Reaching Your Customers Through Social Media

Jason Falls is a leading digital strategist, author, speaker, and thinker in the digital and social media marketing industry. He leads digital strategy for CafePress, a publicly-traded internet retailer consistently ranked as one of the top online shopping destinations. He also continues to serve as founder and chief instigator at SocialMediaExplorer.com, an industry-leading blog and digital marketing agency.

 Jason will be speaking at the Integrated Print Forum in May, and he recently talked with us about social media, marketing, and what attendees can expect from his session.

What’s the best way for a business with an e-commerce outlet to use social platforms to drive traffic to the site?

Draw your audience in with interesting, engaging posts including stories, photos, and questions that encompass your particular worldview. Then occasionally give them a benefit (a deal) for being connected there.

The real answer, though, will vary by industry, audience, competitive marketplace, and more. What works for CafePress won’t work for some of you. What works for you won’t work for a business similar to yours and so on. You have to test and iterate within your environment to see what works best for your business.

Specifically, I’ve seen e-commerce businesses do quite well with sharing imagery of products that links back to the product page. But that’s boring and very brand-centric. I’ve seen businesses do better by generating content that delivers an audience-centric focus (helpful tips, entertaining articles, initiates discussion on industry topics) to draw in those they’re trying to reach, then ensuring that for every 4-5 posts that engage, they offer one that rewards the audience with an offer, coupon, or free item.

What do you say to small/medium business owners who claim there is no time for social media interaction?