Having a well-designed e-commerce website helps build your credibility and allows you to communicate your business’s value propositions more effectively. That said, having a variety of alternate marketing and sales channels outside of your main e-commerce site can help boost your sales and allow you to accommodate a wider range of customers.
Though you should be exploring all options available to you, social media is especially important, as both individual consumers and businesses are now highly active on social media platforms. Let’s take a quick look at some of the ways your social media presence can contribute to a stronger revenue stream:
1) Turn Your Social Media Profiles into Sales Channels with Payment Links
As we’ll discuss later, several popular social media platforms do have built-in e-commerce functionalities. However, most of them do require time and platform-specific expertise to set up effectively. Thankfully, businesses with limited resources can easily get around this hurdle simply by using Maya Payment Links.
Payment Links allows you to offer a link for payment over social media messaging apps and SMS. When a customer clicks on your exclusive online payment link, they’ll be taken to a secure gateway where they can pay with the digital method of their choice. Maya Payment Links is able to facilitate credit and debit card payments, QR code payments, as well as e-wallet payments via popular digital wallets like Maya and GCash. With its full selection of transaction options, Payment Links is the best choice for businesses that want to accommodate a wide range of customer preferences on social media.
2) Use Your Platform’s Native Selling Functions
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok are some of the popular social media applications that currently offer baked-in selling functions for approved users. If your industry isn’t restricted, you can use these functions to create a merchant profile or an online storefront directly on your social media profiles, giving your customers another choice for making purchases on their preferred platform. This seamless integration can help build a coherent follower experience while also encouraging impulse buying.
3) Learn What Your Followers Are into with Social Listening Tools
Finding out what your social media followers are actually into isn’t always straightforward. A lot of social media users are not necessarily outwardly active or participate in comment sections, so basing your advertising and marketing decisions on your most active followers’ behavior won’t always be the best way to do things. By using social listening tools, you’ll have a much better overview of your audience's preferences, opinions, and sentiments—even if they’re not always visible.
4) Try Paid Social Media Advertising
Once you’ve familiarized yourself with your preferred social listening tools, social media platforms become an invaluable place to do highly targeted advertising. With social media ads, you can easily make millions of impressions with a limited marketing budget. Doing market research and setting up your ads according to market preferences will also make these ads an invaluable source of conversions and qualified leads. Critically, they’re also a great way to rapidly grow a fanbase and establish your business’s credibility and social proof, encouraging more sales from new customers.
5) Create and Iterate Effective Chatbots
To keep your potential customers engaged, integrate chatbots into your social media platforms to provide real-time assistance. Chatbots can save you time and boost sales by answering frequently asked questions, guiding users through the purchase process, and even offering personalized product recommendations. Regularly iterate and update your chatbots to ensure they align with user preferences and evolving customer needs.
6) Develop an Effective Posting Schedule
Consistent posting is key when it comes to succeeding in the “attention economy” of social media. While overposting is usually frowned upon for some brands, you’ll still want to post frequently enough so that you’re able to stay on top of mind for most of your core audience. This added attention should, in turn, be leveraged for stronger sales.
7) Experiment with Different Content Types
While many brands simply choose to offer a similar mix of content as their competitors, this may be a disservice to both your brand and your audience, causing you to lose followers and potential sales. Different content formats resonate with different audiences, and offering an optimal mix of content types can capture a broader range of preferences without seriously diluting what makes your brand special. Using social listening tools and available platform analytics data along with an iterative approach should eventually help you find a content mix that works for your followers.
8) Consider Thought Leadership
At its core, social media is a very personal environment. While social media platforms can be great sales and marketing channels, they are also virtual spaces where individuals connect, communicate, and share more intimate aspects of their lives. Developing thought leadership in your industry on social media leverages this personal aspect, allowing you to cultivate a tighter connection with your audience that should, hopefully, translate into brand cred and repeat business.
Transform Your Revenue Streams with Maya Payment Links
Maya Payment Links allows you to accept any digital payment on popular messaging apps, converting your social media profiles from simple online billboards into critical sources of new sales. Sign up for Maya Business to activate Maya Payment Links and start accepting digital payments on social media.
Signing up for Maya Business Manager also unlocks the Maya 1-2-3 Grow bundle. Maya 1-2-3 Grow entitles your business to a 1% MDR (merchant discount rate) discount on all QR Ph transactions for 3 months after signing. With this amazing discount, your business will save an extra PHP 14,600 for every PHP 1 million in QR Ph sales.
The bundle also entitles you to a Maya Business Deposit account for your settlements. Your Maya Business Deposit comes with an exceptional 2.5% per annum interest rate, which is 20-25x faster than other options on the market. At this incredible interest rate, your business’s fund will grow by PHP 25,000 each year for every PHP 1 million deposit. With Maya Business Deposit’s zero maintaining balance and free transfers via InstaPay and PesoNet, you’ll also earn more from your business banking.
The Maya 1-2-3 Grow bundle also qualifies you for a Maya Flexi Loan offer of up to PHP 2 million in just 3 months—great for growing your social media presence and developing more sales and marketing channels. To get a larger loan offer, simply choose Maya as your primary processor for all wallet and card payments.
Sign up for May Business today to start accepting payments over social media and reap the benefits of the Maya 1-2-3 Grow bundle.
