If you’re an ecommerce or online business without a social media presence, you’re already a little behind. Having a social media presence has become a normal part of helping people find and engage with your online business. Below, we’ve outlined the purpose of having business social media accounts for ecommerce.

1. A Large Audience Is Available on Social Media

Literally, billions of people are active on social media each month. Your chances of being able to reach at least a small piece of your target audience are good, depending on your targeting strategy and how well you promote your brand. http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/

2. Send Content to Followers/Customers

Social media is a great way to let customers know about a promotion you’re running, how-to’s on using your product, or promoting content from a company blog. It’s free to use, too, unless you opt to pay for advertising.

You don’t have to stop at sending content out to your followers though! Acquiring new followers increases brand awareness, so actively commenting on posts relevant to your company is a good way to continue building your presence on these platforms.

3. Conversation Platform for Customers

Nowadays, it’s common for customers with a problem or even praise to reach out to a company on social media. In fact, it’s expected that companies are reachable on these platforms. But it’s not just for customers to initiate a conversation! It’s a great way to ask your customers what you can improve on, add to your product offerings, or what promotions they’ve loved. It’s an easy way to do a little market research.

4. Exposure to Customer’s Friends/Followers

When your customers interact with your posts, on many platforms (Facebook, Pinterest), it will show that followers friends the interaction. Bam! Exposure. Simply by creating content compelling enough that one of your followers “Liked” it or even shared the post.

Even if you’re not paying for any of the advertising tools on social media, it’s important to have a presence there.