A study by Econsultancy found that the average spend in small shops is £6.58 – but if a shopper shares positive comments or images there is the potential to make up to £125 in additional revenue from new customers (Convenience Store 2015). Around 80 ShopMate users have Twitter accounts and many find it a great way to highlight what they offer and their community involvement. Retail Data Partnership (RDP) have gathered insights into how retailers can increase revenue and footfall using social media platforms: Facebook and Twitter.

Social Media can help Increase your Footfall

Facebook and Twitter are great platforms for your marketing efforts. Both can lower marketing expenses and drive sales by encouraging recommendations from your customers to entice repeat business.

"Market Probe International and Twitter conducted a survey that showed 72% of people are more likely to make a future purchase from small retailers after they follow or interact with them on Twitter. We also see a 30% increase in people who are likely to recommend, which increases traffic to you social media account by 86% (Twitter Ads Research 2013).

Facebook Vs. Twitter

Facebook can increase awareness and bring in new custom whilst also keeping existing customers informed and engaged.

Although Twitter is the larger social media network, Facebook provides a multi-media platform with thousands of apps that can assist business with marketing. These include posting and scheduling apps like Hootsuite and post planner, and Ripe Social to bring brand awareness and customer interaction.

You can get to know your target audience by using the Facebook insights page to check how many ‘likes’ you have generated on a specific post, keep track of your reach and overall engagement and post-performance.

Build brand loyalty by being engaging and interactive on Facebook – if you provide a flow of great content and special offers it will encourage your followers to stay loyal. This will also drive traffic to your website if you have one, or other social media platforms such as Twitter.

Facebook can also allow you to check your local competition to see how they are doing in terms of their social media traffic and growth.

Quality beats Quantity

To further improve engagement, research shows that quality rather than quantity is important.

"One or two posts a day receive 32% higher ‘like’ rates and 73% comment rates compared to three or more posts a day.

Use social media to enhance customer engagement and maximise the chances of repeat business. Ask frequent questions to spark discussion – ‘What is your favourite brand of biscuit and why?’ Ask for opinions on brands and products to gauge customer preferences. Your customers will look for specific offers and promotions, and will appreciate coupons exclusive to social media followers.

"Research shows that ‘£1 off’ offers generate twice the engagement of ‘% off’ offers for the retail industry. Even small ‘50p off’ discounts receive 17% higher engagement than some promotions, showing that customers prefer tangible cash discounts.

Keep it simple, engaging and interactive!