Many eBay sellers conduct business by listing their items and then sitting back and waiting for eBay to drive traffic to them.
However, the most successful eBay sellers don’t just wait for buyers to arrive; they make things happen.
What do they do?
Besides learning how to optimize their listings for eBay’s internal search, they go outside of eBay and utilize the internet and social media to find qualified buyers to drive their own targeted traffic to their listings.
They have a marketing strategy. They know who their ‘ideal buyer’ is and how their products fill a need for that buyer.
They use social media to connect with those buyers and they develop relationships by communicating with them. Not selling to them …. communicating with them and developing relationships.
So what does that have to do with selling your products?
Think about the people who buy them. In many cases, they search online to find the item(s). If you’re highly visible in the search results, you have a good chance of making the sale. If you appear to be an authority or have gotten great reviews, a buyer is more likely to purchase from you vs your competitors.
Social media marketing can increase the visibility of your product and the recognition of your brand but it’s important to know several things before jumping into the social media world.
First – Understand that your time is valuable. Develop a social media marketing strategy for your ecommerce business. Know your ‘ideal buyer’ and determine where they spend time online. Will you find them on LinkedIn or is Facebook where they tend to be? Do they read blogs, go to YouTube to get information or do the listen to podcasts? Do they congregate on Flickr or focus on social bookmarking sites like Digg or Stumbleupon?? You can spend an inordinate amount of time on social media sites but with a plan in place and an understanding of who you are targeting, you can focus your efforts and make your marketing cost- and time-efficient.
Second – Each social media site has its own ‘rules of conduct.’ Understand how each site works before jumping in full steam ahead.
Third – Know what you’re measuring so you’ll know if you’re getting results. Define your goals and take a snapshot of where you are now to use as your baseline.
Fourth – Social media is first and foremost about developing relationships. People are tuning out and ignoring marketing messages that are blasted to them without being asked for. BUT … if they know you. like what you have to say and you provide value to them, they’ll develop a level of trust and that’s when they turn to you to make their purchase.
All this is a very simplified explanation of social media marketing. Richard Brewer-Hay, Sr. Manager, Social Media Strategy, eBay Inc. and Chief Blogger at eBay Ink, understands the impact of social media marketing and has just introduced the eBay Ink Social Media Sellers Program. The hope is that this program “will help promote all of the great online sellers that are embracing social media tools as a way to augment their presence online, ultimately promoting their stores and sales.”
I am honored to be one of the first 6 people featured (click on the graphic below to see my profile) and to be in the great company of John Lawson , Danna Crawford , Kat Simpson, Walt Kolenda and Melinda Jackson.
If you have any social media questions, I’m happy to try and answer them. Please post them in the comments section of this blog or find us at our website, on our Facebook Fan page or connect with us on Twitter.
Well said! Congrats on being one of the first six eBay Social Media Sellers!