According to a survey done by marketing and technology services company, SapientNitro, results demonstrated that many consumers are using mobile devices to find stores, research products, find deals, and social media. Technology is creating a new challenge for marketers, because of the way it is changing the behavior of consumers. Consumers are much more aware of what’s out there, and if not, a handy smartphone is at their finger tips. Businesses that are heavily invested in ecommerce should be ready to optimize their websites.
These statistics demonstrate that companies who invest in m-commerce will be prepared for a new market, as consumers shift towards smartphones. At the moment, consumers may be turned off by high data plan prices and devices, but these obstacles will inevitably disappear over time as production cheapens and demand falls off. Remember how expensive and impractical the first brick-sized cell phones were? Those first generation phones were quickly replaced with smaller and sleeker phones in a few short years. Today, innovation moves faster than before. A number of major providers are already offering family data plans, which is a step into affordable smartphone technology.
Mobile devices are also heavily used for social media, with consumers posting content, “checking in”, and shopping. Here are some tips to increase sales through social media, smartphones, and user-generated content.
1. Understand the mobile technology shopper
Marketers need to understand how the mobile shopper behaves and how to approach them.
Here are some stats from PowerReviews on smartphones:
o Mobile traffic doubles every four months
o Mobile shopping increases by 32% on the weekends when compared to weekdays
o The top mobile shopping day is Sunday.
2. Facebook “like” button
With Facebook’s Open Graph protocol, retailers will be connected to consumers more than ever. The “like” button allows businesses to fully understand their market. It also provides them with an opportunity to expand their network of potential followers and brand power. Followers also provide consumers to gauge a companies reputation.
3. Let user-generated content increase SEO
The best way to maximize SEO is to own and host new and original content. Part of Google’s algorithm relies on uniqueness and freshness of content. Some things you can do are, ask consumers to provide your products with reviews or provide a quick QA section. Remember to update new content regularly. The more original content you host your own website, the more optimized your site will be for SEO.
4. Use customer reviews
Don’t be afraid of using negative customer reviews. Negative reviews can influence customer confidence as much as a positive one. Product reviews are among the most searched topics on the internet. Consumers want opinions, instead of none. Customer reviews help increase your brand presence when shared through social media. They may also provide you with helpful information on how to improve a product/service or how to change up your company’s image with your market. Take reviews as constructive criticism for your company and take advantage of what customers have to offer.
