Finding YOUR 'Warm' Ecommerce Customers?

Four Simple ways to use social media to find 'warm' ecommerce customers..

These 'warm' customers are just like Goldilocks' -- interested in the porridge that's 'just right.' They're also exactly the people you want to target.

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Back in the good old days, businesses drove commerce by buying ads in the local newspaper, renting space on a billboard or calling people out of a phone book.

Customers came to a physical storefront to do their shopping, and each business had a very limited geographical sphere that it worked in.

What a different world we have today: Many businesses don't have a physical storefront or even see their customers. They sell to people all over the planet, and instead of buying ad space in the local paper, they compete for SEO rankings.

As the world of commerce continues to change, the role of social media in that world has only become bigger. The average person in 2018 spent 45 minutes on social media every day, and the trend toward shopping online straight and even getting there direct from social media sites continues to grow. Already, companies without a social media presence are starting to seem irrelevant.

Of course social media platforms are packed with all kinds of people, but as the leader of an ecommerce business, you probably know that most of those people shouldn't concern you. Instead, your main source of growth is going to come from the golden and sometimes elusive "warm" customer.

Related Article: YOUR Next Level E-Commerce Strategy?

You know who these people are: people with whom you already have at least a fledgling relationship.

They know about your brand; they may follow you on social media; they just haven't bought anything -- yet. Though other customers have their good points, "Goldilocks" should be your focus when you're building up your customer base. Aim for the porridge that's not too hot (current customers who have already bought), not too cold (people with no knowledge of or interest in you), but just right.

The problem is, it can be tricky finding these warm customers. Sure, you're checking your follower lists and website traffic. But what exactly do you look for? What can you do to help them take the next step and buy?

Here are a few ideas to help you find them among the social media crowds:

Related Article: How To Get Millennials To Buy From YOU?

1. Take advantage of all of Facebook's nifty tools.

Though most companies have a Facebook page and use the platform for paid advertising, few have taken the time to figure out how useful some of the platform's analytic tools actually can be.

If you set up a Facebook pixel to track your website traffic (and online store purchases), you can later use that data to target your social media advertising directly at the people using your site.

You can also use Facebook to create lookalike audiences, where you take an audience you already know (people who have already purchased from your store, for example) and set Facebook to target users most similar to that audience. This means people of a similar age, interests and demographics; these are the audience members already "warmer" to you than the average Joe.

Last, you can create audiences on Facebook based on their engagement. Target people who have interacted with your Facebook page or Instagram business profile before, and you'll be able to catch those leads who find your brand attractive enough to have checked out your social media presence.

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2. Make impulse buying easier on Pinterest and Instagram.

Very often, "warm" customers are already following your social media channels or looking at your posts; they just haven't committed enough to take the plunge and buy.

Platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, used in the typical fashion, add lots of steps to the buying process and make it difficult. If your potential customers have to click through a generic link in your Instagram bio, then search up the item they want on the site itself, odds are they aren't going to make the effort.

Luckily, new features on both Pinterest and Instagram enable customers to buy products straight from the app. So, start using product pins on Pinterest, and make sure that your website is optimized for the Pinterest buy button. Instagram's equivalent feature, Shopping on Instagram, lets followers buy straight from the feed.

If you use these tools right (and don't overuse them), your "warm" customers will find it much easier to give your company a try.

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3. Get people to engage by running a promotion or contest.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos once famously said, "Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room." In that light, your goal on social media should be to get your customers to do the talking for you -- in a good way.

One of the most effective ways to engage current (and prospective) customers is by running a promotion or contest on your channels. Followers may share this with their friends, who'll share with their friends; and before long you'll have a long list of referrals -- of "warm" customers.

Lance Essinos, online marketer and host of The University of Adversity podcast, said you get bonus points if you expand your promotion to include other businesses. When I reached out to him for comment, he replied in an email: "People are much more likely to act on advice or recommendations from friends they trust.

"That applies to normal referral situations, but it also applies to cross-promotions with other businesses," Essinos wrote. "In effect, the other business has a big group of friends that like them and follow them, and they're recommending you and your business to that friend group. It's a total win-win for creating good relationships with customer leads"

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4. Become a thought-leader in your customers' sphere.

One of the biggest characteristics "warm" customers can offer you is that they're often looking for information and answers, but not products.. at least yet. As Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg once said in an interview with Time magazine, "Advertising works most effectively when it's in line with what people are already trying to do."

"Already trying to do" are the operative words here; they describe "warm" customers trying to find answers to their problems. These are people willing to go to a little effort to find the information they need -- so you need to be there with the answers.

