Facebook is a social medium that allows retailers to find the right people to buy their stuff. More than two-thirds of shoppers are using social media and their smartphones to enhance their shopping experience. Thus, engaging your shoppers on Facebook is a smart way to improve your holiday sale margins. How do you reach those specific shoppers?
You have to understand how phones and shopping go together before you can reach your audience. Before the shopping trip, shoppers are developing a plan based on research they have conducted on their phones or computers. They enter the stores with ideas already in mind. Therefore, you aren't likely to influence your audience to make impulse buys. However, shoppers start with a plan, but they also see deals and are open to new ideas to their plan.
During the shopping trip, two-thirds of people are using their phones to access shopping-related information. For example, stores that e-mail or alert customers of special deals in the store will access that information via their phones. They also are paying more often using their phones. Shoppers opened Facebook at four times the rate of any other application. When on Facebook, they are connecting with friends and searching for special deals. They use their phones in aisles, parking lots and checkout lines.
After the shopping trip, customers are so excited about their purchases, they have to share their experiences on Facebook and other sites. About 90 percent of people jumped on Facebook to tell their holiday shopping stories. This is where people are talking about shopping and special deals. That is why Facebook is perfect for connecting with shoppers.
What If You Want Certain Shoppers?
Not every store works for every shopper. People going to Marshalls or TJMaxx are not likely to enter Nordstroms. Men aren't likely to be shopping at Children's Place even if they are fathers. Those into jewelry will not buy it from Claire's. Retailers know who is their target shopper. Therefore, they use Facebook to find the right people.
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Use Facebook's targeting capabilities. The social medium allows retailers to specify whom they want to target. For example, if you want women with three kids who have $50,000 or more in income, you can set those parameters to find the right group. Facebook bases the targeting on people's interest that they list.
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Target look-alike customers. Facebook has changed its policy on targeting to allow retailers to reach users who are like those who already shopping on their websites. The features builds on audiences that retailers have customized in their advertising to build their audiences.
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Engage in groups. You should be engaging your customers in groups. That way you can find other people who are like your favorite customer. Talk with your current customers regularly. Read their posts, answer their questions and pose other questions. You will learn in a short time what their needs are. You could find the special customer you want.
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Hold contests. You can find the ideal customers if you hold a contest, asking consumers to opt-in. They will want to win, so they will give you their information, especially if they are encouraged to enter by a family member. These contests also let you know what motivates your buyers and their personal information. You can send postcards to their home address enticing them into the store.
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Issue coupons. Advertise a coupon on Facebook. People love getting discounts. If they are the people who are meant to be your online shoppers, they will use the coupon. Then, you have the information that you sought. You will know the specific demographic that will buy from your brick-and-mortar or online store.
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Read news feeds. The news feeds on Facebook tell you what is important to people on Facebook. You can create advertising for online shopping that captures what is important. You can pick the people who are most coveted as customers because of what they support or say in their news feeds.
Therefore, finding the right shoppers on Facebook is not a difficult problem. You just need to know where to look. Then, you can engage them and ask them to follow you.to buy from your website.