How NOT to Advertise on Social Media for Your Ecommerce Site

There’s enough content out there about how to run a good eCommerce social advertising campaign. So, let’s get right down to it and talk about what NOT to do when launching a social media advertising campaign. To draw a comparison for you, remember that scene in Season 3 of Breaking Bad when Walter White is in the lab and that fly will NOT leave him alone? Consider that fly a bad social media advertising campaign. So how do you make sure you’re not the fly (we don’t recommend being Walter White either, but you get the point 😉)? To start, you should stay away from these common social faux pas:

Not having a following, but an organic content strategy

While organic content is a great way to stay connected to your customers, if you aren’t connecting with those customers on your social platforms or garnering future customers, then is your content even being seen? Like the adage, if a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound, if you’re only incorporating an organic strategy into your marketing mix because of budget restraints it may be time to rethink your plan. Consider investing a small portion of your marketing dollars to an audience building or brand awareness campaign to get more followers to your page. Once you have a following of current customers or potentials ones, then using an organic play to get your content seen and heard will have a large payoff.

Not harnessing your own data

While you may think casting the widest net possible will increase your chances of sales. Think again. To make the most optimal use of your budget and get the most bang for your buck, utilize Facebook’s custom and lookalike audience targeting which finds your customers (and potential customers that mirror your existing customer base) by uploading your contact list into Facebook.

Not refresh your creative

Not only is it important to test which imagery and creative garners the most engagement, but with the creation of IGTV, Facebook stories, and Pinterest video ads, placement is also a crucial testing element to understand where your audience has the most engagement. Insta Stories allow brands to promote their products/services with animated GIFs and videos (not to mention the Interactive content integrations like polls and questions) to engage with customers even before they enter their feed. IG’s highlights reels also remove the 24-hour limit for your best stories. Consider using the best of the best to create curated highlight streams! Moral of the story? Don’t be the fly. Show up when wanted by the most qualified audience and you’re sure to see campaign success.