Although at times frustrating, social media can be highly advantageous for online businesses. Social media allows you to communicate and build relationships with your customers, and can also increase the traffic to your ecommerce website from search engines.

Committing to Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ or Twitter might appear like a time consuming task, but the benefits it will bring to your business ensure that it's worth your while. Even though implementing social media requires a large number of resources, especially for small businesses, and may not seem worth the effort in terms of revenue, companies will only miss out if they don't get on board.

Increased Ecommerce Business Success

The world of social networks is an untapped source of potential traffic to your website. It also helps in creating greater authority for your customers. So how do you get started? Firstly, integrate social media onto your website, which will allow your customers to do a lot of the social media effort for you. It all boils down to putting social network sharing buttons on your website and encouraging customers to write blog posts for you, take pictures, review your products and spread the word.

Why Should Your E-commerce Website Install Sharing Buttons?

The social network share buttons are fantastic for ecommerce websites. You've probably seen the “tweet this" or “like this" on a lot other online stores, blogs and articles. So what makes them so great?

They are easy to set up.
Once they are installed, nothing else needs to be done.
Your website customers and visitors do your social media for you.

However, before jumping into the social media, there are a few caveats that are worth mentioning.

What Are The Biggest Social Media Mistakes For Online Businesses?

Ecommerce businesses sometimes underestimate the power of social networking and the possible consequences if it's badly used. To avoid any mishaps in the future, social media experts have laid down some useful recommendations:

Don't be inappropriate. Pay careful attention to what is shared or posted on your social media platforms. Your networking account directly represents your brand. Moreover, social media works on the spot. This means that unresponsiveness or delay will be viewed as negative. Consumers love instant answers!
Don't be selfish. The whole concept of social media networking is about your audience. Use it to get to know them and introduce yourself. Become a friend that listens and gives advice. Your potential customers want to be listened to; they want to know you care about them. Instead of cramming your Facebook, Twitter or any other social platform with promotions, you should engage in small talk with your potential customers. This way you will increase their receptiveness.
Don't assume social analysis doesn't matter. Your ecommerce statistics concerning social networks should be measured. Count the retweets, likes and shares. Also consider areas such as loyalty, awareness or reduced return rate as well as the frequency of repeat purchases.
Don't think social media is not working. Similarly to SEO, you will not get an overnight effect. It will take time to build your audience and achieve significant results. Make sure you keep analysing the numbers. Even though you cannot see it in your revenue instantly, social media will have an impact on your business.

Avoid mistakes by employing trusted specialists to handle your social media networks. After all, your aim is to make people talk about you in the best possible light. So this might best be left to professionals.

E-commerce Expert Recommendations From Advansys

The team at Advansys is willing to share some of the best tips that will help make social media work for you. Our top recommendation are to:

Find the code for social buttons like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+.
Get your team to set up these buttons on your website
Keep a close eye on your statistics and keep reviewing your social media strategy.

When briefing and training your staff on the proper social networking techniques, remind of the core values and your mission. However, if you would prefer to work with experts in the field, we are here to help. Advansys is an award winning company that works to implement the most effective e-commerce solutions to help businesses flourish.

Want to find out more? Call us now 0845 838 2700 or email sales@advansys.com