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Social Media for Retailers – Why it’s about more than being social

Social media management is a full-time job for a retailer. It’s part of your comms plan, your customer service and complaints division, your PR strategy and it can even be the face of your brand. With 76% of Facebook users and 51% of Instagram users on their respective platforms daily, your social accounts are a lucrative way to influence conversions and establish consumer loyalty (Pew Research Center, 2016).

But how do you make the most of your social channels? We look at the top do’s and don’ts for retailers on social.

 

The Do’s

  • Listen: Monitor your tagged mentions, untagged mentions of your brand name and brand hashtags, and respond to both positive and negative comments to let your customers know you care, and address and ease any tensions that may arise.
  • Follow: Keep track of hashtags or phrases that are relevant to your brand. For example, if you’re an athletics retailer, you might follow the hashtags #fitness #sport or #gymlife and reach out to customers who are already interested in what you have to offer.
  • Create: Develop original content or join conversations on relevant timely events to lead your followers back to your site or into your stores. Social can be the perfect place to announce useful information to your customers such as promotions, discounts or product launches. Get creative! If you have the resources, produce a high-quality video and imagery to really engage your customers.
  • Share: Get involved and share relevant content with your followers. For example, if your brand embodies innovation, share your thoughts on the latest news in your industry.
  • Monitor: Pay attention to your analytics and data. Find out which types of content click with your followers and which posts or channels drive the most site traffic and conversions. Monitor your social analytics and adjust your plans accordingly.

 

The Don’ts

  • Sell 24/7: Social media is just that – social. A sure-fire way to annoy your followers is to constantly push product and sell to them. Avoid selling 24/7 by developing a balanced strategy to post original,  shared and selling content.
  • Use Slang: Yes, social media is a more informal communication channel than email, but don’t forget that you can still have a friendly tone whilst using correct spelling and grammar. Character limits on platforms such as Twitter may require abbreviations on occasion, but always try your best to maintain professional quality writing that’s been proofread.
  • Spam: Not only will posting content all day, every day annoy your customers, it will also eat away at your budget as you spend more time and money on social media activities than you need. Ensure you reap a decent return on your social investment by limiting your social posts to a frequency that’s effective and beneficial to your customers and your bottom line.
  • Bad Mouth: Don’t do it! Nobody likes a poor sport. Refrain from bad mouthing your competitors or difficult customers. This never ends well, so just don’t do it!
  • Get Political: Keep your political opinions to yourself. Whilst some retailers take a stance on issues as part of their brand image, this is always risky business. To play it safe, avoid discussing politics on your social channels unless they are extremely relevant to your business, such as key legislation changes that may impact your business and its customers (for example, the banning of free plastic carrier bags, as customers may need to be made aware of how your business will implement appropriate changes). Even then, don’t make your social strategy about your opinion on changes, but simply use it to communicate your positive response strategy.
  • Focus on Vanity Metrics: There’s no use celebrating 100,000 followers or sulking over stagnant likes if neither of these measurements reflect conversions or sales. Sure, brand awareness is a valid marketing objective, but determine KPIs that suit your business goals and determine your social performance and success on more relevant metrics rather than social followers or likes.

For more detailed advice and tips on how to manage your retail social channels, why not give our blog post, “How to Monetise Social Channels for Retailers” a quick read.

 

At AlphaGraphics, we specialise in helping retail businesses run end-to-end tailored marketing campaigns covering all channels to improve lead generation – including social media. To find out more, visit: https://retail.alphagraphics.co.uk/