Best Practices in Social Media to Optimize Conversion Rates in E-Commerce

Social media: it’s a go-to branding strategy for any eCommerce business. But your social media accounts can be so much more than a dumping ground for your press releases and product announcements.

Used right, an eCommerce social media strategy is a powerful tool for lead generation and even conversions. Problem is, few eCommerce marketers know how to use their social accounts to boost sales.

57% of marketers want to improve customer engagement, but 53% say that’s a tall order. However, marketers who mastered social media engagement skyrocketed their lead quality by 59%.

COVID-19 made life harder in so many ways, but it was a boon for social media. Now, users are on board with engaging with the eCommerce brands they love in a remote way—and social media gives you an immediate channel to chat with these shoppers.

You want website traffic from social media, for sure. But this is about getting actual sales from your hard work. Getting customers to commit and buy something is a struggle during the best of times. How do you get more value out of flighty social media visitors on your site?

Let’s dive into how you can justify an eCommerce social media strategy (because we’re sure your boss wants to know) and the 3 social media strategies Lingble recommends to boost your eCommerce conversion rate.

Why do I need a social media presence for eCommerce?

If you’re a marketer, you probably already know the value of social media. But you still need to justify the hours and money spent on social media to your boss, don’t you?

eCommerce is online-first selling, which means customers can’t see you face-to-face. The best way to build rapport—which is critical for making a sale—is through social media. If you aren’t using social media right now, you need to invest in it for 4 important reasons.

1 - Social media gives shoppers much-needed social proof

eCommerce shoppers need some indication that your brand is legit. After all, the internet is a scary place: you could be a faceless con-man for all they know.

Social media gives you the chance to share social proof. Social proof is content that backs up your claims through a trusted source, like another buyer or a friend. Social proof is the reason 92% of shoppers trust recommendations from people they know.

Use your followers’:

• Comments
• Tagged posts
• Hashtags
• Videos or photos
  

… to increase clout with potential shoppers.

2 - Give customers what they want—answers!

Social media isn’t just a place for you to advertise your latest products. This is a lifeline to your customers, and it’s a prime chance for you to increase eCommerce conversion rates.

Shoppers want answers, and they want them now. 1 in 3 social media followers will switch to a competitor if you ignore them. Another 36% of shoppers will publicly shame you for not replying fast enough!

That’s bad PR, and you don’t need that in your life.

Social media means you can:

• Reply to questions and build shopper confidence.
• Support customers ASAP instead of routing them through a long-winded ticket system.
  

The result is happier shoppers who trust you.

3 - Engage with your adoring fans

Don’t let the potential for customer complaints scare you. Social media is valuable because it means you get to engage with fans who love your stuff.

59% of shoppers use social media to inspire their future purchases. How many times has a shopper saved your brand’s cute boots on her Pinterest board? Since 76% of shoppers buy products from a brand’s social media feed, you need to invest in social media, stat.

Get on social media so your loyal followers can:

• Share your products with people in their network.
• Become a fanfluencer for your brand.
  

Give loyal shoppers the chance to sell for you by greenlighting an aggressive social media presence.

4 - Boost your paid advertising efforts

P.S. Did you know that organic social media posts can boost your paid efforts?

It just makes sense: if you’re paying for social media PPC ads, shouldn’t you have a lot of great content in your feed first?

Don’t pay for traffic and direct shoppers to a nearly-empty Instagram account. If you want to dive into paid social media ads, tap into Lingble’s internal PPC team: we help you get long-term PPC results without the hand-holding.

Ways to boost your eCommerce conversion rate with social media

Once your entire team is on board, it’s time to increase your eCommerce conversion rate through social media. Use these 3 pro tips from the Lingble team to do eCommerce social media right.

1 - Determine which social platforms you should target

It’s great that your brand is excited about social media, but that doesn’t mean you need every social platform under your belt. It’s better to choose fewer platforms and target the right audience. This way, you aren’t wasting your breath on a shopper that doesn’t want to buy.

Should you really post about your newest sweater collection on LinkedIn? Nobody wants to look for products on this platform; it’s usually a waste of time for eCommerce, and that’s why you have to pick the right social networks.

