THERE is no way to avoid it, Insta, FB, Tik, and all the rest play a large part in the retailing community with many of our younger shoppers. With the advent of AI, which will probably result in the end of our civilization (just saying!), we all need to be on the top of our game when it comes to marketing and selling using social media platforms.
ONE of the big changes with social media is that they are relying more on what is called micro-influencers than celebrities. Users also need to have a seamless shopping experience once they decide to make purchases. One very interesting development is that consumers are searching for products and reviews on social media rather than using traditional search engines as they have done in the past. This is true for about 25% of consumers in the ages of 18-54. Gen Z consumers find that the number rises to 36%. This is a big shift in search patterns when it comes to retailing goods.
INTERESTINGLY, almost 40% of young people, when they are looking for a place to have lunch, are not going to Google Maps or Search but instead going to TikTok or Instagram. Who knew? Up till now many of us thought those apps were just for idiots posting videos!
AND believe it, TikTok has taken notice of this and recently has been testing new features to drive search traffic. Younger consumers want more visual responses and that is where traditional search engines have to step it up. Who cares about the allegations that TikTok transmits our personal data to the CCP – it will show us where to eat lunch! (What has happened to us?)
WITH the new ChatGPT there have already been over 1 billion monthly visitors and over 100 million active users. Want to stay in business for the next decade, either learn these platforms or hire someone to run your social media campaigns. It is no longer enough to post a sentence or two on Twitter or Facebook. If you want remain competitive, it’s your move.
