Communicate with
your customers
The most common barrier we find that prevents customers from
purchasing in-store are caused by retailers insufficiently communicating with
their customers and their employees, particularly if they are constantly busy.
Social media provides an additional avenue to communicate with your customers
on an interpersonal level, which increases engagement and loyalty.
Promote social
engagement in-store
An opportunity that many retailers may be missing is
promoting and encouraging social engagement in the store. American company,
Nordstrom, started using its Pinterest fan base to identify popular products
and encourage social engagement. These “most-pinned products” were then
promoted in-store with special signage and unique merchandise designs. Other
companies have used designated hash tags, encouraging customers to share images
of themselves in-store by offering incentives.
Increase brand
preference
Social media is all about defining your business’
personality. By doing this, your business will appear more ‘personable’ and
‘humanised’ and your customers will find you more relatable.
Share new
products/services
Social
media is a fantastic outlet to let your customers know when you have new stock
arriving, or decide to offer them a new service. The visual nature of many
platforms allows you to post images and allows your customers to share them.
Promote upcoming
events
Are you having a sale? Social media is the perfect place to
promote it. What about a special event? Facebook allows you to set up events
within your page, driving foot traffic to your store and giving your customers
something to look forward to!
Promote exclusive
deals and offers
For retail outlets, using social media to offer special
promotions to loyal followers not only allows instant sales, it also allows you
to measure your effort based on the response. Encourage your followers to share
the promotions for greater impact.
Share ‘employee
picks’
This will not only personalise your business, it will make
your employees feel special and that their opinion is valued. Plus, customers
love recommendations!!
Integrate your
social media platforms
It has never been easier to integrate your entire marketing
campaign online, particularly with the use of hash tags and links. Encouraging
your customers to visit your other social media networks and website is the
most efficient way of driving online traffic, allowing your customers to
connect with you on a range of platforms no matter which one they use.
