Each week, we publish a mishmash of ecommerce related, insight infused articles for you to smash through. Just as we collect business information across all of a merchant’s channels in a single place, we’re doing the same for ecommerce related content from a variety of top tier content creators.
If you find the material filling your appetite for knowledge, feel free to share this post, as well as any article you see here. Speaking of shares and posts, we’re all about your social channels this week, with some industry analysis, best practices, and useful resources thrown in the mix.
Following the money
Knowing where advertising money is going toward can provide a hint as to which social platforms are best to operate on. And, if anything’s clear, Facebook is an essential. eMarketer predicts that social media ad spending will accelerate in the coming years, and Facebook is placed in first when it comes to total social network spending. It’s expected that they’ll account for 64.8% of that total this year, with Instagram contributing 5% of that at $600 million this year.
Crack open a book on Facebook pages
Considering how much money Facebook rakes in through businesses advertising on the massive platform, having your own page is pretty important. But getting the most out of it is another thing, so take a look at these five page features you need to know about via Social Media Examiner. Learn how to select free ad images and gauge an ad’s performance, dig up insights on your competitors’ pages, plus schedule posts.
The birds and the bees of SMB Twitter
But nobody can forget how Twitter plays into this, especially with their recently expanded “buy button.” Bigcommerce reports on best tweeting practices for small businesses, as well as how users tend to engage with brands and ways to best target them them. Conciseness is key on Twitter, with promoted tweets under 100 characters getting nearly 20% more engagement. And for most markets like electronics, big box, and apparel, awareness and post-purchase discussion are top paths toward purchases via the channel.
Birds of a feather should promote together
Technically speaking, email isn’t a form of social media. But it’s a way of communicating with your customers nonetheless, and the two can be combined to promote one another. In an infographic by ReachMail, we see how the two channels can feed into each other, as well as ways to effectively build both up at the same time. As you send out emails, include links to your social channels. And as you tweet, post, and share, include gateways for consumers to submit their email addresses to grow your list.
The social tools to finish the job
It’s one thing to talk about how to best use your social channels, and another to actually have the tools to get it done. Before putting all this information to work, take a look at this list of social media monitoring tools provided by Practical Ecommerce. There are a ton of useful services, each with its own quirks and pros & cons, so choose wisely!
Photo: Manuela Kohl, Flickr