Start a blog and focus your content on helping to solve their problems. Boost the exposure of your posts by publishing or sharing on your social channels. The more unique and high-quality your content is, the more awareness and loyalty you'll get from your customers. Soon enough, they'll be buying things on your site.

Guest Authored By Lucas Miller. Lucas is the founder and CEO of Echelon Copy LLC, a media relations agency based in Provo, Utah that helps brands improve visibility, enhance reputation and generate leads through authentic storytelling. Follow Lucas on Twitter.

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"So, dive in to building up an impressive social media presence (and marketing to the right customers through it). Yes, it's a process of trial and error. And it takes time and testing to figure out the right way to reach those already looking for what you have to offer. However, with the right tools and know-how, you'll likely find that connecting to the "warm" customers who'll grow your company will only get easier.. -LucasMiller

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  Post Crafted By:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, CO. where I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

Social Media Mistakes YOUR Company Makes?

Over 90% of medium and large businesses have used social media in their marketing for five years or longer. Yet the CMO Survey reveals that nearly half of marketers are unable to show the impact of their social media investments..

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That’s why, no matter what your social media strategy is, it’s always a good idea to go back and make sure you have the basics covered. Your company may discover that it needs a strategic do-over.

Philip Kotler once said, “You should never go to battle before you’ve won the war on paper.” But countless businesses have done just that with social media. Although 97% of Fortune 500 corporations are on LinkedIn, 84% are on Facebook, and 86% are on Twitter, many brands entered the social media front lines without a clear strategy. Social was an add-on to existing plans —- another outlet to deliver the marketing message. Later, marketers found themselves working backward to connect their social strategy to business strategy, as managers demanded greater proof of ROI.

There are a few common mistakes that marketers make with social media. The first is to start with social media objectives. Marketers take a channel such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, and then set goals for raising their numbers of likes, comments, and shares. This approach sounds like it makes sense, but it can trap you in a social media–only perspective. After all, how much is that like, comment, or share actually worth to your business? Unless you connect your social media actions to broader business goals from the beginning, ROI can be elusive, and social media becomes an end unto itself.

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The second mistake is to limit your brand presence to the most popular social media channels.

Success often depends on having a multichannel social media strategy. Yet only two-thirds of the Fortune 500 (66%) are using YouTube, under half are on Instagram (45%), just over one-third (36%) have corporate blogs, and one-third (33%) are on Pinterest. If you are not using these or other platforms, you could be missing out on valuable business opportunities.

For example, research has found that 93% of Pinterest users plan purchases on the platform and 87% have made a purchase after seeing a product they liked. Other platforms, such as Snapchat, may be the ideal place to reach certain demographics (say, Millennials). Instagram has played an integral role in helping to lift sales for brands including Gatorade. And businesses that have prioritized blogging are 13 times more likely to receive positive ROI.

So how do you ensure that your social media efforts are aligned with what matters to your company — and that you are positively contributing to the bottom line? Start by basing your social strategy on business objectives, then follow that by thinking about target market, social media platforms, tools, and metrics.

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Different organizational objectives and target markets may require very different channels and tools.

Don’t simply set goals for higher follower or engagement metrics in the brand’s current social media accounts. Those platforms may be wrong for your business objectives; channels you aren’t on may be better for what you’re trying to accomplish.

To identify the most meaningful business objectives, ask some questions: What numbers must you hit? How will you know you are successful? How does your boss judge success? What has changed recently that is challenging you? What do stakeholders care about most? Business objectives can vary wildly, from increasing sales, generating leads, or improving customer satisfaction to raising awareness, soliciting donations, or gaining volunteers. Thus your objectives should not be social media–focused, such as “Within six months, we should grow our number of fans and increase engagement on Facebook by posting a minimum of five times a week.” That’s a tactic, not a clear goal. A good objective could be “Increase awareness of the brand by 20% for people ages 18–24 within six months.” Hootsuite suggests that real business goals often come from business conversions, brand awareness, and customer experience.

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When considering platforms, think carefully about which you should be on — and which you shouldn’t.

Remember that simply increasing your activity on current platforms may not bring you closer to meeting business objectives. Achieving a better ROI may require closing social accounts that are not aligned with business objectives, or even decreasing social action to focus on posts of more substance. Buffer Social, for example, recently got better results by posting less, not more, on Facebook.

Once you’ve identified your objectives and selected the right platforms, you have to create content that the audience will value. Solve a problem they’re facing, deliver a timely message, or just put a smile on their face. Stories that evoke emotion tend to perform better than straight sales messages. Even paid social media posts merely buy reach; the content itself must be engaging enough to draw action beyond a view. Plus, valuable content often gets shared, increasing your reach even further. And don’t simply post the same content to all your social accounts — customizing the content and scheduling for each channel will get better results.

