7 Social Media Marketing Tips For Retailers

November 25, 2009 | Willis Wee

Products

According to Performics, social media users are pretty open to social media marketing.

This is definitely good news for retailers engaging in it, but that alone would not guarantee a successful campaign. Many of them are not maximizing the use of tools widely and freely available on social media. Some are also approaching social media marketing the wrong way.

If you think you are one of those mentioned, don’t fret! Here are 7 social media tips for retailers:

1. Use coupons

Social media users love coupons – something that retailers on social media can leverage on. It is a win-win situation for both parties.

Codes

When we think of promo codes, @delloutlet comes to mind quickly. It is probably one of the few successful companies that have claimed to make a profit on Twitter. A code enables you to track the effectiveness of your coupon and motivates consumers to purchase from you.

dell promo code

#hashtag
A hashtag enables you to segment your tweets or updates. If you’re a retailer selling a huge range of products, “hashtagging” makes searching and browsing easy for your followers and fans. Examples: #Penn_Shoes, #Penn_Jeans, #Penn_Tees.

Don’t forget to tag #sale to make your promotion more visible to discount hunters.

2. Use images and videos

Instead of cramping your product description into 140 characters, use visuals instead (hint: Twitpic). Uploading videos on your Facebook page is another possible idea.

Make full use of the media and tools available.

3. Use Applications

An order application can be extremely useful. Pizza Hut has it on Facebook and iPhone. It is always good to offer more channels for your customers to purchase your product. Catch the video below:

4. Be a human

Because of its nature, sending out frequent promotional tweets can make you lose your human touch. Nonetheless, try speaking rather then shouting what you have to offer (there’s a difference). Remember that Twitter and Facebook are primarily social tools.

5. Have a good landing page

You have now successfully gotten people to your site but are you going to turn them off with an unattractive landing page? Make sure that your updates are linked to the correct promotional page. Instructions has to be clear to make buying fast and easy.

Remember that click-through-rate doesn’t necessary mean higher ROI.

6. Social media campaigns are good but..

..they can be expensive. Burberry and Coca Cola have shown how costly they can be. To compensate for a lack of budget, small retailers would have to make greater use of their creativity.

Note: Running a Facebook contest is no longer free. Check out why.

7. Offline and online integration

Last but not least, for retailers, it is important to integrate your offline and online marketing efforts to create maximum impact. How about making social media part of your company culture?

Companies like Zappos, Pringles and Ford have made social media part of their family. When will it be your turn?