How to focus social media efforts for 2014

For many merchants, social media continues to be a tricky proposition when it comes to achieving ROI. Direct sales from social networks amount to just 1-2% of all revenues, according to the MarketLive Performance Index, which means that merchants must dig deep to justify their investment. And that investment needs to be significant if merchants are to adequately staff social media for responsive service and innovative content — making the value proposition even more potentially lopsided.

For those reasons, many merchants are striving to focus social media efforts. With an ever-expanding array of social networks to consider, that task may seem impossible — but recent data suggests the opposite may be true. With more options than ever, consumers increasingly being selective and gravitating toward individual social networks that cater best to their needs, making it easier for brands to reach their intended audiences.

For merchants to successfully reach their target audience, they should:

Consider the demographics. from the Pew Internet & American Life project gives merchants insight into the leading social networks — both in terms of numbers of users by factors such as age and ethnicity as well as frequency of usage. This combined information can help merchants not only select appropriate social networks, but also throttle resource allocation. For example, while Pinterest has replaced Twitter as the third most popular social network, Twitter users log in far more frequently, with double the number of Twitter users reporting they check the site at least daily.

Dig deeper into Facebook engagement for younger audiences. As the Pew report shows, Facebook dominates both in terms of frequency and popularity, with 71% of all Internet users reporting they use the site. But while 84% of 18-to-29-year-olds report using Facebook, and , survey responses suggest they consider the social network the purview of adults and assume their posts are monitored by parents and potential employers — prompting them to prefer other platforms for unfettered social interaction.  Research firm NextAdvisor found that Tumblr ranked highest among social networks, with 66% of teens reporting usage, while 9% fewer teens in 2013 versus 2012 named Facebook as the most important social site. In addition to Tumblr, the photo-sharing site Instagram ranked high in NextAdvisor’s survey, with SnapChat — which delivers photos, then deletes them after 10 seconds — becoming popular as a means of sharing images without the fear of leaving a permanent online record.

Incorporate mobile into social strategy. Regardless of demographic segment, merchants should assume their audience will access brand social outposts via mobile devices. Fully two in three smartphone owners say they use their devices to connect with social media, according to eMarketer — slightly higher than the 65% who visit social media sites on their laptop or desktop browser. More than half of tablet owners use them for social media.   All in all, eMarketer forecasts that more than one in three consumers will access social media via smartphone this year.

To adapt to this usage, merchants should design social strategies with mobile in mind, from posting links to mobile-friendly landing pages to featuring mobile-friendly content such as store locators within Facebook.

Go beyond the numbers. While demographics and industry-wide statistics can serve as a guide, ultimately merchants must rely on in-depth knowledge of their audience in order to develop effective social strategies. To understand the preference of their existing and potential customers, merchants should use:

• Surveys. Ask existing customers about social media usage and what social content would be helpful.

• Analytics. Study traffic logs to identify social sources — both mobile and desktop — of existing traffic.

• Competitive data. Examine what social offerings exist for brands that cater to relevant audiences.

• Product shares. Merchants can enable sharing of products from the eCommerce or mobile site even to those social networks where they haven’t established official brand profiles. Destinations where items are frequently shared merit further exploration.

• Social “listening”. Monitoring social sites for brand mentions and unofficial pages or profiles enables merchants to both identify social opportunities and provide responsive customer service.

How are you fine-tuning and focusing social strategy for 2014?