There are a lot of people who completely misunderstand the purpose of social media for business and thus lose out on its unique advantages. It’s not just about selling and advertising online. It’s far more!
What Is E-commerce?
Electronic commerce or e-commerce is all about using the internet to sell, sell, sell. It has its own pros and cons and is widely used as an alternative to a brick-and-mortar store. An eBay store is an example, but e-commerce is far more complex than just selling via an online store. It uses many elements, including email marketing, social media marketing, PPC campaigns, Google advertisements, PayPal buttons, and more.
Let’s say you have a product you want to sell, but you don’t want to set up a store. You want to use the internet, instead. So you set up a website optimized for e-commerce with easy checkout and payment processes, squeeze pages, limited-time offers, etc. You then research hot keywords being searched in Google and create ads to pop up when people search these terms. This is a basic example of e-commerce. Think of it as advertising. You pay money to get your product in front of people and push them to buy. Straight and to the point – and worlds different from social media for business.
What Is Social Media?
Social media for business is a very intricate and nuanced form of networking and relationship building online. It can build empires or destroy them. And it has many uses within this broad umbrella, one of which can even be to advertise (e-commerce). But it goes far beyond just selling products. Smart marketers understand that relationships drive business far more than ads. Sure, you can make a living selling stuff on Google. But you can craft a brand, cultivate a following, and nurture relationships on social media.
Whether one approach is “better” than the other is irrelevant – e-commerce and social media for business are each intended to fulfill completely different functions. The point is, you should not approach social media with an advertising mentality, hoping to push people and sell, sell, sell. Slow down a bit, invest the resources into the following functions of social media, and watch an empire arise:
- PR/Branding
Your business presumably has a narrative or story to tell. Your brand or unique selling points should be communicated in a non-promotional way, so as to not turn off today’s marketing-savvy consumers. Social media is the perfect place to monitor and craft brand health, build credibility, respond to customers, and show you care. - Cultivating a Tribe
A vibrant social media strategy includes socializing with your target audience, listening to them and responding to them. This is how you build a following – by contributing to the dialogue.
- Generating Leads
Social media should not be viewed solely as an advertising platform, yet lead generation is a valid role of social media if done within the framework of a healthy relationship-oriented strategy. Your involvement will build a tribe who will appreciate your solutions and do business with you. - Advertising
Let’s be clear on this one. When it comes to social media, put the social before the media. Social media is not just a broadcast platform for advertising campaigns. But within the context of an online conversation and community, targeted social media ads can pinpoint the specific people who need your product or service and engage and motivate them in extremely powerful ways. - Driving Traffic
By sharing valuable, original content on social media that responds to the questions your target audience is asking, you drive traffic back to your website. Social media allows you to create and nurture an audience hungry for the content you create and eager to follow your links back to your website where they will subscribe to your email list and even do business with you. Why? Because they know and trust you.
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