Retail Social Media Success

August 10, 2020 By Pauline Blasetti Leave a Comment

Is the right person managing your social media?

I talk to dozens of retailers every month about their social media strategy (or lack thereof) and when I ask “Who is currently managing your social media?” I often hear “I have this young employee…but I don’t really know if what she’s doing is working”. Does this sound like you? If so keep reading.

It’s often assumed that younger people spend more time on social media therefore understand how it works. And technically that can be true in terms of functionality but it doesn’t mean it translates into using social media to market a business. Think of it like this, anyone can be taught how to ring up a sale and use a cash register but that doesn’t mean they’re a good salesperson. Keep in mind that the technical side of social media can always be taught but you’re looking for someone to market your business.

Here are three qualities to look for while searching for a social media manager.

Passion. The person needs to be passionate about your products and services. Passion translates into marketing and sales. This can not be taught, if someone is great at using Instagram but not interested in what you’re selling, they aren’t the right person.

Willingness to learn. This is important because social media changes frequently and what works for one business might not work for another. I also find that often if the wrong person is managing social media they can get stuck on only wanting to use the features or strategies that they personally like to use as a consumer of the content, which might not be right for your business. Make sure the person you have managing your social media is open to trying new things, learning from what others are doing, and staying up-to-date of the changes.

Strategic. Having a plan and being strategic will always save you time, and as a busy retailer time is one thing you don’t have to waste. Make sure the person managing your social media has a strategy and is actively tracking what they are doing.

Does the person managing your social media have these three qualities? Share in the comments below.

July 23, 2020 By Crystal Leave a Comment

Retailer Inspiration: How Eight Store Owners are Seeing Social Media Success

Last week, the Crystal Media Team and I were thrilled to host our 2^nd Annual Social Media Day. As a virtual event this year, we weren’t sure what to expect, but holy guacamole…

It. Was. Epic.

Picture over 200 retailers focused and engaged with us for over 5 hours, eagerly learning how to create a successful social media strategy and the tactics impacting both businesses and customers in today’s world.

Many attendees shared the big wins they’re seeing from their social media learnings. So, in today’s post, I wanted to share some of those successes (partnered with my comments and advice) with you!

Jessica: “We love the engagement tools on Instagram stories! They usually triple our engagement and profile visits.”

Crystal’s Comments: Engagement tools for Instagram are things like, say, the Stickers you have access to when posting Stories. The average smartphone user taps their phone 2,000 times a day. With all that tapping and swiping, when you add engagement stickers to Stories, you’re prompting the user to engage, which helps with the algorithm. When people engage with your content (tap, comment, heart/like, share, click, etc.), they’re more likely to see more posts from you. Plus, you’ll see more engagement when you add ways for people to interact with your content, so start using more Stickers on your IG Stories!

Tamara: “I’m seeing my website sales go up at every post and story. It’s new for me to do this as no site prior to COVID.”

Crystal’s Comments: When the shutdown due to COVID-19 took place in March, many retailers launched eCommerce websites or resurrected old websites creating a way for customers to still buy products. More and more consumers are shopping online and according to SocialMediaToday.com, 42% of consumers believe the way they shop will fundamentally change. From dog food to furniture to crafts to gifts to groceries and all the categories in between, people are finding online shopping to be easy and convenient. Like I teach in my Social Selling Course you don’t have to have an eCommerce website to still sell products through social media, but you need to give your customers another way to buy products from you outside of your physical storefront and make sure you’re properly marketing those channels.

Heather: “We’ve done offers on our Google My Business and we get results from it. And it’s free.”

Crystal’s Comments: Hands down, an optimized Google My Business page is foundational to a retail business. If you don’t have access to yours or haven’t updated it in a while, get started at www.google.com/business. Make sure your listing is updated, products you carry are added, and photos of your store uploaded to ensure increased views of your post. To do what Heather does, post offers onto your Google My Business page, and don’t forget to share any important updates to keep customers in-the-know of changes to your business due to COVID-19.

Michele: “We started [Facebook] ads 3 weeks ago. Already got over 200 emails from the ads. Super happy.”

Crystal’s Comments: 200 new emails in three weeks?! Woot woot!! 🎉 If you’ve ever heard me speak or if you’re an Insider member, you know I strongly recommend retailers use Facebook and Instagram Ads. It is one of the most cost-effective forms of advertising and you can get incredibly targeted on these platforms. Crystal Media’s Ads Agency sees the power of ads weekly based on the success of our clients. If you’re not using ads to market your store, you’re missing out on more customers, more email addresses, more site traffic – I can’t stress this enough. Another reason I strongly recommend Facebook and Instagram Ads is because you don’t need a big box budget. You can run ads for as low as $1/day, but I recommend at least $5/day. NOTE: Starting August 5th, 2020 is the Facebook and Instagram Ads Masterclass. If you want access to this training click here to buy your ticket!

Barbara: “Hands down I get more sales from Instagram than anywhere else. Really looking on being cutting edge there.”

Crystal’s Comments: We’re seeing a lot of retailers selling product on Instagram. And with the new Facebook and Instagram Shops rolling out, I predict we’ll see a lot more. Is your audience on Instagram? Share photos, create multi-photo posts and/or videos to showcase items and, in the caption, share the benefits and/or tell stories. Make sure your content is “pretty” – it’s not blurry, it has good lighting, easy to see/read, connects to your customers, is relatable and is on brand.

