[intro] When you have completed this Guide, you will have installed the Social Plugins feature onto your EKM online shop with some or all of the suggested social media platforms. For each platform you have linked to your EKM online shop, you will also have learned how to customise that platform to match your branding, recognise what kind of content you need to create for that platform and how to target potential customers on that platform.[/intro]
[summary]
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It's essential that when you have created your EKM online shop you produce some social media to promote it. Social media is essential especially if you don't have a paid advertising budget; creating an online buzz about your Products can encourage traffic to your EKM online shop and in turn, this produces lots of organic backlinks which also aid you in terms of getting ranked higher in search engine results too. There are a lot of e-commerce sites out there for you to compete with online; some of them are huge and well-established whilst others are small and very young. Some online shops will have dedicated staff who manage complex advertising campaigns and depending on your industry, you will probably be trying to compete with some very big companies. The advantage that you have - even if you can't yet afford to invest in online advertising - is by managing and planning your social media yourself; quality relatable content posted online can work wonders in terms of attracting new customers to your EKM online shop and it costs nothing more than time for you to make this happen.
Within this guide, you'll learn how to install the Social Plugins feature on your EKM online shop, which is used to link to your different social media accounts. When you have installed this and created social media accounts specific to your Products and your brand, be sure to read our Social Media Strategy guide which will help you learn to define and produce content to publish online for the best possible impact.
Installing the Social Plugins feature
1. To install the Social Plugins feature, log into your EKM online shop and click Features on the left-hand menu.
2. Click the Feature Library tab:
3. Scroll down to the Marketing features and click the View More button on the far right-hand side:
4. Then click the Social Plugins icon:
5. Then click the green Install Feature button to add this to your EKM online shop:
6. Now you need to click the green Launch button:
7. Each of the icons within the feature represents a different social media platform, and each can be used to attract customers to visit your EKM online shop.
8. The Choose Social Plugins drop-down menu to the right selects where the icons should be displayed on your EKM online shop.
Configuring each Social Media Account
To set up an account on each of the platforms and link these to your EKM online shop, click the appropriate Guides from the links below:
[tips] You don't need to update every platform at first! Start off slowly and increase your profiles as you build momentum. A blog and a Facebook Page, Instagram account or Twitter profile are good to begin with. We can even create these profiles for you and your first few posts - just ask our team about our Get Social packages [/tips]
When you have connected your social media accounts to your EKM online shop, you then need to develop your Social Media Strategy; this ensures that going forward, you have defined what to post and when on each of your accounts to encourage potential customers to visit your shop and to raise awareness of your Products and your brand.
[contact] If you need our help with your EKM online shop, contact your Ecommerce Expert or the Customer Support Team, who will be able to point you in the right direction. We're open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-5.30pm weekends. If you'd like to suggest a feature or an upgrade on any of the EKM platforms, please let us know on the EKM Suggestions Board. If you have a non-account-specific question to ask the EKM Team, join us in the EKM Community. [/contact]