5 Interesting Facts You Should Know About Social Media D2C Marketing
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Browsing through the updates, scrolling up and down, catching the sight of all that’s trending, going through what’s in the minds of everyone, who partied, who is sad, and also finding interesting carousals while exercising your fingers left to right and the other way round, you finally land on to some e-shop, only to end up buying something that you really liked! Well, this happens quite often, isn’t it?
The best part about the entire episode is that you don’t even realize the amount of efforts and planning involved behind persuading you to make that purchase. That’s the magic of social media direct-to-consumer (D2C) advertising!
According to a report by Statista, on an average, a person spends more than two hours on social media platforms. Leveraging on this fact, today more than 5 billion B2C marketers actively use social media, to reach out to the wider audience directly. The realization of immense capability of social media platforms to drive wider reach, more engagements, and sales through social media ads, has led to the advent of D2C social media advertising in digital marketing world.
As forecasted by eMarketer earlier this year, the investment on social media advertising in the US will increase by 20.4% associating to more than $43 billion. The recent years have seen a surge in D2C social media marketing, which has allowed the consumers to automatically reach out to the websites from social media platforms and make purchases. Whether it is an electronic gadget or just a pair of ear-rings, the brands need not stay dependent upon brick-and-mortar shops to market the product, and can rather benefit with the most powerful marketing platform of today, the social media.
The fact that 31.6% of consumers made their first purchase from a D2C brand via ads on social media, clearly indicates the growing trend of D2C marketing on social media, by D2C marketing agencies.
According to a survey conducted last year, social media stands as the top acquisition channel for D2C Branding, as shown below:
Source: Yotpo
Call it simply the buzzword of today, or a new marketing trend for COVID times, or another part of digital marketing strategy, D2C social media marketing is here to stay! So, let’s dive into some interesting facts about it.
#1: It’s Not Just About Ads, But Stories!
Social media D2C marketing is not simply about posting ads and carousels on various social platforms; it rather involves lot of innovative ideas to attract and compel people owing to the growing competition that has presented before the people, enormous options of the same product, which has made the consumer of today become quite smart and selective about buying.
Unless you have a strong brand narrative and a gripping daily-life story that clicks the customers’ minds to not only engage them and sell, but also await their comeback for further purchases. The more relatable the stories be, the better will be the engagements.
#2: Clicks When Pain Points Are Pressed
People come on social media carrying different emotions and when they find anything that touches any of these, especially the pain, they stop-by.
Whether they are simple ads, carousels or post boosts, they need to present the pain point to which the people can instantly relate with, and look for the solution right there. As a brand, once you are able to reach to this milestone, they will certainly follow you to where you take them to. But hey, this may even lead to brand battles, as you’d be pointing at the pain given by other brands.
What can be a better example than the ThirdLove’s answer to Victoria’s Secret which no more remains a secret!
The approach adopted by ThirdLove, a not as big a brand as Victoria’s Secret, in pin-pointing the latter’s pushy lingerie selling simply by superfluous ads ignoring the fit, and presenting the comfier range of intimate wear for women on social media, ultimately became USP of the brand.
#3: Consumers Can Turn Your Brand Ambassadors
Even as a powerful marketing medium, social media is not meant for just selling, it offers the consumers an engaging experience for the long-term that stays there as a memory and invites them to turn your brand ambassadors.
Let your buyers become your sellers! Turning your consumers to your brand ambassadors is the best thing you can add to your branding goals, due to a fact that says –
People buy from the people they trust!
Well, this can be achieved by presenting a ‘selfless’ offer to the consumers – yes, you are not going to sell them this time! You simply have to get them an experience about your brand that they would convey further. You can offer them a trial pack of your product or a discount offer through social media ads.
Who doesn’t like freebies and discounts? They’ll certainly stop-by and claim or avail their pack or discount, that they would use to have an experience to recollect while sharing it with others, and automatically spreading the word about you. You can even request them to share their experience on social media by offering to post their picture and quotes on your page!
This was the strategy adopted by Warby Parker by introducing their “Pick 5 frames to try on at home (it’s free!)” offer. The brand even leveraged the AR technology in getting their prospective customers, an experience of trying latest fashion glasses right on their phones. This marketing tactic got them tremendous social acclaim instantly.
#4: Cause Marketing Sells!
All the brands associated with some social cause eventually sell much more than the others. Yes, ethical marketing or cause marketing sells.
It’s overwhelming to know that, 91% of consumers go with the brands that support a good cause. Even if they sell at the same price and quality as others so, they are given all the preference and consideration.
According to a survey conducted by Futerra, it was found that 96% of people believe that they can make a difference by donating, recycling, or through ethical buying, as depicted in the graph below.
Source: Forbes
The RealBeauty campaign by Dove, Rang-Tan campaign by Iceland, and the #ForeverAgainstAnimalTesting hashtag campaign by The Body Shop, are some of the popular examples of cause marketing, in recent years.
#5: Caters Well to Gender Equilibrated Customers
Social media is for everyone!
The sellers of even the gender-specific products and services should market in a way that the ad catches the attention of everyone. Now it’s obvious to wonder about the plight of marketers selling sanitary pads, tampons, perfumes, and shaving creams. But they have a way too – gender-neutral branding.
Why can’t a man buy sanitary napkin? Why can’t a woman look for a shaving cream? It’s not always about buying for the self. Of course, that would require some amount of emotion that needs to be developed in the audience by the brand itself. Brands that come up with an idea about buying for the near and dear one, or even for charity purpose get the benefits of cause marketing as well.
Yes, Social Media DTC Marketing Can Be Promising!
Following some really smart social media D2C marketing strategies and secrets, the brands can reach out to their audience in a most promising way, making sure their strategies don’t fail. Keeping a constant watch over the ever-changing social media marketing trends, the D2C brands should align their social media existence and strategies accordingly. Well, this is not as easy as it sounds and you should certainly look for a capable social media marketing service provider, who is adept in following all social media marketing best practices for D2C branding.
The team of social media marketers at Tarika Technologies carries exceptional expertise in social media marketing to enable brands leverage the best of the most influential digital medium.
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