Where do your customers live online? This will differ by country. For example, you can find Chinese shoppers on WeChat, but shoppers in the US would be on Facebook. Every business is different, and that means you need to choose the platforms that work for your business.

At Lingble, we’ve seen clients have the most success with these platforms:

• Facebook: With over 2 million active users, Facebook has one of the largest social media audiences. It’s better for targeting Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer audiences. It’s also better-suited to community-building because of its Groups feature. You can invite VIP shoppers to talk shop and share tips on Facebook.
• Pinterest: Pinterest is better for shoppers over the age of 40, but it’s an eCommerce powerhouse. B2C shoppers love saving products in the DIY, hobby, fashion, accessories, and furniture spaces. If you have a very visual brand, Pinterest will help you share more links to your product pages.
• Instagram: Instagram is the most engaging social media platform for brands. It’s tailored to the under-30 crowd, but it’s perfect for connecting with fanfluencers or new shoppers via hashtags.
  

Pick no more than 3 social media platforms to start with. This ensures you’re focused on every platform, tailoring your content to an audience’s preferences (which increases your eCommerce conversion rate).

2 - Optimize your social media messaging

The right messaging on your social media account can make the difference between a buzzing eCommerce site and one that’s completely dead.

That does not mean you need sales-laden content on your social media. In fact, your followers will revolt if you promote yourself too much.

Social media is about sharing your products and fun content. If your entire feed reads like an advertisement, it’s going to turn potential customers away from your product.

It sounds counterintuitive, but the best way to make sales is to offer entertaining, useful, valuable content that doesn’t include a big sales pitch.

Why? Because users will go elsewhere. At Lingble, we’ve seen time and time again that overly self-promotional brands lose out to their competitors because of their social media content. If customers are leaving your social media account in droves, they’re certainly not spending money on your eCommerce store.

So, how do you incentivize conversions with better social media content? Try:

• Hosting a contest or sweepstakes. Everybody loves free stuff!
• Offering the occasional discount code or sale just for your social media followers.
• Writing social media-exclusive content. You’re an expert, right? Interview other experts in your industry, film funny videos, or feature customer stories. Give people information that they just can’t find elsewhere.
  

Writing content is an art, and that’s why Lingble helps our clients strategize for social media. We give promotion recommendations based on your target country’s marketing calendar, so you’re always relevant and top of mind for your shoppers.

3 - Create user-friendly landing pages

You’ve chosen the right social media platform and shared awesome content with your followers. It’s time for the grand finale: optimizing your eCommerce site for social media users.

What is the user experience like once a social media follower lands on your site? Is your website content consistent with what you posted on social media? Are there relevant landing pages?

Too many eCommerce brands neglect the on-site experience for social media users. This is such an easy fix, but it can decimate your eCommerce conversion rates if you don’t pay attention.

Always create a user-friendly landing page for your social media followers. That means:

• Designing mobile-friendly pages: Hopefully you’re doing this already, but you should use responsive design on your website. Keep your forms simple and short, and make buttons large enough for smaller screens.
• Optimizing your page speed: 47% of shoppers expect your site to load in under 2 seconds. But few eCommerce sites are that fast, so meet with your web development team if you want to increase speed and boost conversions.
• Minimizing form fields: Nobody wants to answer 20 questions to download your discount code. If you want social media users to convert, keep all form fields very, very short. We’re talking 2 fields, tops. Ask for their name and email at most to minimize dropoffs.
• Writing relevant content: Does your social media post promise your followers a discount code? But, when they click on the link, they don’t get the discount code? This happens all the time and frustrates your shoppers. Double-check that everything is firing correctly so you don’t make a bad impression on your shoppers.
  

If landing pages aren’t your forte, don’t worry. Lingble’s UX experts can guide you on landing page content, layout, and more to boost your eCommerce conversion rates.

Increase conversions with an eCommerce social media strategy

Why settle for fewer conversions? At Lingble, we know social media is affordable, gives you a direct line to the customer, and helps you build a loyal fanbase over time. Educate your team on the merits of social media and use these 3 proven tips to increase conversions.