Today, in an evolving and increasingly competitive market, many retailers are recognising that it might take more than just high-quality products at reasonable prices to be successful.
To help increase your chances of growth in a world in which consumers are increasingly shopping online, implementing an effective online strategy could help your business grow by reaching and engaging both new and existing customers.
Your online strategy could combine both a website and social media pages which, when working together and steering customers between both platforms, can be very beneficial for retailers during the holiday rush. Here are some tips to help you align your website and social media strategy, to help make the most of this gift-giving season.
Build a consistent brand story
Consistency across both your website and social media channels can be important in developing a strong distinguishable image both offline and online for your retail business. First, think about the brand persona you want to create. Do you want to be formal or informal? Witty, helpful or something else entirely?
For instance, if your aim is to amuse, perhaps share some ugly Christmas jumpers for sale in the lead up to the big day. If your aim is to be helpful, you could consider promoting your best-selling items, or information about your holiday delivery options. Once you have decided, it’s worthwhile ensuring that your content is aligned with your brand story, and that the story is consistent across your channels so that your business becomes more recognisable across any platform.
Choose social media platforms with your audience in mind
To identify the most effective social media platforms for your retail business, take some time to consider your audience as you may find that different audiences use different platforms. That way, you can select the most effective social media platforms to reach them. If you’re looking to communicate directly with customers, Instagram and Facebook can be great choices. However, if you’re looking to increase engagement with professional contacts such as suppliers or stakeholders, you might want to try LinkedIn.
As a retailer, you might want to prioritise Instagram during the festive season. It has a built-in ‘buy now’ function, which can be linked directly back to your website. This can be a great way to promote your products and online store while people are actively searching for gift inspiration for their loved ones.
To further align your strategies, Instagram can be integrated into your website with GoDaddy Websites + Marketing, allowing you to monitor your activity and better understand how your followers are engaging with them.
Create shareable content
Engaging content on social media can encourage people to like, comment and share, which can help to boost your presence and steer traffic to your website. Research shows that over half (51 per cent) of small businesses have a presence on social media, so it’s important to stand out from the crowd. This content could feature images of your newest clothing range, a blog post with holiday gift ideas or a guide to the best days for holiday discounts. You might find that a consistent flow of customers between each platform can help grow your audience and generate more leads as a result.
Ensuring your social media and website are aligned can help your retail business reach more people and become more memorable as a result. So, with the important festive sales rush upon us, why not take a few moments to think about how an aligned online strategy could help promote your business to the top of shoppers wish lists this holiday.
By Jill Schoolenber, regional president for Australia, Canada, and Latin America at GoDaddy
