On Thursday, June 4, the American Booksellers Association presented the Marketing Meetup “How to Make Friends and Influence Purchases: Digital Marketing’s Self-Help Guide to Customer Retention.” Booksellers can learn more about ABA meetups here [5].

Following the May 7 Marketing Meetup on retaining new customers [6], Jordan Brannon and Cass Cross of Coalition Technologies [7] returned to discuss how to maximize the value of each new visitor to your site through social media marketing, retargeting, paid advertising, and more.

Here are some of the key points from the session:

Social Media Statistics:

• The presentation focused primarily on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
  • Facebook is a place where users primarily connect with friends and family. Users check their Facebook eight times per day on average, and the platform allows you to reach a larger audience with ads; users can also post longform content.
  • Instagram can be thought of as a highlight reel, where users share photos and videos, follow influencers, and create a social media community. The average user checks Instagram six times per day. Users have the highest engagement on Instagram, and the platform allows you to reach a larger audience with ads.
  • Twitter is a place to share ideas and get real-time information/trending news. It’s a place for users to connect to the wider world as a whole and hear what’s happening. Forty-six percent of overall users check Twitter daily.
  • TikTok is a source of short video entertainment, and is not primarily focused on social connection. A significant portion of users are under 18, and 90 percent of users use the app daily, multiple times throughout the day.
• About 45 percent of the global population utilizes social media networks, and 54 percent of those users use social media to research products. Facebook is the most widely used platform. 
• COVID-19 has impacted social media usage in the U.S. The following data is collected from Sprout Social:
  • While Wednesdays were previously the best day to post on Facebook, Cross said that Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. ET are now the best time to post for optimal engagement.
  • On Instagram, peak times expanded from Wednesday and Friday between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. ET to Monday, Tuesday, and Friday at 11:00 a.m. ET and Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. ET. 
  • On Twitter, patterns of usage have remained mostly consistent, mostly because people use the platform for news. The top time to engage has shifted from Wednesday and Friday at 9:00 a.m. ET to Friday between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. ET.
• In April versus March, average engagements per day increased across all networks and industries. There were 7.3 more engagements per post per day on average across all networks and industries.

Strategizing Posts:

• On Instagram, users can use grid image splitting tools such as Planoly [8] to create posts and a consistent aesthetic. Booksellers should also post stories and highlights to their Instagram.
• On Facebook, booksellers should be sure their avatar, cover photo, bio, and profile info are complete and contain up-to-date information. Booksellers should also use the @ symbol to tag other Facebook pages and groups, in addition to using hashtags, which turn topics and phrases into clickable links.
• On TikTok, booksellers can create inexpensive content and participate in trends.
• On Twitter, booksellers can maintain steady activity through retweeting, posing questions, and engaging with users that tweet about you. Booksellers can also @ groups and tag topics and phrases.
• Engagement is key when posting; booksellers should be posting content that encourages users to take action. Asking questions is a great way to get people commenting, and posting behind-the-scenes clips and images can be popular. Cross also recommended engaging in trends, conducting interviews, and sharing content from thought leadership.
• Across platforms, booksellers should aim for consistency, and they should be sure the main visuals match. Booksellers should also consider posting user-generated content, cross-posting across platforms, and sharing influencer content.

Booksellers can visit the Education Resources page [9] on Bookweb.org to view a recording of this session.