Category: Blog

New features are constantly being added to the various social media platforms across the Internet. As more and more people become social and connect with others via these social networks, the platforms are doing their best to cater to user interests. The rise in popularity of social networking has risen to new heights during 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many people have had to remain indoors or quarantine and one of the best ways to communicate with others has been through various social sites. It was estimated that in 2018 approximately 72% of American adults were using social media and this number continues to grow.

E-Commerce Is Also on the Rise

The amount of online shopping has risen to new heights this year as well. According to a recent study, Generation X is making the most transactions online annually and generating 18.6 purchases per person on average on the Internet. Millennials are following right on their heels with an average of 15.6 transactions taking place per year per person. Baby Boomers are in third place with 15.1 average transactions completed per person per year.

The rise in e-commerce has been rising rapidly during the last decade. Shopify is projecting that e-commerce retail sales will top $4.9 trillion USD by 2021 on a global basis.

Social Commerce and Covid-19

Many brick-and-mortar businesses have closed their doors either temporarily or permanently during the Covid-19 pandemic. This has led to unprecedented online shopping during 2020. While this was to be expected since many people didn’t have access to brick-and-mortar stores, it’s surprising to note that many people have been shopping on social media sites. 

In 2020, there were many social platforms that started to allow social commerce. Both large and small businesses could sell their products on these platforms. With social shopping already on the rise, and more people using their cell phones to make purchases, it was a natural occurrence. Many people use their cell phones to access their social media sites and according to a survey that was published in 2019, mobile devices were used more than any other outlet to make purchases online. This was the first time that mobile devices outranked other devices in terms of online shopping behavior.

Businesses that aren’t yet promoting their products or services on social media sites should start rethinking their strategies. With more and more people turning to these social platforms to make purchases, it would be a good idea to start advertising now to prepare for the holiday season.

Here are some of the social media websites that have newly introduced or have updated their sites for e-commerce shopping:

Pinterest

A shopping feature was released by Pinterest in April, 2020. Pinterest users were allowed to create a business account to sell products through search, boards and pins. The platform allows equal competition between small and large businesses and many of the searches that are taking place on Pinterest are unbranded. This provides an equal platform for retailers, which is especially appreciated by small businesses.

Instagram

Instagram released Instagram Shops in May, 2020. This is a feature that is similar to the one released by Facebook at the same time. Individuals with business accounts are able to tag items for sale and users are able to click on them to either purchase something directly or to be directed to an external website. Instagram has recently added the “Shop” button to the navigation tab at the bottom to make it more visible.

Instagram also released IGTV this month, which showcases products on the display page and it allows instant purchases. The marketing is done using videos. There is also talk of a new feature release in the future called Instagram Reels, which will be in the testing phase later in 2020.

Facebook

Facebook Shops was also introduced by Facebook in May. This feature was set up to support smaller businesses. Users were given the opportunity to put an online store on their own Facebook Pages. This is in addition to Marketplace, where people can sell items to people directly. The Facebook Shops new online e-commerce feature can be set up with a checkout process so it’s not necessary to redirect buyers to an external website.

Facebook also introduced the Facebook Business Suite allowing users to make posts on Instagram and Facebook at the same time. The suite also has notifications and alerts for both social sites in one place. This was originally set up for only small businesses but it will soon be available to larger companies as well.

In the Development Stage

There are 3 social media platforms that currently have e-commerce solutions in the development stages including:

YouTube

A new feature is currently being tested by YouTube allowing viewers to shop and purchase items directly from the platform. This would mean that viewers would not have to be sent to an external website to make a purchase. YouTube may also be testing an integration feature with Shopify allowing users to sell directly on YouTube.

Snapchat

Snapchat has a feature that is in closed beta at the moment but expected to be opened later this year. It’s called Brand Profiles and includes designated pages with 4 components including a native store. At this store, potential buyers are able to shop directly from the brand profile of the business. Shopify powers this feature so users don’t have to leave the app to go through the checkout process.

TikTok

There has been a lot of buzz about TikTok testing out an app for shopping. This TikTok feature was tested by the company Levi’s in late 2019 and some influencers were provided with access to e-commerce links that they could add to their profiles. At this time, however, there is no confirmation either way regarding the release date of any TikTok shopping feature.

These are the social media platforms that have either updated or introduced social shopping on their sites or have something in the works that is in the development stage. One of the companies that has phased out social shopping on its platform is Twitter. It’s not certain whether this shopping feature will ever be relaunched by the company.

Find out more about social commerce and how it can grow your business to new levels, especially at the holiday season, by visiting our website now at entangleagency.com.

