Welcome back to The Shoppe! This week we’re talking about the Olympics’ online presence, social media implementing online shopping, tips for your Instagram page, LinkedIn acquiring Jumprope, & more!

The Olympics Put Digital Marketing to the Test

The 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo have been anything but ordinary. With the absence of live spectators and increasing coronavirus concerns, the Olympic partners are emphasizing a stronger need for an online presence. Since the last Olympic games hosted by Japan, Pyeongchang in 2018, streaming habits have drastically changed as well as the way marketing has approached television. As we all expected this trend was fast approaching, the pandemic brought it faster than some companies could prepare for. Brands now have to entertain new audiences by shifting their strategies from piecemeal ad buys to centralized campaigns across a variety of channels. Consumers are no longer dependent on just television but are now looking at a variety of streaming services for content, opening new opportunities for marketing. Click here to learn more about how digital marketing at the Olympics is changing.

Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat Want in on the eCommerce Trend

The pandemic has changed the way social media platforms are looking to communicate with their consumers. The shift of commerce from offline to online has accelerated due to the coronavirus pandemic and now Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat want in. Since the threat of the pandemic kept customers from going to stores, social media platforms were fast to release shopping features in order to claim their territory in the eCommerce market. For example, Instagram introduced a shopping tab to their main navigation last year and gave businesses their own customizable page. 

Online shopping on social media platforms isn’t exactly new, but it makes sense as the natural next step for these platforms due to the increase in eCommerce and the increase in social media usage. Social media platforms are no longer the tool to discover new products but are now the channel where brands can sell their products as well.

Tips for Your Instagram Page

Are you looking to create an effective Instagram page that drives sales? In order to build a brand loyal audience and maximize engagement, you need to start with your profile. Make sure that your page has an eye-catching icon and a short “get to the point” bio with a link to the web page of your choosing. Having a posting schedule is important to stay consistent with your audience. It’s also worth trying out the newer content options that Instagram has to offer such as Stories and Reels since Instagram’s algorithm gives priority to pages that use all of these functionalities. Stories and Reels also give an additional way to reach your potential customers.

5 Tips to Maximize Your Instagram Page:

Tip #1: Bio

• Write a short bio that describes what your business does and add a link to your business at the end.

Tip #2: Consistency is Key

• Post on a planned schedule. Coming up with content before the month and schedule that content on a consistent basis. Hootsuite is a great place to schedule content.

Tip #3: Use all of Instagram’s Functionalities

• Post Stories and use Reels. These content options increase the chance of your page being seen by a potential customer.

Tips #4: Be Creative

• Use compelling, exciting, and engaging captions that can get your audience commenting. Using emojis is also a great way to get your post to pop!

Tips #5: Don’t Forget Hashtags

• Using and updating hashtags helps your page get as many views as possible.
  

LinkedIn Acquires Tutorial Video App, Jumprope

TikTok’s success over the past few years has shown that social media users want to be entertained with video content. This has forced social media platforms to expand their creator tools. For example, LinkedIn just acquired the how-to video app, Jumprope as a part of their expanded tools. Jumprope describes itself as “the best place for anyone to create a how-to and export it to every social platform.” Jumprope allows users to create helpful step-by-step tutorials by using video or still images with preset formats. By using their new service, LinkedIn is looking to keep its most popular creators and maximize user engagement which will eventually lead to sponsored content and promotions.