11 Tips on How to Select the Right Social Media Platforms for ECommerce Business

It’s safe to say that the eCommerce industry is booming, with more Internet users buying online every year. Almost every significant retailer globally now has an online presence, and new online-only stores appear daily.

Customers benefit from this because they will have more choices available than ever before when making a purchase. However, for digital commerce store owners, this means that online retail is becoming a more competitive market, so using social media for eCommerce is advantageous.

When evaluating a tool, it’s critical first to comprehend why the use of the best social media for eCommerce is being changed or introduced, as this will impact your ability to meet your goals.

For some of the following reasons, a new tool may be introduced and implemented:

  • Automate or have some basic tasks streamlined as to cut unnecessary work and focus on more tedious tasks
  • Make the customer service experience smooth and easy by simplifying a sometimes tricky interaction.
  • Increase revenue by creating activities and events that increase average order value, earn back old customers, and boost sales of existing products to current customers.
  • To enable the change or migration of other components within the business tech stack, reconfigure the systems architecture.
  • Reducing most costs incurred by the business through the reasons mentioned above 

Why is Social Media Important for an ECommerce Business?

Social media can help eCommerce businesses raise brand awareness, gain online followers, and increase sales. Companies can use social media to promote their brand, profile, and commodities.

Social media platforms present many benefits to businesses: it’s the difference between going viral once and keeping that momentum to your business’ advantage. Here are some more reasons why social media platforms are suitable for your eCommerce: 

  • Increase your online presence: Just about every business will benefit from marketing on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It’s a fact that 71% of adults go online to use social media- just social media. This is particularly true for eCommerce businesses.
  • Find out where your target audience spends the most time: You can generate traffic while actively searching for specific products by maximizing your content for search engines and running PPC campaigns, but you can also reach them on their favorite places online by using social media.

Brands can use social media to achieve a range of initiatives, but with so many platforms to choose from, which e-commerce marketers should focus on? You might think that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube are the places to be based on popularity and number of users. Below, we’ll tackle each platform and its pros and cons, different tips, and what’s the best social media for eCommerce. 

11 Tips on How to Select the Right Social Media Platform for Your ECommerce Business

Which social media platform is the best for your company’s needs? A simple answer is not always possible in this situation. While TikTok and Instagram dominated the app stores, Clubhouse launched and quickly became the most popular social media app of 2016. Then why are so many people saying it’s dying and losing users? Moreover, who knows how long it will last? What’s going on?

What do you think? Would you have made a good business decision here? It was possible for some businesses to swiftly establish a significant following and become thought leaders in their industry. It’s possible that other companies’ customers weren’t listening to their audio content because they weren’t on Clubhouse. Because of the costs and results, they decided to stop investing in Clubhouse.

Choosing the best option for one firm may not be the best one for another. In order to decide whether a social media platform will be a good fit for your organization, there are two factors:

Social media networks’ demographics

TikTok is extremely popular among Gen Z, but Facebook is currently the preferred social media platform for those of a more mature demographic. Pinterest has shown to be an effective growth engine for e-commerce companies that cater to female customers.

What can your company do the best in terms of execution?

Each social networking platform has its own learning curve. It’s also a myth that the same content will perform as well across all platforms.

Even after posting continuously for 12-18 months, some Instagram influencers have 10 million followers but just 10,000 subscribers on YouTube, for example.. Some content types may be far better suited to you and your team than others. It’s possible that no one wants to be photographed. YouTube or TikTok would be out of the question. It’s tempting to open accounts on every social media platform, but it’s important to remember that not all social media platforms are equal in terms of ROI. With this in mind, how can a company determine which network is best for them?

1. Take into account the nature of your business.

It is determined by whether the company is a business-to-business (B2B) or a business-to-consumer (B2C) operation (B2C). Facebook and Instagram assist B2C companies in increasing exposure, visually engaging, and engaging with clients. LinkedIn helps B2B companies target current and potential clients while establishing a personal connection. In addition, every business should use YouTube to interact with customers and share information. It’s search engine friendly and adds credibility to your brand.

