In today’s expanding digital market, it’s increasingly important for retailers to have a solid presence on social media. Over 90% of current retailers use platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to engage with customers and drive sales, and it has become one of the most fundamental requirements for businesses. Maintaining at least one active social media page can help your business thrive in the long run. Before getting started, decide what you want to achieve. Are you trying to market products, drive sales, or build brand awareness and community? Then you can choose the platform or platforms that best support those goals.
Most social media platforms will allow you to increase brand awareness and start an online community, so you have room to be flexible in your choice of platforms. The two most popular platforms for retailers are Facebook and Instagram because they reach broad demographics and generate sales with quick, easy product discovery with purchasing. Others include TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
Retailers may use TikTok to post short and engaging videos for young audiences, and they may use YouTube for longer videos to reach people of all ages. Pinterest offers great visuals for customers to browse and plan their shopping, as does Instagram to a more marketable extent. Retailers use LinkedIn more for their corporate image and identity than any other platform—from networking with brand partners to recruiting talent to their professional community. Ultimately, it’s up to you whether you would like to choose one or several platforms to represent your brand, but be sure that whatever choice you make helps you accomplish your goals and reach your customer demographic.
When you create your profile, make it fun and vibrant but professional. Upload your company logo and use your company name consistently. Write a short bio explaining your brand and what you sell, and include a link to your website, contact information, and store location if applicable. As you start to post content, mix it up with product showcases, customer interviews, polls, contests, behind-the-scenes videos, and seasonal or trending posts. Keep the colors, fonts, and style in line with your brand, and use relevant hashtags. Create a content calendar and post consistently, if not daily then maybe 3-5 posts per week. Over time, you should develop some content strategies and learn to adjust based on results. Monitor performance and track follower growth, engagement rate, website clicks, sales generated through the social media page, and other metrics.
Take note of which posts attract the most likes, comments, pins, and overall attention, and adjust accordingly. Feel free to also test different posting times and formats. Again, with social media, you can be flexible with what you can do. A solid online business presence gives you room to be creative in your marketing approach and encourage both loyal and potential customers to engage with you. Post contests, polls, and other opportunities that allow interaction. Hire employees and interns to update your page and take their suggestions as well. To maintain a solid presence on social media will serve you and your business, and it will resonate with people and draw them to your store, online and in-person.
