3 reasons to use social media to boost eCommerce

If you have recently taken your first steps into launching a business online, you' begin to get a mere peek at the size of the World Wide Web.

One trend that is sure not to have passed any online business owner by is the prospect of having a social media presence.

Using the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and a host of specialist sites may not seem like the smartest use of your time, but there's a reason why millions of other companies have done so.

Not only is social media good for bringing awareness to your brand – allowing potential customers to know that you exist – but it can also help boost your online shopping sales, too.

Here are three statistics that show the effect a corporate social media presence has on eCommerce.

1- It's a gateway to eCommerce

If you think a company Facebook account is solely for geo-tagging yourself at the mall, prepare to be proven wrong.

According to Econsultancy, almost three out of every four Australians make purchases online, and 40 per cent of these have bought a product after viewing them first via social media channels.

A business wanting a piece of this action should be promoting their wares on their social sites, and linking these directly to their online store.

eCommerce payment solutions ensure that customers can buy with confidence, especially when it comes to handing over their precious credit card information.

2 – Promote ways to pay

With Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing that 76 per cent of Aussies shop online today, it sounds like a promising time to get involved in eCommerce. However, if each is only spending cents, there may not be real value in taking payments online, you may think.

Again, this pessimism is misplaced. In any given month, 26 per cent of Australian shoppers spend between $200 and $499 online. Ecorner data shows that in January 2015, a huge 55.69 per cent of this was through a credit card payment gateway.

Many consumers now use social media as the default method to find out more about the brands that peak their interest, making the sites great tools for advertising available payment options.

In fact, one in 10 Australian consumers said they have used social media specifically to make a purchasing decision.

3 – Discover what subscribers want

A good way to judge the success of your social media channels is by the number of members or followers you garner. While these may not necessarily be the people buying your products right away, they have shown an initial interest, and that is a good start.

Followers to your social media accounts are like having people browsing in your shop; they may ultimately walk out without buying anything, but you will be able to attract them into a purchase more easily while they are there – and in the future, too.

Consider using promotional events or offering discounts to the people following you online. According to research collected by Econsultancy, receiving such incentives is the "biggest motivation for Australian consumers to subscribe to social channels".

However, despite these significant statistics, not all Australian retailers are utilising their web resources in a way that can save them time, money and can put them closer to the needs of their customers.

For example, according to the collection of research, only a quarter of retailers currently integrate their database with their website.

To learn more about the help available to small companies and the payment integration solutions tailor-made for even micro businesses, contact Ezidebit today.