social media tips for retailers - Crystal Media

Crystal Media

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Effective Organic Social Media Strategies 👍🏻

There’s a lot of clutter on social media. We often talk about how you’ve got to push through the clutter by advertising to get your posts in front of your customers. While the rule “pay to play” is often true and a great strategy, it’s most effective when your organic content is strong too. đź“Š And, there are times (like during COVID-19) when you want additional options.  I’m going to share with you some free or low-cost strategies that’ll help increase your organic social media presence 🤳.

Shine a light on others. 🔦

Put a spotlight on clients, feature your employees, or give credit to other businesses/organizations. People appreciate being recognized and thanked. And, remember people buy from people. The more often you shine a light on your employees the better your customers will get to know them. 

Do good in your community. 👍🏻

Donate money to an organization. Ask a school or hospital to nominate a deserving student, teacher, or nurse/doctor and give the winner a prize from your store. Your fans love to see what you’re doing to help others in your local area! You’ve probably been doing this for years, donating to the local little league or boys and girls club now is the time to talk about it! 

Leverage a local complimentary business. 🏪

Partner with a business complementary to yours and co-host an event or social media campaign. Not only will you be able to share any expenses, but you’ll also get extra organic exposure from your partner business posting about it on their socials too! 

Host virtual events. đź’»

Not only is this a great tool during COVID-19, but this can also help limit the cost of in-person events in the future too. Hosting the event virtually will cut back on the costs of refreshments or entertainment you might have at an in-person event. Use what’s already popular in your town. Host a virtual fashion show or a game of bingo! Be sure to post about the event leading up to it so more people can tune in.

The key to effective organic strategies is posting content that people want to see, so make sure it’s relevant and have fun with it! 🥳

Comment below which organic strategies have worked for you!

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3 (easy-to-fix) Mistakes You’re Probably Making on Social Media

I’ve been working closely with about a dozen retailers on our new Success Package offering and it’s been awesome. Truly. What an honor to work with amazing people and collaborative clients. I can’t wait to do more.

One of the first steps in the Success Package process is a deep dive audit of the client’s social media. While I’ve been doing these, I’ve found the same three mistakes on every business I’ve come across. The good news? They are easy to fix! The better news? They’ll make you look like a pro compared to your competition.

  • Using hashtags on Facebook
    • Just don’t do it. People don’t search hashtags on Facebook and it makes your posts look sloppy. Also, posts with less text generally perform better so don’t waste your text character count on useless hashtags. One caveat to this: It’s OK to use a branded hashtag for a contest or promotion, but that’s it (IMO). If you’re sharing a post from Instagram, go to that post in FB and remove the hashtags. It takes 3 seconds.
  • Not adding price or description to photos
    • Another easy one. When you upload a picture (or even several), you should include the price and info about the same product in other colors, sizes, etc. This helps the shopper shop right then and there. How many times have you posted an item photo, created some catchy verbiage to go with it then had to respond to comments about price, sizes, color options, etc.? Make it as easy as possible for your customers to shop from you. Think about how you thoughtfully display merchandise in your store. You likely have price tags on all items and group similar or complementary items together. Offer that same experience to the digital shopper.
  • Linking to other businesses, vendors, or brands
    • If you link or @ tag a business/vendor/brand on Facebook or Instagram, and that business/vendor/brand sells online, you are literally helping your fan/follower/customer shop from your competition. Don’t do it. If you want to use the brand as a keyword include it, but don’t link it. Sure the customer can go search and find it on their own. But don’t make it so easy for them. Instead, follow the best practices I listed above and make it easy for them to shop from you.

There you have it. Three easy practices to fix or stop doing today on your social media that will help you stand out. If you’re brave enough to admit it, leave a 🙋🏻‍♀️ in the comments below if you’ve made one of these common mistakes. I know you’re not alone!

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How to Overcome Negative Comments Online: The Modern Marketing Show, Episode 64

It’s tough putting yourself out there across your social channels as an online marketer. There’s nothing worse than when your comments get flooded with negativity from people that have never met you before. Or, maybe you’re one of those people who shies away from sharing about themselves on social for fear of receiving negative feedback (which is a really big missed opportunity!). That’s why we want to share with you one Do and one Don’t to handling negative comments online. 

Watch the full episode:

DO Respond

Whether positive or negative, always respond to comments made on your social. It’s a great way to show off your customer service skills. If a comment has got you heated, a good rule of thumb is to wait at least an hour before responding. This can allow for more clarity and professionalism rather than anger, denial or defensiveness overtaking the tone of your message.

DON’T Take Them Personally

I know, I know. This is really hard to do. Your business is your proverbial baby and every remark feels like a slight on how you’ve grown and nurtured it. But there could be many reasons why someone leaves a negative comment or review. Take it as your chance to respond constructively. If a negative attack on you, your appearance or a staff member comes your way, kindly respond that you don’t tolerate any form of bullying or negative speech on your pages.

You have the power to change the tone of your customer interaction. And, don’t let fear get in the way of sharing the story of your business on social.

You can catch new episodes of The Modern Marketing Show every Monday at 10 a.m PST on our Facebook Page. Replays will be available on the blog each week.

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Social Edge Live, Episode 25: Spooky, Fun Halloween Video Ideas

It’s the end of October, but your mind is already weeks deep into November and December. With holiday planning on the brain, there’s one holiday that’s easy to forget about – Halloween. Yes, it’s not a favorite of many, but you can’t deny there’s a special magic in the air around this time of year. Halloween night is supposed to be one of fun, mischief, and imagination, so why not bring this same energy into your store?

Here’s how you can bring the Spirit of Halloween into your store and share it with your customers with one (or all) of these Halloween inspired video ideas:

If you got it, Haunt it.

This is a spin on the classic saying “If you got it, Flaunt it” which is perfect for showcasing the products you have in your store just with a fun, fall twist. If you’re a boutique, this can be good for sharing fall favorites, new product reveals, or even coming up with cute costume ideas from items you have in-store the week and weekend leading up to Halloween. If you’re a pet store, try doing a costume fashion show, or showcase festive Halloween treats people can give away when trick-or-treaters show up at your door, or even how t0’s for keeping your pet safe and calm on Halloween night. Hardware stores can share any DIY decoration ideas for those last minute folks who want to set up something fun for the kids. Lastly, if you’re a florist you can showcase and fall floral designs or Day of the Dead inspired arrangements if people celebrate in your area.

Your Scary Good Deals of the Week (or of the Day)

Let your customers know if you have any special deals happening the week or weekend of Halloween. This could be anything from a deal of the day leading up to the 31st or even doing a special sale on orange and black items hidden throughout the store. If you need to make room for more inventory this could be a great way to clear out your stockroom.

Halloween Fright Night

Throughout the day on Halloween, go live from your store or post to your Instagram story people sharing their favorite silly or spooky memory. Make sure you’re asking people watching with you live to comment and share as well. Up the anty and say you’ll pick a winner from the best submission for a prize to your store.We all have a memory or a story from Halloween night to share, so this is a great way to increase engagement and build a relationship with your customer base. Other ideas are to share videos of staff or customers in their costumes and have people enter a costume contest for a gift certificate to your store.

Let these video ideas inspire you to have a “spooktacular” time this Halloween!

Watch the full episode below:

You can catch new episodes every Monday at 10 a.m PST on our Facebook Page. Replays will be available on the blog each week.