Social media is all the rage now. While most ecommerce store owners have built a social media road map and are now using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. many forget to integrate social media with their own ecommerce store. This is a big mistake since many loyal customers won’t intuitively search and connect with commercial entities on social media without a subtle reminder. The best spot to place such a reminder is on the homepage of your online store site, which is where loyal customers are more likely to visit.
Although text (such as Follow FastPivot.com on Twitter) can be hyperlinked directly to your social media, it’s best to include social media icons like the ones we recently installed at HomeRunMonkey.com (see upper right quadrant in homepage screen capture example below).
The social media icons shown in the photo above are strategically placed in the upper right hand, above the fold, for a reason: this is where visitors are most likely to notice them! Many designers are installing these icons at the bottom of the page, failing to realize that a high percentage of shoppers won’t normally scroll down that far to see them.Once you have your social media buttons in the right place, test to make sure they’re firing correctly.
Once shoppers see that you’re out there and start following, they’ll expect to see regular high-quality updates. Don’t disappoint: keep them regularly informed on upcoming sales, giveaways, new product arrivals etc. Above all, remember social media is all about building and nourishing relationships, so once you made some friends, make a point to interact.
Read more about Monkey Sports’ social media success here.
FastPivot.com takes delight in creating brand new, custom Yahoo Stores around myriad of novel, cerebral inceptions. We can even re-breathe life into an already-established, under-performing Yahoo Store, without damaging fragile internals. After the site is built, we can also integrate social media with your ecommerce store too. Contact FastPivot.com to let the magic begin.
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Thanks to HomerunMonkey.com for their cooperation in the creation of this blog. HomerunMonkey.com is a division of Monkey Sports, Inc., a leading distributor of ice hockey, goalie, roller-hockey, baseball, lacrosse and team athletic equipment. The company markets through their five e-commerce websites, their team sales division, and their retail superstores in Santa Ana, California and opening soon in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The company, which started in 1999, has been dedicated to providing great customer experiences, great prices and the largest selection of the best products to players and teams who demand quality equipment. You can visit them online at HockeyMonkey.com, GoalieMonkey.com, RollerHockeyMonkey.com, HomerunMonkey.com, LacrosseMonkey.com and Team Sales and MonkeyTeamSports.com.
Just be sure when you are sending customers (who you work so hard to get TO your site) away to social media sites, that you have a strategy in place to keep them in your brand environment – perhaps with a pre-populated “share” message, or a Facebook Fan Page customized landing page with a call to action, or even the more advanced social log in system that will allow users to participate on the social network FROM your website.
Absolutely Corrie. It’s essential to create a unified message on all channels to ultimately bring shoppers back through check out without letting any fall through the cracks. Well thought out brand-driven social media platform design and development must serve to both deepen customer relationships while offering clear pathways along the way for intuitive product purchase and hassle free check out.