Sellers who hope to do well and have a successful online store really need to leverage the full power of the Internet, and that means incorporating social media to their ecommerce website. A few years ago, this was unheard of, but social media is far more important, powerful, and far reaching than it was then. Most people are on at least one of the popular social networking sites. Think about how this could work for your site when you integrate your store with social networks.
How Social Media Helps Sales
If a customer comes to your site and is excited about a purchase he or she just made, or they find something they find interesting, they want to share that news with their friends. By adding social media links to your product pages, you can make it easy for them to do that with a simple click. It takes just a second for them to share the information about the product with everyone in their social network circle.
Those people in the circle will see the product. It might interest them enough to click on the link and visit your shop. They might even want to buy one of the same items or another item you sell. You did not have to do a thing to reach out to that person either. Even if they do not buy, they are now aware of your product and your company, thus furthering the reach of your brand. Your customer did everything for you by sharing the link thanks to the social media buttons you put on your site, giving you another way to market passively.
Is it that simple? Yes, it really is. The only thing you have to do is make sure you integrate the links on your pages so they are easy for the customers to see and use. They should be in the same location on all of the product pages as well, simply to make things uniform and easy to find for the customers.
What Buttons Should You Include?
A large number of social networking sites are out there today, and it might be tempting to try to add buttons for all of them. That will do nothing except clutter your site though. Instead, stick with the most popular options – the “like” button for Facebook, the Google+ 1 button, “tweet” buttons for Twitter, and “Pin” buttons for Pinterest. For ecommerce websites that feature artwork, crafts or very artful photography of products, the Pin button can work wonders. People love finding and sharing great images.
More Integration Options
All your product pages need integration with social links. You should not stop there though. Add these buttons to your blog posts and website as well. Make sure visitors to your sites also know how to connect with your company on the various social networking platforms so they can start following you. You can then share photos of your products on the social networks occasionally, and your followers and fans may decide to share them as well.
Summary: Social media sites are some of the most visited websites in the world today. They are the virtual water coolers where everyone gathers and shares information, deals, and news. A great way for ecommerce websites to further the reach of their brand and to make more sales is by adding social links to their product pages. This makes it easy for their customers to share information on items they find with their social networks with just a single click. This acts as a great way to boost marketing without additional spending, and it may help to increase sales as well.
Resource: http://www.bluefountainmedia.com/blog/integrate-social-media-ecommerce/