Growing your business as a Shopify owner is no less than climbing Mount Everest. Every step and strategy needs to be carefully designed and put into execution. It becomes even more difficult when you are running on tight budgets or in the initial years of pushing your business to a level of recognition and awareness. Amid constant trials and errors and finding solutions to the obvious questions, a question that often crosses the minds of Shopify store owners is, "How to leverage Social Media to increase conversion on Shopify store?"
Social media has been a significant marketing channel for eCommerce businesses around the globe. And the reason for the rise of social commerce is evident, as around 58.4% of the total global population, and almost half a billion people joined social media over the last year. And on average, a user now spends about 15% of their waking lives on social media. It's a huge opportunity for brands to engage with potential customers. Another factor that fuels the growth of social commerce is the ability to make purchases without having to leave the platform. Not surprisingly, social commerce is one of the biggest eCommerce trends identified in Shopify's Future of Commerce report.
Let's understand…
How to monetize your social media followers for your Shopify store?
Visibility and brand awareness is the first step toward achieving higher conversions and revenue. The advantage of using social commerce is that social networks have become a fantastic way for consumers to discover products and create brand awareness. Moreover, the cost of conversion is relatively lower than any other marketing strategy.
Having a social media presence helps merchants increase brand awareness and find new customers. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest allow customers to check out and buy products without leaving the platform or jumping on the Shopify store.
Another important factor that adds to the journey of monetization is "Engagement". Being present on social media and not actively engaging with customers/visitors/followers can create a wrong impact on the audience and you may lose out on potential customers. One can prevent this by posting interactive social media posts regularly.
Last but not the least, retargeting and retention are again very crucial factors to consider while considering the social commerce strategy. Social media platforms can provide you with the platform to reach out to customers who have shown interest in your product and encourage them to reconsider the product or service for the purchase.
Let's talk about how you can create awareness, engage people and retarget and retain customers, and boost revenues for your Shopify stores.
How to create brand awareness, acquire customers, and get started with social commerce?
Setting up catalogs
As a Shopify owner, you must have your product catalog on your store/website. You can connect the relevant social channels (Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest) to your Shopify store account, and social media platforms will auto-update the pages, ensuring a seamless customer experience and saving on resources. People may be more likely to find you on social media, so providing less friction for a purchase may save you in the long run and increase conversions. Providing an outlet for people to purchase right on Facebook could save you on retargeting and other ads. On top, you can acquire more customers by just communicating your brand offering on social platforms.
Social store and product tags
Having a social store on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook is a must if you are planning to convert your social media followers into customers. The Instagram store is the best way to reach out to millions of people on social platforms without pushing them to the website or the store page. With over a billion users each month, social stores have set a new standard for the retail experience. You can also tag products in the post and stories that directly redirect users to the store. Change the email address to a single email address for all social accounts and your Social stores have become go-to-go shopping places where people can browse catalogs and offers while scrolling through their feeds.
Social media checkouts
Store owners can use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest and allow users to complete checkouts without migrating to the store or website. A lot of users keep the products in their save list if they don't find an option to buy them instantly. If you allow instant checkouts on the platform, it will encourage users to complete their purchases or at least add products to their cart.
How Social Media Engagement can drive more revenues to your Shopify store?
Social Media Chatbots for engagements & conversions
Don't lose out on the opportunity when a user comments on a post or dm you for product details. Get it fixed and let the dice roll with AI-enabled chatbots, which can engage users on social media platforms and also provide them with one-click checkout links with price and other details. These chatbots can strike a conversation and offer help that can help you boost your overall sales and revenues.
Product recommendations
Deploying intelligent bots on your social media handles can multiply conversions and bring back inactive users to the business. These smart bots can recommend products based on user behavior and queries. These bots create ease and convenience in the buying process and help customers move quicker in the sales funnel. You can also push redirect links or home page buttons through these bots so that a follower can redirect and land them on the Shopify store and check out as a guest.
Get Engati AI-enabled bot to automate engagements and drive more sales to your Shopify store.
What are the other ways to drive higher sales through social media followers?
Live product demos and customer engagements
Live streams catch the attention of the user base on social media and are more impactful than generic product posts. Buyers can see the product being used in real life and make a buying decision based on that. They can ask questions about the products and get instant answers to their queries. Store owners should make sure they manage to put live streams on social media platforms and engage their audience regularly. Use social media reporting tools to track those conversations in real-time.
Retargeting on Social Media
You can reach out to customers who left their carts without completing the payment or have shown interest in your products. Chatbots can help you communicate with those customers and send reminders about the product or abandoned carts. Retargeting opens a window for customers to reconsider their buying decision and make the final purchase.
Use reviews and user-generated content
You can use user-generated content and reviews as social proofing and build customer trust. The study says that about 48% of consumers say that user-generated content is a great way to discover new products, and 41% say they are tempted to purchase if a product has at least one to four reviews. You don't need to get into your website's code to embed user-generated content from your social media accounts. But you can simply display your social media feed on the storefront with the help of Shopify apps available on the Shopify store.