Last week, the Crystal Media Team and I were thrilled to host our 2nd 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