If it’s not, it should. There are many ways you can use social media to inform and attract customers. What follows are just a few ideas to get you started.

E-commerce is booming. Market research firm eMarketer projects consumers worldwide will spend $1.672 trillion online just this year alone. With the click of a mouse or the touch of a screen, we can get any product we want, from anywhere in the world, delivered right to us – often in just one day. But that figure is just 7.3 percent of overall global retail sales. The remaining sales still come from brick and mortar stores. So, what are you doing to get people into your store?

Did you say, “Use social media?” 

If not, let’s fix that problem right now. Smart retailers today must leverage their digital strategies, not only to convert more shoppers online, but also to drive in-store sales where consumers are more likely to make a high-ticket purchase. So, if your social media efforts aren’t sending foot traffic to your door, here are five ways you can start using social media to do just that: 

Reviews

Did you know that close friends and family continue to carry the most weight in influencing product purchases? A whopping 77 percent trust friends and family over anyone else (including professionals, blogger features, celebrities, etc.)! What does this mean to you as a retailer? It means you absolutely must work to encourage people to review your products and store, showcasing these reviews on social media. 

If people see their friends and family praising your customer service or their most recent in-store purchases, they will be more likely to turn to you in the future. In fact, nearly 80 percent of people need to see fewer than 10 reviews in order to be persuaded to buy, with 20 percent only needing one review from a close friend or family member. Just one!

Geo-targeting

Your best potential customers are literally right around the corner from you, so make sure to grab their attention. Facebook has been rolling out Bluetooth Beacons as a way to engage people who visit businesses. So when people step in your store and open Facebook, they’ll see “Place Tips” with posts from your page (perhaps about a special in-store discount?) and (hopefully) friends’ recommendations about your place and products. 

Geo-targeting ads on social media is also a highly effective way to get the right content in front of the right people at the right time. Are you hosting a special in-store cooking demo in the coming weeks? Create a few interesting advertisements surrounding it and serve them up to people within a 10-to-25-mile radius of your store. You’ll be surprised how far your dollars will go on social media.

Host a special event

Speaking of in-store cooking demos, if you’re not already doing them, you should be. What better way to get people in your store than by promising delicious, mouth-watering food fresh off the grill? Let people know about it using the targeted ads mentioned above; provide them with useful grilling tips; allow them to experience the product for themselves and you’re on your way to creating a new customer. Don’t forget to designate a hashtag for your event to encourage social sharing and to collect content for future use (like advertising your next grilling demo). 

Offer special discounts redeemable only in-store

This approach is straightforward and effective. Offer customers something like “mention this Facebook post and receive 25 percent off your next purchase of any grill accessory,” or post a photo on Instagram that customers can show in-store to receive a discount for a limited time. You could also host a contest by asking fans a trivia question and rewarding the first correct answer with an in-store coupon sent via direct message. Whatever you do, get creative!

Showcase content from your store

Post photos of your newest selection of outdoor kitchen components. Highlight your creative “outdoor living” window display. Share a video of a grilling demo. Feature a profile of an employee so people can get to know the personalities of those in your store all the time. Make people believe that your store is worth going to and they’ll be walking through your doors in no time. 

Let’s go back to the question posed in the beginning: What are you doing to get people into your store? If your original answer didn’t include “use social media,” I hope you’ve revised it. Armed with these five tips, you’ll be well on your way to converting the casual digital window shopper into a physical customer.

Keep Grilling,
Rob