Brick And Mortar Social Media Marketing

With so many recent technological advances we’ve witnessed a huge shift in consumer shopping habits. This has, in turn, resulted in the creation of new online businesses, but despite their propagation, there will always be space for the traditional brick and mortar retailer.

With that said, however, the offline retailer still needs to stick with the times and utilise social media to drive their business forward.

Social media has the ability to encourage in-store purchases, generate foot traffic, monitor your reputation and more!

Today, we’ll break down how brick and mortar social media marketing should function!

Getting Started With Brick and Mortar Social Media Marketing

Don’t worry about having a presence on all platforms, because you don’t! Rather select the platforms that’ll allow you to engage with your target market. Social media marketing also takes focus, so be a realist and perhaps take it one platform at a time. Start by asking family, friends and staff to follow and share your pages. Create in-store items to promote your social media and include your relevant account names and get the word out there!

Google My Business (The Most Important!)

If you’re time poor, you still NEED to make time for Google My Business.

GMB allows searchers easy access to information on your business via Google search, maps and Google+. It’s free, easily managed and gives you the control to manage your business in the best light possible.

How to get started:

1. Go on to Google My Business and click “Get on Google”
2. Enter your business name and address in the search box
3. Select or add your business, click on your business listing if it appears among the suggested matches and ‘claim’ it
4. Verify your business- Google will send a postcard to your address with a code
5. Confirm your business by using the code received

And that’s it!

Facebook (All Retailers)

With over 2 billion users, Facebook is the most accessible and easy to use of all the social media platforms. Facebook has many excellent opportunities for brick and mortar social media marketing.

You can, for example, encourage customers to leave reviews on your page to increase visibility. Alternatively, generate a following by creating a “like & share” competition where you can give away store vouchers or discounts. And lastly, Facebook has a nifty ‘live’ feature, where you can show people your in-store new arrivals, for example.

Instagram (Retailers With Visually Appealing Products)

Instagram is a mobile-only platform, meaning it limits the target audience unless your target audience is a mobile-only generation (18-30).

Assign someone in your team the responsibility of photographing things like new stock or new additions, and adding relevant hashtags and links backs to your website.

Fashion, beauty and food type business perform best on Instagram.

Twitter (Larger Retailers)

While your characters are limited, you’re still given a unique voice. Many customers make use of Twitter if they have a customer service issue, so have a policy for dealing with queries.

In your bio make sure you outline your business hours, a little about what you do, and where people can physically find you.

Get started by getting involved in what’s trending to get your page noticed, then follow people and other business in your area to increase your reach.

Pinterest (Larger Retailers With Visually Appealing Products)

Pinterest is essentially a digital pinning board of ideas, and if the products you sell are of a certain visual appeal, then people will repin your items to their own boards. It takes work to upload images, tag them correctly and so on. Therefore, only create and maintain a Pinterest profile if you’ve got the time to do so, otherwise setting it up and leaving it can be a waste of time!

It’s simply not viable for every retailer to be on all platforms, so it’s up to you to pick and choose those that suit your business offerings. Despite the rise of online retailers, brick and mortar social media marketing still has its place and is indeed vital in 2018.

Still lost? Get in touch with SponsoredLinX today on 1300 859 600 today and let’s discuss how your store can exist both physically and digitally!

 

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