We live in an age of social media, and most ecommerce brands are now wise enough to have a presence on at least one or two of the most popular platforms. Those who have embraced the medium successfully have used it to transform their interactions with customers, improve their brand awareness, and grow their bank balances.
However, using social media for marketing purposes can seem daunting to those who are new to using the likes of Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and so on in this way.
The reality is that it can be challenging to establish yourself on your platform of choice. It can be tricky to grow a community of engaged followers, and hard work to continually supply this audience with quality content that they will enjoy. And using all of this to convert your followers into paying customers is the biggest hurdle of all.
Fortunately, there is help at hand. Successful sellers put in the time and maximise their hard work by using both paid ads and organic social media marketing. Read on to discover how you can gain a competitive advantage on social media by using organic strategies, paid social advertising and tactics to boost your organic ranking.
Why use organic social media marketing?
Organic social media marketing is any social media activity without a paid promotion. This includes any interaction from posting content and commenting, to replying to messages. Organic social media marketing is generally the first method used because it’s free and doesn’t require any specialist knowledge or skills.
It is an excellent tool to assist in building your reputation and relationships with customers. Through it, you can develop campaigns to get you noticed by using something as simple as a hashtag. Developing trust may be difficult, but there is no faster relationship builder than human interaction, and this tool allows you to interact with your audience at no extra cost.
What is Paid Social Advertising?
Paid social ads are exactly what they say they are. You allocate a budget to each ad campaign you have created, and these advertisements are then promoted by the platform. Paid social ads are boosted chiefly through algorithms driven by keywords, customised objectives, and specific audiences, enabling you to connect with a much wider audience.
Sadly, most people do not use social media correctly, meaning their advertising efforts can lead to frustration and a waste of money. But there is one simple way to change this: laying your foundations correctly.
As with any successful sales business, the foundations are paramount. You need to have a goal, and your strategy must be tight, with a clear direction and an understanding of the social media platform that you choose to use. Your aim, after all, is to increase traffic without leaving a hole in your pocket.
How do you improve your organic rankings?
With a high organic ranking, your content is more likely to be seen by your target audience. And the more people see your content, the more likely they are to follow your channel and engage with your brand – giving you the competitive edge.
Follow the steps below to improve your organic ranking:
- Send traffic directly to your listing
This is an uncomplicated method that is simple enough for anyone to use. Let your content do the work for you by linking it directly to the product with the product URL landing page. This will take them directly to the landing page of your product. There’s a twofold benefit to this – increased visibility and increased traffic.
- Use a sales funnel
Most sellers thrive on repeat business, so using a dynamic retargeting ad will enable you to re-engage those who have previously clicked or shopped on your site. Another sales funnel method used to retarget customers is the building of email lists and tags, which gives you the opportunity of identifying those that are really interested in your product for future targeting.
- Engaging your customer
A simple but effective way to engage your audience is through the creation of a chatbot. This nifty tool does what social media is created to do – be social. Automated messenger services save you time by answering questions, giving your potential client the connection that they’re looking for.
The bottom line
While the initial setup of social media marketing may take time and a bit of money, it is well worth your effort. Once you’ve identified a strategy, social media advertising becomes a seller’s dream. To optimise this, make sure that you use the methods outlined in this blog post in unison.
Just remember: change is the only constant, and success requires constant innovation to perform, remain relevant and competitive. Driving outside traffic is one way of doing this and combining the impact of both paid social ads and organic social media marketing increases website traffic and boosts your bottom line.
Want to find out more about advertising and how you can use your social media accounts to drive revenue? Find out more about our award-winning Paid Social service here or get in touch with the team today.
