Wondering how to get started with marketing for dropshipping? This article may come in handy.
Dropshipping is a proven retail method that offers numerous advantages to a store owner. It removes the necessity for store owners to keep an inventory of products. It allows them to run a store without having to worry about storing products and shipping them. While dropshipping may seem like a win-win solution for a business owner, there are some roadblocks.
While the drop shipping industry is set to reach a value of $557.9 billion by 2025, there is stiff competition within it. That’s because 27% of retailers now see dropshipping as the model to follow for their business.
If you are going to enter the world of dropshipping, you need to be equipped with the right tactics.
Social Media and Dropshipping
One of the most effective means of promoting social media is to use social media. With billions of people using social media, you will find most of your market on various platforms.
A few years ago, you can still use social media for marketing for free, but the tactic has now shifted to paid advertising. If you do it correctly, paid ads can be a very effective means of getting attention for your dropshipping business.
Just how powerful is social media advertising?
Well, first of all, most people are now using social media. There are billions of people now using platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and if you want your store to get noticed, those are the platforms you should use.
Social media ads are excellent for:
- Increasing brand awareness since ads can increase your visibility.
- Boost the traffic to your store since the inclusion of your link on the ad can drive traffic.
- It’s also ideal for promoting products and services.
Best Social Media Platforms for Advertising
There’s a new social media platform being released almost every week. Most of them would fail because people are not really interested in trying out so many social media platforms that have not been tried. Some do catch on.
But for advertising, there are only a select few platforms that you should use. You should not use the newer platforms because their audience is not that big. Some social media platforms that have become popular in recent years are still unproven when it comes to effectiveness in terms of ads.
Right now, these are the best social media platforms for advertising your dropshipping business:
- Snapchat
But you have to be careful in picking which platform to use. For example, it’s not a smart move to use all of these platforms without considering who your audience is. Your target audience might not be on all of the platforms. For example, not everyone may be using Pinterest.
Creating Social Media Ads
When you want to use social media ads to promote your business, you cannot go straight to making the ads directly. You need to have a clear idea of what it is that you would like to achieve. In other words, you need to create a social media ad strategy.
Here are some of the steps that you can follow when creating a social media ad strategy:
- First of all, you need to list down your goals for the ads.
- The next step is to identify the audience and the platform you will use for the ads.
- You can then go ahead and create the content for your ads. Keep in mind that each platform would have different requirements. So the ads that you will use on one platform may not work on the others.
- One of the biggest stumbling blocks for some people when it comes to social media ads is setting the right budget to be spent for it. It’s safe to set a limited budget first before you spend too much.
- Once you have set your budget, you can then run your ads. But remember to keep track of the performance of the ads. If you don’t see the ads performing, then you should pause and tweak them.
- You should run split tests for the ads. This is the best way to optimize them and make sure that you are left with the ones that are actually performing.
These are the main steps that you can follow in creating your ads.
Writing the Copy
Writing copy is a skill, a skill that takes time to develop. If you have to do things on your own, you might have a hard time writing compelling copy. The best thing you can do when writing a copy for your ads is to be sincere and honest. Don’t try to oversell because people won’t bother to read the rest of what you have to say if you do that.
Just tell the story of your brand in a way that can create interest. You can do so in a simple way, or if you want, you can elaborate on the story, especially if there’s a significant human element to it.
Designing the Graphics
Just like writing a copy, graphic design requires skill and experience. You will be better off hiring professional designers to do things for you. You may check out Delesign for graphic design services.
There are also free tools now that you can use to create your graphic requirements. For example, you can use Canva to create simple ad designs. When making designs, you should be conscious of the psychology of colors and what they signify.
Running Your Campaign
When you are running your campaign, you must make full use of the best feature offered by social media ads which is targeting. With Facebook, you can use what they term as the Reach Objective in making sure that the right people will see your ads in the right location.
Social media advertising is really the way to promote a business now. Since a dropshipping business is based online, it really makes sense to have a presence on social media platforms for promotions. Using soc media ads is not a guarantee of success for your dropshipping business, but it’s one of the best promotion ways now.
Author’s Bio:
Krisana is a content writer for the on demand graphic design service Delesign. She is a journalist turned SEO Content Writer with keen interest in tech, software, and innovations. She is an avid fan of Elon Musk and wants to be part of the future Human Mars Mission. In the meantime, she spends her time researching and writing about everything that could make life a better place on Earth. Outside of work, Krisana dedicates her time with her two lovely kids.
