most blog posts get fewer than 10 views.
2. As cool as it may be, fame doesn’t pay the bills.

While views and shares are important, they are not the most important metrics you should be tracking for a business content marketing strategy. The only bloggers who should focus excessively on these two metrics are the ones who run ads on their blogs and get paid by the number of views.

If that’s not your case, read on.

3 Better Metrics to Track Instead of Views, Shares, and Likes

If you run a business blog or create any other type of content (like 91% of B2B marketers do), you have to evaluate your performance regularly, right? Cool! Here’s where to begin:

1. Brand Awareness

I’ll be the first to admit: this one is tough. Extra tough!

There are very few ways to measure brand awareness and most of them are unreliable. Plus, you’ll need to correlate them with other factors. Some of my favorite (albeit imperfect) strategies include:

• An uptick in overall web traffic – correlate with the amount of people who discover your website through one of your content pieces.
• An uptick in organic visits – a great way to find out which types of content perform better in terms of SEO.
• Referral traffic – how many people link to your content?
• Search popularity – are people searching for your brand? If so, can you track it back to content?
• Earned media value – does your content bring in earned media? For instance, do media outlets reach out to you for an interview or for an expert take on a topic because they consider you an expert thanks to the content you publish?

Again, all of these are very, very hard to quantify. It’s why you’ll rarely see a CMO say something like “our content strategy brought a 23% YoY increase in brand awareness”. It’s next to impossible to determine exactly how many people know about your brand and how many of them found it via content.

I run two digital marketing agencies and I only have a vague idea about it. I know that our content attracts readers and customers, as well as social media followers. I also know that it has earned me personally spots on lists like the top 100 content marketing influencers by Semrush.

Of course, all of these things are very important for a business. But I could never tell you exactly how much cash they brought in.

I can tell you, however, without a doubt that any business will thrive on a spike of brand awareness – especially if people become aware of your brand for the right reasons.

2. Lead Generation

This one is much easier to track. Simply look at your analytics account to see how many people who read a blog post of yours (or any other type of content) subscribed to your newsletter or left their contact information in any other type of form.

An in-depth look at this metric will also tell which types of content perform better and should be replicated. Look for patterns: are “how-to” articles performing better than customer stories or is it the other way around?

Last but not least, look at the quality of the leads. A huge email list is worthless if most of the subscribers will never convert to buyers – which takes us to my next point.

3. Conversions

Yes, this is the one metric to rule them all. Your conversion rate tells you how much money your content is bringing in. This is the ultimate goal of every marketing activity, so I hope you’re measuring this regularly.

[Side note: in my experience, not even this can be measured accurately. My agency has had plenty of clients who read an article on our blog, closed the page and took no action…then. But when they needed someone to help with content or copywriting, they remembered us and went straight to our website. In Google Analytics, this falls under direct traffic. I only discovered the real source of our conversions after asking the clients directly.]

Now, about what I mentioned earlier: not all leads gained through content are ideal. Sure, a blog is a great way to get some street cred. 68.5% of users think blogs add credibility to a website.

However, in order to move from street cred to money in the bank, you need your content to match not just your users’ needs, but also your business goals.

Here’s a how-not-to example from my own business: when I first launched my agency, our blog was filled with in-depth articles about copywriting and content writing strategy, tips, tricks, and pretty much anything you can think of. They check all the boxes: they ranked well, they offered thorough explanations, and they were fun to read.

They even brought in leads.

But they weren’t the kind of leads we were looking for. Our leads were fellow copywriters looking for the next hot industry trick. Needless to say, leads were pouring in, but conversions rarely happened.

Now, I love to educate, but I also love paying my bills.

So I changed the strategy: the articles we published were designed to meet our potential customers’ needs AND our business goals. For instance: “How to hire the best SEO copywriters” brought in a lot of qualified leads, while “How to write an About Us page that converts” brought us street cred alone.

Do learn from my mistake: make sure your content checks both boxes if you want it to convert (and I know you do!), not just get shared massively.

Final Thoughts

Write well, write often, but most importantly write with a purpose. If you feel like you’ve strayed from your purpose and your content isn’t performing as expected, I suggest you revisit the KPIs you use to measure it.

Those KPIs can vary widely from business to business. Check out this list of 15 content marketing KPIs that you can add to your tracking list for a more comprehensive view into your content’s performance.

The post Beyond Views and Likes: How to Choose Better Metrics to Measure Your Content Marketing appeared first on SiteProNews.

