You think you have social media all figured out. Your engagement is through the roof, and posts are getting excellent visibility. Then seemingly out of the blue, you’re barely getting noticed. (Cue the crickets.) What’s going on? Unless you have changed the type of content or the frequency you’re posting, a change in social media algorithms is likely the cause of the drop in engagement.
What are social media algorithms?
Social media algorithms are essentially the formula social platforms like Facebook and Instagram use to decide social posts’ visibility and how they get sorted in a user’s feed. The algorithms consider how likely it is for a particular user to react positively and engage with social posts based on several different factors. What those factors are can change without warning.
The power of a private sales channel
The best way to beat social algorithms? Utilize private sales channels like a branded e-commerce app and website. With private sales channels, you gain complete ownership of your customer data and message visibility. These platforms also give you access to more information on your customers like address, email, buyer behavior, and more, depending on what data you’re collecting. All of which is vital information for assessing your customer base and delivering targeted marketing messages to grow your business.
Related Reading: Why All Successful Retailers Have Multiple Virtual Storefronts
Create a direct connection
Private sales channels allow you to bypass the noisy newsfeeds and deliver messages directly to customers. Use the data you are collecting to your advantage and illicit the behavior you want to see. Deliver targeted email campaigns to welcome new shoppers, encourage checkout, and win back inactive customers with your growing email list. Ensure shoppers will never miss a sale, promotion, or new arrival again with mobile app push notifications sent directly to their mobile device.
Related Reading: 5 Types of Emails That Strengthen Your Customer Loyalty
The Takeaway
You don’t want to be at the whim of social media platforms and their ever-changing algorithms. You want to be in control of your messaging and customer data. To do that, you need to diversify with private sales channels. Private sales channels open up a direct communication line, unmuddied by competition, between you and your shoppers – a considerable advantage you won’t get on social media platforms.
