Understanding and taking advantage of the benefit of social media is crucial to any e-commerce marketing strategy. Knowing where to start with social media can be intimidating, but it’s really not so bad once you understand the basics.

Let’s take a look at the top 4:

Facebook. Using Facebook is probably one of the most effective ways to advertise online today. Not only can you specifically target custom audiences that will benefit your business, you can target their friends as well. This means the net you can cast to boost your sales can be as large as you want it to be – think of it as word of mouth via the web. Currently, Facebook has over 1.15 billion users. Think about how many potential customers that could mean for your business, and the power to reach all of them is literally at your fingertips! Advertising on Facebook is easy, relatively cheap, and fast. Your ads become live the second they are approved, and in most cases this means the same day you submit them. Targeted advertising has never been so simple.

Twitter. Having a presence on Twitter is less important than being on Facebook, but it’s still crucial. It’s an easy way to share articles, promotions, links, etc. that directly relate to your business. You’re not limited to followers or people liking your page. You are able to get your promotions out to the entire Twitter community simply by posting a few words and a few hashtags. Most of the users on Twitter that follow companies or brands do it to get access to exclusive content; this gives you the upper-hand in being able to give out “exclusive discounts” for your Twitter followers, it encourages loyalty to your brand. Plus, Twitter offers analytics that allow you to analyze your Tweets and understand exactly what it is your followers are looking for.

Instagram. Instagram is obviously image based – which is great news for you! Images are the quickest way to get your message across almost instantaneously. Post colorful graphics promoting a sale, photos of products, coupon codes… as long as it’s eye-catching, the users on Instagram will respond, tag their friends, and spread word of your business far & wide. Advertising on Instagram is simple – you can use the Ads Manager on Facebook and control both your Facebook & Instagram ads in one place. This simplifies the task of coordinating your promotions and enables you to advertise on two platforms in one convenient place. In addition to convenience, it’s been proven advertisers on Instagram are seeing results thanks to Instagram’s Advertising Solutions which include but are not limited to Clicks to Website, Website Conversions, Page Post Engagement, and more. Oh, and #DontForgetTheHashtags.

Pinterest. Let’s not forget about this one. Pinterest is frequented by such a diverse user base it’s a great place to get your message out to more than one type of audience. Since Pinterest is category based, this gives you the opportunity to organize the different products/services you offer into specific boards so they are easier for your customers to find. What’s great about Pinterest is that every pin you post has a link that leads back to the source of the image, which means users are only one or two clicks away from being on your site. The average lifespan of a pin is 3 months, which is 1,000 times longer than Facebook or Twitter, so Pinterest makes it much easier for users to find you and your products. It’s great for boosting inbound clicks, keeping your content fresh, and since keywords are crucial it’s excellent for SEO.

Still feel intimidated? That’s where we come in. Ventura specializes in marketing & social media presence. We can help you get yours started or help you improve your existing one – either way, we want to help! Contact us today to see what we can do for you.