Your social media marketing efforts should be including several different social sites including LinkedIn. This platform encourages the building of both business-to-business and business-to-customer relationships. It is the ideal place to attract clients and to promote your brand but it’s important to have a content strategy in place first.

A lot of businesses that use the LinkedIn platform as a promotional tool use content strategist to make sure that the content placed on the site directly reflects the overall business goals. This holds true for all types of content that are created for the LinkedIn site including the following:

• Videos
• Articles
• Posts

The posts that are being created for LinkedIn should be supporting both your off-line and your online business goals. Whether you are promoting a service, inviting professionals to sign up for your newsletter or building brand awareness, it’s important to make sure that everything is aligned. With LinkedIn, it’s all about reaching out to a target audience, introducing your brand and then establishing a relationship based on trust.

Content Creation Strategy

There are different types of content that you should be concentrating on when creating your LinkedIn posts in order to drive in new customers and raise your revenue. These content types include: 

• Promotional content
• Professional content
• Personal content

When done correctly, your posts should be a mix of all the above. Using a variety of content makes your brand more interesting and your content will naturally reach more people. For example, some professionals will be more interested in professional content while others would be interested in personal content. This personal content helps prove that you are representing a brand that can be trusted.

Promotional Content

Promotional content is created with the goal of selling something. If you are using LinkedIn as a marketing tool, it’s expected that you would disseminate some content that is promotional. Many people use this networking platform to build business relationships in order to work together with others. 

If you are only creating professional content or personal content and your target audience gets to know you and trust you, they deserve to have some promotional content to read in case they would like to work with you on projects. After all, the goal of reaching out to others on LinkedIn should always be related to establishing relationships that further your business goals.

Types of Promotional Offers

Don’t be afraid to sell on LinkedIn. Selling is a natural process that is an essential part of doing business. If you aren’t comfortable posting this type of content, start out slowly and then build up momentum with your posts. These promotional offers should play an important part in your marketing strategy.

Feel free to place posts on the site regarding any free offers you may have available or any paid services or products you are selling. Try to find a way to add value to the content with useful information while promoting your services or product. This way, you won’t appear to be using the platform for advertising purposes only.

If you need help with your promotional posts, you should connect with a branding agency or a digital marketing agency. It’s important to connect with others in your industry or other niche fields with the right tone of voice in your writing style.

Professional Content Writing

This content is based on showcasing your authority and expertise in your industry. It involves providing useful content that would be helpful to others. There are different ways to present these posts including:

• Sharing news about your industry
• LinkedIn articles
• How-to posts
• Technical information about products
• Service benefits
• Much more

When you can write your posts in an informative fashion that highlights your expertise you will be able to strengthen your brand and you’ll be considered as an authority in the field. A great way to connect with others is to construct your posts with useful and valuable information while at the same time offering a personalized perspective on things. This provides an important human value to your brand, which is a vital step towards solidifying relationships with others.

If you need any help putting together professional content for your LinkedIn account, connect with a digital marketing agency that has experienced content strategists on board. You can build up amazing business relationships and a brand-new customer base when you approach LinkedIn with the professional attitude it deserves.

Personal Content

Personal content does not refer to talking about your home life and your personal relationships with others. It is, rather, content that displays who you are as a person beyond the scope of work. This type of contents could include posts about your hobbies, behind the scene videos, your extracurricular activities etc.

Personal content is the perfect way to sell yourself. This is an important aspect of building any business relationship since people aren’t just investing in your products or services but are investing in you as well. Humanize your brand by letting others know more about you without delving too deeply into your personal life.

If you make things too personal it will be bad for business. People do want to know who you are but only to a certain extent. If you start posting about your opinions on subjects such as religion and politics for example, you may start to scare away potential customers or business partners who otherwise would have wanted to work with you. 

There is a balance that must be put into place in terms of personal content for LinkedIn. It’s important to share some but not too much of your personal life. When you can find the perfect balance, you’ll be able to add a personality to your brand that will distinguish it from all others.

Branding Agency

If you are looking for a branding agency that can bring your business to a new level through LinkedIn, please reach out to us through our website at entangleagency.com. At Entangle Agency we understand the marketing benefits of LinkedIn along with the benefits of promoting on other social media platforms.

Creative contributes to 47% or more of your sales success!

Across all mediums, year-over-year the stats consistently prove that it is creative over anything else that moves the needle the most. August is a great month to review your creative strategy.

Look at:

1. ads
2. logos
3. branding
4. fonts
5. colour palette
6. icons
7. photography style
8. video
9. copy writing tone and voice
10. a promise to banish stock photography forever 🙂

August is generally a slow month for sales but a good time to review your brand for the coming selling season. Thanks Nielsen for your constant tracking.