Terri: “I personally know a store that has rented two more spaces because of the business TikTok has generated for them. They have two videos with over a million views and have over 100K followers in less than 8 weeks! They’re killing it.”

Crystal’s Comments: If you’re thinking of using TikTok to market your store, first make sure your customers are using TikTok (this goes for any social site; show up where your customers spend their time). 41% of users are between 16 and 24 with the millennial audience quickly joining the app. I know there is a lot of conversation around the future of TikTok due to the data they collect on their users (the app being banned in India and threatened to be banned in the USA). I’m not sure what the future holds for TikTok, but my take is anytime you use a free app like Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc., you’re still “paying” for it, but with your data. Use Tiktok (or any app) at your own discretion, but it is a place we’re seeing some great retail success.

Christine: “We send out 3-4 emails a week and it works great. We own shoe stores in Atlanta.”

Crystal’s Comments: Email marketing is not dead! Email is still a strong form of marketing and will grow your business if you follow best practices. One of those best practices is sending consistently as Christine does. Email open rates might have decreased overall, but I’m still hearing about lots of success from retailers, and email marketing is one of the strongest sales tools we have at Crystal Media.

Anna: “I posted a selfie on my Instagram on Tuesday, sitting in backyard at home, and it got 111 likes, and it was just me!”

Crystal’s Comments: People love seeing the store owner! Social media is SOCIAL – you should include pictures of you, your team, your customers and leverage video and Live Streaming. Now more than ever your customers want to see you and connect with you, so don’t be camera shy! Snap a photo or hit record and show up for your audience!

I hope this inspired you! If you’d like to share what’s working for your store, leave us a comment below or message us on Instagram or Facebook (make sure you follow us there, too)!

To the future,

Crystal

View this post on Instagram

TODAY is the day! We are so excited to “see” everyone online who has previously registered for our Virtual Social Media Day event! 💙 We are ready for a half day full of learning and sharing ways to help you become successful with marketing your small business! 👌 We’ll see you all in just 10 minutes! 🥳

A post shared by Crystal Media: Local Marketing (@crystalmediaco) on Jul 17, 2020 at 8:51am PDT

July 6, 2020 By Steph Bechard Leave a Comment

Creating Convenience 😁

This past week I presented my first Insider* training for July’s topic; Creating Convenience.

Creating convenience is bringing ease to new and existing customers with digital and in-person tactics. With so many companies flooding social media trying to take advantage of the extra time consumers are spending online during the pandemic, strive to be a brand that offers a stress-free and easy shopping experience that the customer can enjoy. Going out to shop right now isn’t as convenient as it once was, consider how you can change that for your customers.

Today I wanted to share two takeaways for you to implement to your social media marketing to create convenience:

Create Facebook albums according to categories in your store. I want you to envision your Facebook albums as digital shopping aisles and add photos of your products regularly for customers to browse. Include styled and clear pictures of individual products, instead of snapping a quick photo of an entire shelf or display and posting that. The point is to highlight items to showcase to your customers. Keep in mind your social posts might be the first introduction someone has to your store.
Rethink how you are writing your captions, especially for posts with photos. This is your new opportunity to sell to the viewer. Instead of writing something simple, like you might have done before like “This just in!”, now include more detail and make your captions more conversational. Include all the information a viewer might need to decide to buy, like price, size, variations, and special or unique details.

These are foundational tips to social media marketing but it’s important not to forget the basics while you’re adapting and evolving. 😁

I look forward to hearing about your customer’s smiling faces when you are their go-to stress-free shop! 🙂

*If you’re interested in watching July’s Training, and all future and past monthly training, consider becoming an Insider to aid you in Crystal Clear marketing for small businesses. Click here to learn more.

May 11, 2016 By Crystal Leave a Comment

‘Pin & Win: Take Pinterest from a Hobby to a Hot Traffic Generator’ – RDI Webinar Replay

Thanks for being here! This is your replay page, along with additional information about how to join our social media training program (just for retailers), Social Edge. Today we had a fantastic webinar named, “Pin & Win: Take Pinterest from a Hobby to a Hot Traffic Generator” — we covered how to make simple yet incredibly effective efforts on Pinterest.

Watch the webinar replay below — and remember, we only have this page available for 48 hours. Make sure to watch before Friday, May 13th at 4pm. As always, our Social Edge members have endless access to webinar replays.

What’s Holding Your Social Media Game Back?

As I’ve stated in many of my webinars and courses, social media is as great as you make it. And only if you carve out time. Don’t have time for your social media? Hire someone! Commit to yourself and to your store. – Here’s a quote I’m inspired by:

“Success is an attitude, a mindset, a decision, a commitment, a promise. A belief that it can be done, should be done and WILL be done.“ -George Akomas Jr.

Is it time for you to commit and up your social media game?

——>Click here to sign up for Social Edge<—

And now – watch the webinar below!

Pin & Win: Take Pinterest from a Hobby to a Hot Traffic Generator from RDI Diamonds on Vimeo.