24 Jul Social Media and eCommerce: Ignite Your Week
Social Media and Ecommerce Trends
E-commerce sales have reached about a half-trillion dollars and the cost of acquiring new customers is growing with it. A key trend, from Mary Meeker’s annual internet report showed that Americans are spending more time with digital media than ever before. E-commerce has grown to about $450 billion dollars, with internet ad spending increasing by 22%. But, with those increases, so has the cost to acquire new customers. This increase in customer acquisition cost means marketers and brands need to find cost-effective ways to attract customers.
Meeker suggests maybe free trials and products might be a way of doing that. For example, Spotify saw high conversion rates when they gave new users a free trial of their ad free-version. Additionally, brands need to ensure they’re using the right platforms to promote their products.
Social Channels for Product Discovery
Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest are the top platforms for discovering products. For people trying to sell fashion clothing or home decor perhaps “Shop the Look” on Pinterest could be a new way to get customers to purchase by allowing them to see a complete look of a series of products then click on a white dot on a product and immediately shop it.
Many brands are also anticipating the expansion of the Instagram check-out feature, but that likely won’t be widely available until 2020.
Next Steps for Brands
Considering the trends in e-commerce and the rising cost of customer acquisition now is the time to look at your e-commerce social strategy. Ask yourself a few questions like, has it been working? Is there more that you can do to capture new customers with this growing desire to purchase products online? Or maybe a free product trial is the key to lower your acquisition costs? There’s no right answer. And you may need to test a few of these to determine what’s right for your brand.
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