Social Media Tips for Ecommerce [+27 Social Media Ecommerce Statistics]

As an ecommerce company, your main goal is to sell your products. But how can you outsell your competitors, satisfy customers, and increase your revenue without blowing your marketing budget? Implementing social media marketing strategies for ecommerce is a great way to accomplish a variety of your company’s marketing goals — and our social media tips for ecommerce can help.

This page includes:

• Explanation of why you need an ecommerce social media marketing strategy
• Social media tips for ecommerce
• Social media ecommerce statistics

If you’re interested in getting tips like these in your inbox, don’t forget to sign up for Revenue Weekly!

Why you need an ecommerce social media marketing strategy

If you’re on the fence about implementing a social media marketing strategy for your ecommerce store, we’re here to tell you that it’s worth it — and here’s why.

Your audience is on social media

If there’s one reason you should consider social media for your ecommerce store, it’s that your audience is on social media. If the goal of your ecommerce store is to sell your products online, it makes sense to talk about your products where there is a high concentration of customers — and that’s social media. With more than five billion active social media users, it’s easy to understand why social platforms offer a fantastic opportunity to introduce your brand to new customers and keep current customers interested.

It’s cost-effective

It’s free to create a profile on most social media platforms, making it an extremely cost-effective marketing solution.

Not only can you create a business profile for free but posting is free as well. The only time you’ll pay to reap the benefits of an ecommerce social media marketing strategy is if you opt for social media ads.

You can show the human side of your brand

Since social media platforms are notoriously known for providing users with a place to post life updates or personal feelings, it presents the same opportunity for ecommerce companies. When you adopt an ecommerce social media strategy, you’ll show potential customers your human side by posting images of your facility, employees, or a post that shows how much you care about customers.

Showing your humanistic side can help users connect with and trust your brand.

You can boost brand awareness

If you opt for the paid side of social media and decide to create social media ads, you can boost your brand awareness by appearing in the feeds of users most likely to purchase your products. With the detailed targeting options on social media ad platforms, you can advertise to users who fit your target demographic and get your brand in front of quality leads.

6 key social media tips for ecommerce

So how can you make the most of social media marketing strategies for ecommerce? Check out our six social media tips for ecommerce businesses.

1. Make your branding and presence consistent

Customers want to buy from brands that they can trust and one of the best ways to build trust with potential customers is to be consistent across all platforms. Consider making your logo your profile picture across all platforms and creating a banner image that shows off your brand’s personality, storefront, or products. Your tone should also stay consistent across all platforms, as well as the colors you use, the filters you use on images, and the number of times you post per week.

2. Focus on being human, not on selling products

If you want to have a successful ecommerce presence on social media, one of the best social media ecommerce tips that you can follow is to be human. Posting a new product release every day makes your followers think that your only reason for having a social presence is to sell products. The main goal of your social accounts should be to interact and build relationships with customers.

In the long run, you’ll sell far more products when you spend time posting content that informs users and helps them relate to your brand. On Chewy’s Facebook, they posted an article titled “Do Cats Get Lonely? How to Help Your Bored Cat.” This post doesn’t link to their products or even recommend going to their site — it simply relates to the human side of pet owners that might wonder if their four-legged friend is lonely.

3. Post user-generated content

One of the best social media tips for ecommerce is to post user-generated content because it allows you to kill two birds with one stone. You can create user-generated content by reposing content that features your products — posts that are originally posted by your customers. First, user-generated content shows followers how your loyal customers feel about your brand and how your products work and look in person.

If you repost an image of a satisfied customer wearing one of your brand’s sweatshirts with a smile on their face, it sends a positive message to new customers. Not only that, but the fact that you repost user-generated content will entice users to post content that mentions your brand in hopes of being featured on your profile. And when users tag your brand in their content, it essentially advertises your ecommerce store to an entirely new audience.

It acts as free advertising! Check out the way Bath and Body Works shared user-generated content on their Facebook page!

