Selling Products on Social Media

 

There is value to be found by marketing your products on social media. With eCommerce becoming more popular in the wake of COVID-19, more people have grown comfortable with purchasing items via social media.

Based on CMS Wire, 40% of customers have purchased items via Facebook, with 13% doing so via Instagram and 12% via Pinterest in 2021 alone. But how do you write product descriptions which social media users will find captivating enough to follow through on your sales pitch?

Different Social Channels Require Different Types of Content

Depending on the social media platforms you promote your products on, you will need to adapt your content strategy. Some platforms are friendlier to visual content than written blog posts or status updates. The right type of content will be required for different platforms if you want to differentiate your marketing strategy and reach more people. Here’s what you should keep in mind as you start writing your product descriptions:

Facebook – This is a platform where you will be able to publish a variety of content and still achieve good sales results. Facebook users are used to reading text, looking at visuals, and following up on external links constantly.

Twitter – Twitter has a hard cap on how much you can write in each status update. This means that it’s better to write short calls to action and link your product pages as attachments with complementary hashtags.

Instagram – This is a platform that heavily relies on images and videos, with text being relegated to captions. Be ready to create photos and videos if you want to promote your products on Instagram successfully.

LinkedIn – LinkedIn is a great platform for B2B sales of products/services and networking with other brands. You can write long-form articles as well as short Facebook-style status updates with polls and audience discussion.

Short Product Descriptions Attract Attention and Sell

Social media users are used to seeing short-form content, be it status updates, pictures, or short videos. That’s why you should write short, informative product descriptions which would cater to such an audience.

According to Tech Jury, 78% of customers said they discovered a product to purchase on Facebook. But, 65% said that links embedded into social media posts led them to products they weren’t interested in. Your product descriptions must match whatever social media post you created to promote them. If you stated your products have free worldwide shipping on social media, your eCommerce site has to confirm that fact or risk losing customers.

Make Smart Use of Hashtags

Hashtags are an inherent part of social media. They allow users to extend the reach of their content to people who may not be their followers or subscribers. The same applies to brands marketing their products on social media. The right hashtags will bring your product description content in front of the right audience. For example, if you are selling school and office supplies, the hashtags you use may be a combination of the following:

#school #supplies #office #notebook #pen #color #fun #creative #shopping

As you can see, it’s good practice to pair niche hashtags with more generalized ones. Choose several hashtags closely related to what you are selling and follow them up with tags such as #shopping or #ecommerce. This will signal to people that your brand is all about online products and sales on social media, driving them toward your shop.

Offer Discounts and Write Good Calls to Action

Discounts are what will truly drive customers toward your eCommerce store if you market it via social media. People love seeing discounts on Facebook or Instagram, especially if they are paired with a “48h sale” or a similar caption. Creating FOMO with your followers is a good way to entice them to click on the social media links now rather than later. Writing calls to action can be a great way to do that.

For example, you may be targeting university students who are busy writing their assignments and want to treat themselves with a purchase. Students can use GetGoodGrade to check their papers for spelling errors, formatting, or to have them rewritten while they purchase items via social media. Matching good discounts with time limits and calls to action is a surefire way of increasing your sales on social media without a fault.

Use Emojis to Personalize your Writing

A great benefit to marketing your products on social media is that using emojis isn’t out of the ordinary. Social media users love sharing various emojis with their friends and family while chatting and posting original content.

By using emojis, you will humanize your brand and let people know that you are a laid-back, approachable brand to work with. Of course, the emojis you use have to be chosen with good taste and maintain an aura of professionalism. Pick the emojis most suited to your target audience. You can be more liberal when choosing emojis for teens and young adults, while older customers may be interested in more conservative symbols like plants.

Find the Right Keywords for your Industry/Audience

No matter what you are selling, using the right keywords is still important, even though you are marketing to social media users. SEO may not be as important for social platforms, but it is important for your customers. People instinctively gravitate toward posts and captions which contain the exact words and phrases they want to see.

If someone is looking for “handmade jewelry” on Instagram, for example, they will scroll past the posts without those words. Depending on what you sell, you must include direct, short, informative keywords which accurately describe your products. Do that, and people will be more likely to stop scrolling when they spot your post and read what you have to say.

Invite Influencers to Vouch for your Products

Having popular individuals and brands vouching for your products can be a great boost to your sales efforts. You can send social media influencers collaboration offers and invite them to review your products free of charge. Depending on the size of their following, you might be able to reach audiences several times bigger than your following.

Be wary though, as some influencers may not have favorable words to say about your products or want monetary compensation for the coverage. Find the ones which specialize in your particular niche to gain access to their follower base as a potential customer pool for your product. Once they write a review or film a video using your product, you can share it on your social media to boost both pages’ reach.

Engage Potential Customers via Comments

Lastly, you may need to nurture potential customers before they decide to convert by answering their social media questions. Once you’ve written product descriptions for social media, people are bound to come across your posts and have a question or two. Ignoring social media comments is a red flag, and you shouldn’t avoid responding to anyone. Be diplomatic, polite, and professional in your responses but never ignore or delete comments.

Word of mouth spreads very quickly on social media, and you don’t want to find yourself in a PR crisis because of that. Adopt a friendly, helpful attitude and respond to any questions, feedback, or criticisms people may have of your products with a smile. That way, future customers will be more inclined to check your eCommerce store out more frequently.

Don’t Relent in your Marketing Efforts (Conclusion)

Writing product descriptions for social media presents content creators with a unique challenge. You need to adhere to social media standards (content type, length, keywords, and hashtags) while also ticking off traditional eCommerce boxes (SEO, visuals, and testimonials).

To start, choose the right social media platforms for your brand and target audience and create a content plan on how to promote your products. With the right set of multimedia, good copy, and the right calls to action, you will successfully increase your social media sales going forward.

 Selling Products on Social Media - The Digital Sales Institute: Selling Products on Social Media