Our latest post tackles a common struggle encountered by Shopify shop owners, who discover their social media activity isn’t translating into sales.
You’ve got followers, you’re posting regularly and you’re even getting likes and the odd comment, but what about sales? Of course brand awareness is notoriously difficult to measure, and whilst engagement on your social media channels is a positive thing, if that engagement isn’t translating to sales, you’re missing out.
Shopify and Google Analytics combined will give you a clear picture of exactly which channels are driving the most sales, but if social media isn’t one of them, you could be missing out.
1. No Clear Calls to Action
Pretty photos, jumping on TikTok trends and sharing polished videos aren’t enough if your audience doesn’t know what to do next. We often see posts on social media that talk about something, but make it unclear how to take the next step.
After people see an appealing product or service appear in their social media feed, your job is to make it as easy as possible for people to find out more or to make a purchase – emojis and hashtags just aren’t enough.
Occasionally you’ll want to simply put information across, like holiday postal dates or a product that’s coming soon, even information based posts however should maintain the goal of driving traffic to your website.
Tips for improving calls to action
Make use of all options available on the social network you’re posting on. What you can do on Facebook differs to what you can do on Instagram for example, highlighting the need to tailor your content and calls to action to the platform you’re posting on.
- Include your website link in your bio
- Tap to shop
- Find out more
- Click to apply discount
- Join the waiting list
- Swipe up to claim yours
- Add it to your basket now
- DM us to reserve
Always make sure your CTA is obvious, benefits-focused and matches the post’s goal.
2. Your Value Proposition Isn’t Obvious
If your product benefits are buried under aesthetic images, short attention grabbing captions or overly clever wording, your audience will scroll on. Always stop to think ‘if this was the first thing a new follower saw, would they understand the value proposition here?’
Tips for providing a clear value proposition
Where possible, lead with aiming to highlight “what’s in it for me?”
Instead of the vague “The perfect autumn mood”, expand with; “Waterproof. Windproof. Winter-ready, without the bulk.”
Spell out the transformation, from “It’s hoodie season” expanded to “your go-to for cold mornings, dog walks and late-night snack runs.”
See more ideas for great hooks that engage.
3. You’re Not Using Product Tagging Properly
If your posts don’t include tappable product tags, you’re making customers work too hard to buy. Whenever you mention a product in anything you post about, you’ll want to ensure that purchasing is frictionless with as few barriers as possible.
Tips for product tagging
Connect your Shopify catalogue to Instagram and Facebook, and tag specific products in you Facebook feed posts and image carousels and Instagram reels and stories. If you’re active on TikTok you can also set up the TikTok channel inside of Shopify which will enable you to set up TikTok shops, allowing you to link to products directly from your posts.
Whenever you create an Instagram story, always include a sticker that allows you to embed a link to the most relevant page on your website.
4. You’re Missing Shoppable Features
Many businesses don’t realise how powerful native selling tools can be, especially when used across platforms. Whilst the goal is always to get people off social media and onto your website, the latest Shopify apps make for relatively easy integration, letting you show your products across social media.
Tips for utilising what’s available
Here’s what’s currently available on each of the main social networks;
- Shop link in your bio and “View Shop” button on Instagram profiles
- Shoppable Instagram feed posts (product tags)
- Shoppable Instagram Stories (via product stickers)
- Facebook Shop tab on your page
- Product tagging in Facebook posts, videos, and Reels
- Shoppable Pins
- Shop link in your bio
TikTok Shop
- Add your Shopify products via the TikTok channel integration.
These integrations take time to set up, but once up and running, they act like extra shop fronts on autopilot.
Getting people to buy from social media isn’t just about showing up and posting regularly. It’s about removing friction from the buying process, making it easy, obvious and irresistible for someone to go from liking your post to buying your product.
If you’d like us to audit any aspect of your digital marketing and provide you with insights and ideas to help you grow sales, get in touch with us.