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Yet content only gets you so far. Much of social media ROI is earned in responding to customers.

Sprout Social has found that brands reply to only one in 10 social messages that require a response. This is a huge missed opportunity, since helpful replies to even negative comments can improve your brand image, reach new customers, and increase the likelihood that customers will buy again. Depending on your industry, you may need the customer service department to get involved. Don’t forget, social is a two-way medium.

Next, ensure you have the right tools in place to manage your social media efforts. To measure success, brands need tools that can monitor, publish, and track the appropriate analytics. They also need to integrate social media across departments, since it is an increasingly important part of the strategies of many areas of the business. F

or efficiency, you may need tools that can bring together multidisciplinary social teams across department silos.

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It’s worth considering tools like Google Analytics, which can break down social traffic to see which efforts are working, ranging from website conversions from a direct sale to email subscription, event registration, or quote requests. Setting up goals with dollar values per conversion can help determine where to focus your time and money beyond followers and likes — connecting social media to the bottom line. Monitoring tools can also track analytics such as sentiment. Too many corporations have seen crisis situations where negative comments in social media led to sales declines and drops in stock price. There are numerous social media analytics software options. Spend some time researching which ones are right for your organization.

Once the right tools are in place, identify and track the metrics that will show the returns on your social media investment. Only when you have done the hard work ahead of time — connecting social action to business objectives — do vanity metrics such as likes and followers become more meaningful. Obviously, you can’t directly connect every social action to a business objective, such as an in-store sale. But you can get close by estimating values. For example, if you know that a percentage of customers who request information on your website purchase a certain product, you can trace the connections by looking at related social media posts and the number of visitors being driven to that call to action page.

Guest Authored By Keith A. Quesenberry. Keith is Assistant Professor at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA. An expert in social media and digital marketing, he is author of Social Media Strategy: Marketing and Advertising in the Consumer Revolution. Follow Keith on X..

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If you are struggling to link your company’s social media presence to business goals, you are not alone.

But it is never too late to (re)start at the beginning. Take a step back to ensure you are considering broader business goals and the target market.

Check that you are using the right platforms and are engaging in the right ways. Then make sure you have the necessary tools and metrics in place. It is a lot easier to prove ROI when you have a clear plan for meeting the business’s objectives — and are not simply increasing social action as an end in itself..

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBr@nd.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Scottsdale, AZ. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

YOUR Travel Business Social Media?

If your business is in the travel industry or benefits in any way from it, you need a strong social media presence..

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As we're in peak vacation season, it may actually not be too late to reach vacationing families right now before the end of summer.

New data shows that vacationing consumers are likely going to check out social media about their destination. They're going to do other travel-related research online, too.

According to data from the Global Web Index, nearly 1 in 4 people (23 percent) going on vacation use social media to research products to buy ahead of their trip. That figure goes up for vacationers with children. A family on vacation heads to social media to do pre-trip research 31 percent of the time.

A further dive into the numbers shows how these vacations are using social media to find what they want. And it also shows what they're doing when they get online.

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Social Media for the Travel Industry

Here's how you can get your social media presence in shipshape to appeal to vacationers:

Set Up a Page

It sounds simple and in most cases, it is. Make yourself a checklist of things you'll need to complete your profile and start posting things about your brand and the products you sell. According to the data, 27 percent of vacationing families visited a brand's social media page in the last month.

And 25 percent of families going on vacation "Liked" or followed a brand they clearly connected with on social media.

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Consider an Ad Campaign

If your business is new to social media, you may want to consult a professional or expert before launching a social media ad campaign. It could end up being a costly venture that nets insignificant results if you're headed into uncharted waters.

But if you have a handle on something like a Facebook Ad campaign, vacationers aren't avoiding this content either. The Global Web Index data showed that 18 percent of the nearly 1,000 vacationing families clicked on sponsored content they saw on social media.

Guest Authored By Joshua Sophy. Joshua is the Assistant Editor for Small Business Trends and the Head of Content Partnerships. A journalist with 17 years of experience in traditional and online media, Joshua got his start in the newspaper business in Pennsylvania. His experience includes being a beat reporter covering daily news. He eventually founded his own local newspaper, the Pottsville Free Press, covering his hometown. Joshua supervises the day-to-day operations of Small Business Trends' busy editorial department including the editorial calendar and outgoing assignments. Follow Joshua on Twitter.

Related Article: Cost-Effective Social Media Advertising?

If your business is in the travel industry or benefits in any way from it, you need a strong social media presence..

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Scottsdale, AZ.. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)