If you have an Instagram business page, you can pay to run an ad by boosting your post. Typically these ads don’t cost a lot of money (a few cents to a few dollars depending on how long you choose to run the ad for), and they can drastically increase the amount of views and likes you get on your post. Often this increase in views and likes translates into an increase in followers as well. You also have the option of boosting your posts on Facebook, where you should see the same results. All of these things better your chances of customers clicking on your page and following the link to your store, resulting in the inevitable rise in sales.
Through the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot people unfortunately found themselves out of work, and in need of a new source of income. For many, this presented an opportunity to turn their passion into a business, leading to the development of many new online stores. Whether that passion is a service like birthday balloons and lawn signs, or a product like crocheted toys or bath products, the real trick is learning how to promote that small business online, especially in a time where promoting your business in person isn’t an option. Let’s talk about the best ways to promote your business using social media, bringing more customers to your online store.
Boost Your Posts
Utilize Story Highlights
On Facebook and Instagram, you can create posts as a story, which will cause your profile picture to be highlighted. This is an effective way of promoting your business online because more often than not, people will click on your story, even if it’s just to get rid of the notification. With an eye-catching graphic, this quick click could turn into a sale. If you post something enticing enough…maybe a bright picture of your products, or better yet, a sale announcement, the person viewing your story could be tempted to go to your page and click on your store link.
Optimize Your Bio
On both Facebook and Instagram, you are given a section to put a bit of information about yourself and your business. The two most important things to post in this section are your means of contact (e-mail, phone number, etc), and important links (your actual website, your FAQ page, testimonials, etc). Keep in mind however, that each platform has different restrictions with regard to how much or little information you can post. For example, with Instagram there is a character limit and therefore you can only share a few sentences about your business and one active link. Whereas with Facebook, you can share as much information and as many links as you want. In either scenario, posting the link to your webstore and/or website is crucial because if they can’t easily find it, they aren’t likely to visit it or shop from it. To optimize your bio, try using a webservice like Linktree. Linktree provides you with one link that goes to essentially a landing page which you can customize and brand to fit your needs. Here, you can list as many links as you’d like to support your business, creating an efficient and clean way to display all of your important pages in one space, ultimately making it easier for your audience to find what they are looking for.
Engage with Influencers
If you can, get an influencer to promote your product or service on their page. Influencers are the newest form of celebrity, and oftentimes their word is gospel when it comes to what products are in or out. Much like those with a brick-and-mortar store, an influencer’s recommendation can go a long way as far as bringing new customers to your business. If an influencer says that someone should buy something, there is a pretty good chance that those same people will at least go to your website to see what it’s all about.
Pick a Company Esthetic
Whatever design you choose for your company, make sure you keep it consistent across the internet. Choose a colour scheme, font, layout, and general design for your company, and use it as much as possible on all of your platforms. People love consistency, and often are drawn to a page because they like their esthetic. If people are drawn into your social media because they like the way that it looks, it’s likely that they will go to your webstore page to see all of what you have to offer.
Watch Your Analytics
Be sure to keep track of what is working on your page and what is not. Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn all have analytics or insights you can view if you are running a business page. With these insights, you can see specifically how far each post has reached, and how many interactions those posts have received. If one type of post was more successful than another (maybe a personal post did a bit better than a product post), then you know what types of posts your audience like to see, and you can tailor your page to meet those needs. There are many web-based services out there that you can use to schedule all of your social media postings (usually for a monthly fee) in advance. At Cormack, we choose to use a service called ContentCal because in addition to an easy-to-use scheduling tool, they offer very in-depth analytics regarding the social media channels we have chosen to connect to it. Not only do services like this allow you to get ahead of your social media calendar, but they allow you to keep on top of how your posts are preforming as well. If your audience likes what they see, then they’re sure to go to your website to support your business.
The most important thing to understand when running an online-only business is that you absolutely need to have some sort of social media. Social media is such a useful tool in so many ways, and is the best way to promote your business (oftentimes for free)!
What are some of your tips and tricks for bringing customers to your online store? Email us at info@cormackrecruimment.com to share and we’ll post it on our social media channels and tag your small business!
According to the media, the Canadian Retail Industry is all doom and gloom, but we have a different take. Read on to see our Chief Recruitment Expert, Amanda Cox's perspective on how to navigate the continuously evolving landscape of the Canadian Retail world.
A story about 2 Entrepreneurs seeking to foster a culture of positivity together