4. Connect with influencers

Sometimes, connecting with industry influencers is easier said than done, but it’s always worth a try since just one mention on an influencer’s profile can bring you an abundance of new business. That said, try reaching out to influencers in your industry in their direct messages. You can classify influencers in three groups — micro-influencers (1000 – 40,000 followers), macro-influencers (40,000 – 1 million followers), and mega-influencers (more than 1 million followers).

These individuals have the power to influence purchasing decisions by engaging with their giant follower base. You should always be professional and positive while explaining your brand and the reason for contacting them. Be upfront about what you want — so, if you want to be featured on their page, say exactly that.

Beating around the bush won’t get you far — in fact, it might make you look like you’re being sneaky or underhanded.

5. Post videos

Did you know that 82% of people would choose a live video over any other social media post? Not only that, but video engagement on social media is through the roof. For example, tweets that feature a video have ten times the engagement of those without, while users on Pinterest are more than 2.5 times more likely to make a purchase after watching a brand’s video content.

It’s no doubt that video is continuing to grow, and social media provides the perfect place to take advantage of it. Take a peek at the difference in interactions on Hershey’s Twitter between a video post and a plain text post.

6. Don’t forget to use ads

Launching social media ads might be our last social media tip for ecommerce, but it’s undoubtedly one of the most important — especially for ecommerce companies. Social media ads allow you to increase website traffic and sell more products when you link to an enticing and engaging landing page. Social media ads are extremely cost-efficient and allow you to deliver advertisements for your products in the feeds of your most qualified target customers.

27 social media ecommerce statistics to seal the deal

If you’re not quite sure that an ecommerce social media marketing strategy is right for you, we think these 27 social media ecommerce stats will seal the deal. We found them all on our social media stats page, and you can find a lot more amazing social media statistics there, too!

Instagram ecommerce statistics

• Instagram’s predicted net ad revenue for 2024 is $39.7 billion
• 200 million Instagram users visit one business profile each day
• 60% of Instagram users discover new products on the platform
• 11% of U.S. Instagram users use Instagram to both find and shop for products

Facebook ecommerce statistics

• Facebook’s predicted net ad revenue for 2024 is $28.5 billion
• 66% of users like or follow a brand on Facebook
• 15% of U.S. Facebook users use the platform to both find and shop for products

Twitter ecommerce statistics

• 53% of Twitter users are more likely to buy new products first
• 26% more time is spent viewing ads on Twitter than other social media platforms
• 22% of users follow a brand on Twitter

YouTube ecommerce statistics

• 90% of people say that video helps them make a purchasing decision
• 40% of shoppers worldwide bought products they found on YouTube
• 35% of users follow a brand on YouTube

LinkedIn ecommerce statistics

• LinkedIn is the number one rated social platform for lead generation
• 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for content distribution
• 6% of users follow a brand on LinkedIn

Pinterest ecommerce statistics

• 47% of U.S. Pinterest users use the platform to find and shop for products
• 17% of users follow a brand on Pinterest

General social media ecommerce stats

• 1 in 3 users that watch videos on social media watch them from brands
• 96% of users who follow brands on social interact with those brands
• 87% of users visit a brand’s site or app after following them on social media
• 80% of users get advice about a product purchase through social media
• 78% of users visit a brand’s physical store when they follow them on social media
• 78% of users talk to friends and family about brands they follow on social media
• 74% of shoppers use social media when making a purchasing decision
• 54% of users use social media to research products
• 50% of users follow brands on social to learn about new products or services

WebFX can help you create a social media marketing strategy for ecommerce

If our social media tips for ecommerce have you excited about starting to use social for your ecommerce company, WebFX can help. We’re a full-service ecommerce social media agency that’s been helping clients create engaging social profiles for more than a decade. We’ve published more than 165,000 client posts and we have more than 500 digital marketing experts in-house.

If you’re ready to make the most of social media for your ecommerce company, we want to hear from you. For a free quote, contact us online, or give us a call at 888-601-5359 to speak with an expert!