Those that work in e-commerce and online shopping often wonder which social media channel works best and offers the highest Return on Investment (ROI). We'll do a quick analysis here and offer some advice channel by channel. We all wonder from time to time whether FaceBook is actually worth it, whether tweeting is a waste of time and just whether we need to add Pinterest or Instagram to an already busy schedule.
The bottom line is that becoming more active on social media to increase awareness of e-commerce site is something you should be doing.
The state of play
- FaceBook is King: And Queen and all the Princes and Princesses actually. One ecommerce platform checked its sources and two thirds came from FaceBook. It is dominant by a long way
- Conversion rates are still small: FaceBook converts overall at 1.85% but all other channels are less than that
- Second place goest to... Pinterest: Which we find a bit surprising
- Third is Twitter: We can understand this one
- Fourth place goes to YouTube: Apparently YouTube is especally strong in certain segments - automotive being one of these
FaceBook dominates certain segments
If you operate in the photography, sporting goods, pet supplies or jewellery sectors, then FaceBook will be by far the dominant channel you would want to pay attention to. Each of these channels has over 90% of its orders from FaceBook.
But even sectors that you would not think would be FaceBook sensitive are. For example, Music and Films still have an 80% order rate from FaceBook. You just cannot afford to discount this channel.
What is growing?
Growing channels are: FaceBook (still), LinkedIn (but still quite business oriented) and Reddit (which shows the biggest growth).
Which sectors don't work on FaceBook?
There are some which don't do well on FaceBook and are more popular on other channels. Antiques go best on Pinterest, Digital Products go best on YouTube and Services go best on a mixture of Pinterest & YouTube.
What can we deduce from this?
FaceBook is dominant and will continue to be so in the near future. It dominates the social media scene and, therefore, it is understandable that it therefore dominates e-commerce. Even as FaceBook becomes more e-commerce unfriendly (to those trying to sell), it is still growing at 129% per year.
Social networks that are more image based - such as Instagram and Pinterest - drive the highest order value. Even sites which are not image-centred but on which images can be included work best when images are used. The engagement is higher.
Lastly, lifestyle products work best on social channels. They are, by its very nature, emotional. So, it is natural that products that depend on an emotional response would do best there.
If you liked this blog then you might also like this previous blog too: http://inbound.itqsolutions.net/blog/content-marketing-agency
If you need help with social media and maximising your traffic from these channels then content marketing agencies could help. Becoming more active on social media to increase awareness of my online store is something everyone in e-commerce needs to do.