Facebook Is Favored Platform for Retailers

A recent study done by social technology company 8th Bridge revealed that Facebook is the top social media network among the nearly all brands in the Internet Retailer 2013 Top 500 Guide, which is a listof the top retail brands in the United States. Why is Facebook outpacing all of the other social media networks?

In terms of traffic, 85% of retailers indicated that traffic from Twitter and Instagram is non-existent. Pinterest fared slightly better in terms of product sharing over these networks but the difference was marginal when compared with Facebook sharing.

Facebook was the leading network among retailers because retailers believe that the platform can drive sales via the recommendation of products among friends. While retailers do not think that sales can take place directly over Facebook, they do believe that Facebook is helpful atredirecting targeted traffic back to ecommerce sites.

Facebook advertising
The study also notrd that retailers are seeing returns on their social media campaigns thanks to paid Facebook ads. These ads are having an impression on users and are causng them to visit retailers’ websites. Using social media asa brand awareness strategy is seemingly a better use of advertising dollars than to directly sell to users of the social media networks.

What is driving this statistics?
While the exact reasons for the increase in social media adoption by top brands is deatable, many of the changes are likely due to the maturation of social media as an advertising channel. In addition, brands are now armed with market research data that allows them to better understand how and why users might engage with a brand via social media. This allows brands to target their campaigns more precisely and enables them to spend their advertising dollars more conservatively in order to achieve the desired results.

So what should your company do?
While developing a social media strategy must be done carefully depending on the company, it is a good idea to look at what competitors are doing. Using social media analytics to track engagement is important in determining if the money spent on social media is really turning into sales for companies. Social media can be quite complex when it comes to trying to determine how and why a sale was made.

Invest appropriately
If your company’s goal is to increase revenues by increasing customer value through driving referrals and repeat business, then social media is likely a good way to attract these sales. People are more likely to buy products that have been recommended by a friend or colleague over products that are being pitched directly by the company itself.

It is not too late to start with social media
Social media is a tool that offers the opportunity for small businesses to reach their target audiences without the huge costs of paid advertising and search engine optimization campaigns. Finding the right audience is the key of social media success and with the tools available today, small businesses can access the right users with ease. The trick however becomes keeping them engaged once you have their attention which is the secret to any successful social media campaign.

Do you need help with putting together an engaging social media campaign for your business? Infintech Designs can help. Give us a call or send us a message today and we can review your needs.