It’s been a bit, but I’m back with more scholarship essays. This one (felt like a long-shot) was for a scholarship offered thorugh Going Merry. Lots of applications here, fellow seekers. Good luck.
Two months ago, I purchased a cycling jersey.
I have a closet swollen by cycling jerseys. Jerseys for cold weather. Jerseys for fall and spring weather. Jerseys for the brutal heat that accompanies the humidity of a gulf coast summer. Did I need another jersey—absolutely not. The most likely scenario is that I would wear it once before the elastic became brittle, and yet there I was, laying out the money for another item to add to an already ridiculous collection.
And why was this? The add had been proffered on social media. I was already in an “entertain me” mode that made me (solely my opinion, as I have yet to find studies to back this) more susceptible to the sparkly, well-placed add. It was set up to accept PayPal, take payment through the social media add, did not require me to create a security-risk account, and negated the need to go to a website or dig out a credit card.
Impulse buy heaven.
And this, the well-crafted, well-greased social media add, is one of today’s most powerful tool for improved commerce.
Sometimes vendors get it wrong. How many times have you backed out of a last-minute purchase because it asked you to create an account, or did not accept PayPal? If you are like me these e-commerce blunders have saved me a bundle in non-necessary purchases but cost merchants a lot of sales. My purchase has to be a one-click nirvana that doesn’t require me to join a mailing list or regurgitate delicate matters of my life to create an account that will later be part of a headline regarding hacked personal details.
Social media marketing important for all venders, not just the marginally legitimate sellers of ill-fitting cycling jerseys. But why?
According to Dreamgrow.com, there are 3.48 billion social media users as of 2019- a 9% increase over 2018. (https://www.dreamgrow.com/21-social-media-marketing-statistics/). They also purport that to be a 45% global penetration rate. And according to Statistica.com, Facebook, the most popular social media site if counting number of users, had 2.32 billion adherents as of December 2018 (http://bit.ly/2ovM9aP).
What a rich source of potential customers, all concentrated into one spot!
But f you are going to use social media to sell something, make it visual. Hubspot.com says visual content is 40 times more likely to get shared than other (purely verbal) forms of advertising.
Dreamgrow.com also reports that 71% of people who have a good social experience are likely to recommend the service to others. Why? Because 63% of folks expect companies to offer service and resolutions via social media.
In my opinion one of the most successful recent social media campaigns has been for Bombas socks. They are short, colorful ads that tell their story in a microsecond. As a bonus, the product inspires a second purchase. A similar great add is for Quip toothbrushes. Unfortunately, Quip fails in that they are not Earth-friendly I thir packaging, and are lacking in their customer support.
But here’s a news flash for those using social media to reach customers: 80% of you think you offer excellent customer service but only 8% of your customers back that notion. The cycling jersey turned out to be a piece of crap. It was advertised as a women’s jersey, but it was a men’s styled garment. Returning it entailed stolid determination on my part as the seller, while removing every hurdle to purchasing it, had employed every hurdle possible to discourage refunds.
Maybe it’s time for another Just-Say-No campaign. This time, for enticing social media adds.
Cheri' Ben-Iesau Design 