I read a staggering statistic yesterday: 90% of all purchases begin on the internet.
As a business owner and as someone who runs marketing for others, I saw my website flash in my mind. Instantly the questions we all need to ask came to mind:
- Is my site easy to navigate?
- Is it easy to understand what my site offers?
- Do visitors know how to become a client with just one click?
Next my critical mind kicked in: 90% of all purchases? Isn’t that too high? Then I thought about the things I purchase. Groceries aside, I do look online to research a product; I browse a favorite site offering purses and jewelry for fun (modern-day window shopping) and I even look at Best Buy online before going in. Groceries aside, my family and friends all do the same thing.
Now my rational mind got to thinking that 90% might be low.
Yes, it is a small internet-world. I can buy almost anything from anywhere and my tablet is the first place I look.
The Next Two Social Media Marketing Staggering Statistics:
You have 10 seconds to capture someone’s attention before the average person leaves your website – and 78% trust online opinion.
I just spoke with a girlfriend who is going on a first date – and in less than ten seconds, in just a few second, long enough for her to say “he’s taking me to Pascuals” I gave her a thumbs up.
Ten seconds may seem like too short a time for someone to make a conclusion about you and what you offer, but the truth is it doesn’t take long to make a quick first observation and decision as to whether to exit a site or move on. The only other reason to take more time before jumping to a conclusion about a site is the opinion or recommendation of others. The opinion of those who have been before will, no doubt, cause a viewer to look deeper at a site, which is why social proof, or online opinion, is so important.
The Holy Trinity of Social Media Marketing
How do you work with these statistics? The most beautiful websites with no traffic won’t enjoy those 90% visitors – something must drive the traffic to your website, whether it is adwords, social media or your website’s search engine rank (so that your website shows on the first page of a Google search). The most socially active businesses, on the other hand, with no blog won’t enjoy the purchases either!
Yes, social media is free, but the time commitment is considerable. The key to capturing the purchases online, whether you sell online or have a retail shop, is to use the Holy Trinity of Social Media. You must use Twitter and Pinterest to create your online community or network of followers who like what you offer and are or are becoming your loyal customers. Then you need a place for people to be able to interact and hear about you and your business’ offerings. For quick and various updates, Facebook informs your followers and can help capture email addresses. For more in-depth information about your business, your blog is pivotal.
When used in conjunction your social media marketing will draw traffic in through Twitter and Pinterest, will keep your community informed about you through your blogs and Facebook updates and will allow you to reach a widening audience as you share more and more about your wonderful services, specials, discounts and your businesses personality.
I had ten minutes and thought I’d drop by and get something quickly on my way to my office – where is that shop? No problem, I’ll look them up on my smart phone and get the address. So, I do and the website pops right up.
Just one problem: I can’t read through the whole site, especially with such small text. I can’t even see the menu to go to a ‘contact us’ kind of button. Their site is not mobile optimized. How does a traditional website fair in your social media marketing?
Social Media Marketing: Being In Reach Means Being Mobile
The next two staggering statistics we should all keep in mind for our businesses is that 90% of people start via a search online and by 2018 more people will use mobile devices, their smart phone or tablet, over a PC.
I now believe the 90% about shopping starting on a search engine- sure, a search engine is the yellow pages nowadays. My six year old (who may never know what a yellow page book looks like) knows that we go to a search engine to look up her latest question – what is a hurricane, how do dolphins breathe and who sells the toy she wants to buy. My mother does the same thing, though she searches for airplane tickets to come see her granddaughter, winter clothes and so on.
This time the statistic that more people will get online on a mobile device over a PC is the one I question. After all, I understood this to be true already and certainly in the rest of the world. Here in the states it seems like everyone has a smart phone, and although I know that’s not completely true, I do find people prioritizing a smart phone or tablet in their lives. With tablet prices now being as low as three to four hundred dollars, unless you buy Asian tablets that cost less than a hundred dollars, tablets are taking over the Best Buy computer section. The shrinking PC offerings alone represent what the market is purchasing and the mobile device sections far exceed the PC.
Are You Capturing The Mobile Social Media Marketing Audience?
It isn’t uncommon for clients to look at me with confusion and surprise on their faces. When they start to think about all the pieces of online and social media marketing and how those are orchestrated well together. There are so many pieces between a website, social media sites, a mobile site, your email list, your search ranking…
Yes, there are many pieces to your modern social media marketing, and including a mobile site for shoppers on the go needs to be one of the things you do for your business. So many people head out the door and then get hungry or need to look in a different store – and once they are out, they are looking on mobile devices.
What Should Your Mobile Social Media Marketing Target?
Making your mobile version of your website should be simple, if you are going to make it easy for clients and customers to find you and get the information they need from you. A mobile site should be, first and foremost, like a business card. It should offer limiting information because on the go less is more. Your logo is primary; this is how you are recognized. Next to it make sure to talk about what your business is and what you offer. Make sure that your clickable phone number is on the first page and easy to see. Your address should come next, which can also be clickable to a map, making it easy for your client or customer.
The next important information is a button allowing your viewer to see your full site. A viewer on the go who has a tablet or some time may want to look deeper in. While you want to include a few menu buttons on your mobile site about your offerings, though not as many as you would on your website, you want to give your mobile viewer access to what you are best known for or what you specialize in. This is why menu buttons on a mobile site are generally at the bottom of the page, not at the top the way they would be on a traditional web site. This is also where you want to place your social media icons.
A mobile site allows your social media marketing to keep you friendly, familiar and easy to connect with or find. If you want a great example of a good mobile feel and look, look to Google. A search on Google for a local shop or restaurant makes finding what you want easy to find, to see and to click through to.
Modern marketing is social. Today’s consumer is accustomed to feeling close and connected with family and friends through their social media circles. They are used to being able to look anything up and find out about almost anything. In a world where so many things can be reached through our fingertips, you need to make sure that your social media marketing is available to your clients and customers fingertips too.