2. Concentrate on your primary target market

Small businesses cannot afford to fail frequently, so they must guarantee that their advertising budget is put to good use. Rather than chasing the latest social media property, they should spend time getting to know their target audience and where they can find them. In several instances, Google search will produce the highest results; in others, Facebook or Instagram may be the safest alternative.

3. Take into account the demographics of your clientele.

What demographic information do you have on your customers? Often will they appear to belong to a younger or older group? Are they primarily men or women? Begin by doing some preliminary research. You’ll be able to determine your platform and find the most advantageous one to pursue if you focus on demographic characteristics. Put some work and attention into whichever option you choose. Don’t overextend yourself by trying to manage multiple platforms simultaneously.

4. Go to your ideal customer’s location.

It’s mostly about your company or organization and more about where your ideal client decides to spend their time choosing a social platform. For example, if you’re in B2B, go over to LinkedIn; if you’re in eCommerce, go with Instagram. You want to be seen, so once you’ve figured out where your customers hang out, you can be constant and helpful to master your selected social media platform truly. The most significant impact is achieved through mastery!

5. Assist Advocates In Finding The Correct Channels

Rather than focus solely on a particular publishing outlet or social media platform, I recommend that the marketing team spend their time directly and through social media channels uplifting advocates. You’ll be able to see where these advocates get the most traction if you put effort here instead of promoting your brand through social media, allowing you to target your activities better as your brand grows.

6. Investigate Your Rivals

Examine all of your main competitors. Examine each of their social media pages to see what content they’re sharing, how often they’re sharing it, and how many people are engaging with it. Choose the social media platform that produces the best results once you’ve determined which one it is. However, you should set goals and KPIs related to those goals before you begin.

7. Concentrate on the foundation of your digital footprint

Your website is the foundation of your online presence and communications. Emails, cards, promotional items, and search engines contain links to websites. Consider it home before purchasing a car or a beach house. Make it extraordinary by adding great content and making it appealing to the eye. Add blogs and social media platforms that you can link to it over time. However, be wary of DIY projects; just because you can doesn’t mean you should!

8. Don’t hesitate to use tools that can help make your life easier.

Almost any business or demographic can benefit from email marketing. If you have a soc med account, you probably have one email address. Or read up on how to automate different tasks so you or your employees won’t have to sweat the small stuff. For posts on visual platforms, you’ll need to know skills like how to remove backgrounds

9. Choose a platform that is appropriate for your target audience.

Small businesses frequently make the mistake of spreading themselves too thin by pushing content to every available platform. Your business could benefit from having an Instagram account does not mean it should. Examine your company’s objectives and choose the right target market. Then look into the demographics of social media platforms and set up an account where your material would have the most impact.

10. Create a strategy that is consistent across all platforms 

Trying to maximize reach with the minimum effort is crucial for smaller firms. Creating a cohesive social media content strategy that’s maintainable, then sending this content to all popular platforms is thus more important than focusing on a specific social media site. Many free scheduling tools make it simple to schedule one or two posts per week and distribute them to multiple locations.

11. Recognize and Align Your Social Objectives

Understanding your social goals will help you choose a platform to focus on. Given that Twitter is a popular platform for customer feedback, prioritizing it to improve customer service could benefit. Brands in the travel and hospitality industries may want to use Instagram to showcase their products and properties visually. The importance of aligning platform benefits with business objectives cannot be overstated.

Conclusion

You don’t have to join the latest trend, such as TikTok or Facebook, just because everyone else is. You also don’t have to be active on every social media platform. Almost any company can succeed on social media if they choose the right platforms and concentrate their efforts. Instead of posting the same content everywhere, play to each one’s strengths. You can broaden your audience, demonstrate expertise, generate excitement, attract new customers, and develop customer loyalty by combining a series of touchpoints. Because every business is different, you must create a strategy and choose what is best for you.

[About the author: Miguel Davao particularly loves to write content on social media, design, photo-editing tools, and content writing tips.  He works as a full-time writer at Removal.AI – an AI tool used to remove bg from images for social media, eCommerce, web, app development, and marketing automation.]