Part One

Social Media Marketing To Tap Into 90% of Purchases

by Kalyn Bastion-Gerber

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 ad words, 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.

Staggering Social Media Marketing Statistics

10 reasons to realign your website (infographic)