Social commerce is a hybrid mix, if you will, of social media and e-commerce. The two platforms have seamlessly become one, embracing the best features of each. The social element ensures that customers are able to engage with brands and purchase in real-time, while the e-commerce functionality facilitates the entire process.

So, what does this mean for brands, and more importantly, what are the social commerce trends for 2022?

Social Commerce by the Numbers

Given the fact that we say social commerce is an important marketing and business tool, we feel the need to substantiate this with figures. After all, numbers talk.

So, on that note, let’s take a look at a few social commerce statistics for 2022 that are important and show a glimmer of what is to expect in the coming months.

5 Social Commerce Stats You Need to Know

1. $45.74 billion is the value of social commerce sales expected to take place in the US in 2022
2. 8 out of 10 American businesses are planning to use social commerce within the next 3 years
3. 36% of internet users are social buyers
4. The average value of social orders in 2020 was $81.05
5. Over 130 million internet users engage with Instagram shopping posts each month

These figures paint a pretty clear picture of what social commerce is capable of, and more importantly, how it has already transformed the world of online shopping.

So, Why Is Social Commerce Essential?

Based on the above-mentioned stats, it’s easy to see how social commerce is taking over the online space. The reason for this is pretty simple, it’s convenient. Online shoppers don’t want to navigate between several different tabs or multiple platforms to make a simple purchase.

Instagram is already using social commerce to boost its relevance, and TikTok is catching up. You may be asking is it too late to start TikTok and reap the benefits, and the good news is, it isn’t. It’s never too late to take on new digital to your business’s advantage, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

If you are looking to build a stronger brand reputation and increase your sales, social commerce is by far the best way to do so. And the truth is, if you don’t use this to your advantage, your competitor surely will.

12 Social Commerce Trends for 2022

When it comes to social commerce in 2022, we are excited to see how it continues to boom. On that note, to make the best of your business’s social commerce experience, there are a few things you can to do excel. Here are a few trends we’re expecting to see – and recommend you look into too.

1. Utilize Instagram’s Shopfront

Instagram is already a visual platform, so when it comes to its shopfront, you know it’s going to be the best way to visually display your business. It makes it easy for users to discover new products and allows brands to curate their collections. How convenient is that?

2. Use Chatbots to Your Advantage

Chatbots can facilitate conversations with customers and provide much-needed solutions. By investing more in this functionality, chatbots can help customers select products able to meet their needs.

3. Reach Out to Influencers

One of the greatest ways to increase your social reach is through influencers. Team up with someone who knows your brand to share your product with the world and drive more sales.

4. Social Platforms are Harnessing the Power of Social Commerce

Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest have already allowed for social commerce functionality. Investing in these platforms will take your business to new heights and investing in similar platforms will have you poised for social commerce take over when the time comes.

5. Customize Your Shop for a Seamless User Experience

Templates may exist and assist with the initial build of your social commerce store. But being able to elevate it and create a unique user experience will see your store stand out from the crowd.

6. Use Live Streams to Promote Yourself

Live streams offer a chance for brands to interact with their audiences, answer real-time questions and inevitably boost sales. So, if possible, look into hosting a live broadcast.

7. Use 5G to Take It to the Next Level

5G allows for a more streamlined online experience. This means that AI, VR and XR can all become part of your social media marketing strategy as well as your online shopping experience.

8. User-generated Content Remains Essential

When it comes to marketing your brand, people want to know the truth, and this is where user-generated content comes in. Have people share their online shopping experience to help develop trust for your brand and increase your sales in the space.

9. Voice Technology Is on the Rise

Many people are using virtual assistants and voice recognition software to complete daily tasks. To ensure an even more convenient experience, consider adding this to your search functionality.

10. Consider Your Pricing

Whether it’s online or in the real world, customers are looking for a good deal. Offer promotions or discounts to increase traffic to your store and reward return customers for their loyalty. It won’t go unrecognized.

11. Understand Where Your Customers Are

Social commerce only works if you’re able to reach the right audience. So do your research and reach your customers in the spaces in which they actively engage.

12. Ride the e-Commerce Wave

At the end of the day, this has all come about as a result of customers making more of their regular purchases in the online space. Use this to shape your social commerce approach and reap the rewards.

Get on Board with Social Commerce and Generate Riveting Sales

While social commerce is still a fairly new phenomenon, it has come a long way in the last few months. Getting on board with the social commerce experience sooner rather than later will do your business well. So, use the time to prepare, nail the execution and drive those social commerce sales like there’s no tomorrow.

The post 12 Social Commerce Trends In 2022: How to Generate Riveting Sales appeared first on SiteProNews.