How much time do you think the average consumer spend looking at their phone? The rate at which we consume content is higher than ever, with social media and other apps at our fingertips, the global population has a daily screen time of approximately 7 hours per day! (According to Data Report)
Think about it, contents are more accessible than ever. People can pick up their phones whenever they want, whether they are standing in line for coffee or waiting for their dinner to arrive.
With over 70 percent of Cambodians currently owning a social media account, it is not surprising that key players in every industry are capitalizing on using social media as a sales channel and integrating social media into their omnichannel sales strategy.
Social Media as sale channels: A buyer journey trend in Cambodia
The Current Landscape
So, which industries are capitalizing on the social trend the most?
- Food, Fashion, Travel, and Entertainment: People come to social media to see and be exposed to fun content, it is no wonder why these industries are performing well. Cambodians love to see this type of content on their newsfeed! It is no wonder why some new restaurants or cafe owes their success to social media and trend on Facebook or Tiktok.
- Real estate, finance, and insurance: While these businesses do not gain massive reach organically, paid advertisement on social media has become an integral part of their sales strategy.
How Cambodians use social media
To many Cambodians, social is sometimes used as a substitution for search engines such as Google (SEO). Some social media users browse through hashtags to scan trends, obtain new ideas, and be exposed to new things. Some use Facebook to search for their desired product such as furniture or look for new exciting cafes in town to indulge in new tastes, while others even use social media to search for real estate investments or to browse for their future home!
As they browse using these keywords, they will receive relevant ads which can direct them to the desired purchase and secure sales for business channels.
Where does social media fit into the sales funnel?
Awareness
Every purchasing journey starts with the recognition stage, but how can business owners make their brand stand out among countless competitors? The current social media landscape in Cambodia highly favors engaging content which induces organic reach and interaction.
The organic reach is mostly implemented for brands that can provide entertainment value for the users. These brands include coffee shops, restaurants, and many more brands in the entertainment and hospitality sphere. With the rise of short-form videos such as reels and TikTok, many brands find themselves, new followers, by posting engaging videos on various social media sites. Paid advertisements are big! By providing meaningful, creative, and interesting ads that appeal to the customers, targeted ads prove to be one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies when implemented correctly.
Collaborations with influencers and Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) also prove to be a trendy and lucrative implementation by providing a great way to appeal to new and existing customers.
Consideration
Let’s face it, competition is more fierce than ever with the presence of targeted ads on social media and other digital platforms. If potential buyers are interested in your product, chances are they might receive ads from similar businesses as well.
A consumer might not spend a lot of time considering which t-shirt to get, but when it comes to big decisions such as which life insurance to get, or which real estate property to invest in, they will put in a lot of time to determine the best possible product or service.
Other than having a strong business model that appeals to customers, business owners should strive to be better and provide more value on the social media front. Effective social media strategy that is proven to work includes having a well-integrated experience between social media and your business website, publishing insightful blog posts, or having content produced by KOLs and specialized pages.
Banks and insurance companies can collaborate with content creators such as Kakcent in order to gain reliability by associating themselves with a trustworthy platform, thus setting a strategic brand positioning using social media.
Conversion
Social media has made it possible to purchase a product in a matter of hours, or maybe even minutes! Consumers can easily purchase products on social media by dropping their phone numbers (they will then be contacted by the sales team).
A shopping or purchasing experience on social media should be ultimately seamless, in order to give customers a satisfactory experience. In order to achieve a higher conversion rate, business owners will need to set up a highly efficient and highly responsive omnichannel sales strategy. This can be achieved by:
- The sales funnel should be at the center of your digital marketing strategy
- Maintain a fast response rate and quality of service, whether through direct messages on the page’s inbox, contact via phone numbers, email, or visits at the brick-and-mortar location.
- Using social media to establish your sales team as the industry expert.
Social media strategy can also be implemented to increase brand loyalty by building followers. This can be done by providing meaningful content on your social media channel that would benefit the customers, publishing content that resonates with them, or providing entertainment value for the audiences.
Final thoughts
Social media provides businesses with new ways to appeal to and engage with their customers. The current landscape favors the quick and highly-integrated purchasing experience of low-priced products such as fashion, cosmetics, and home appliances via social media.
In the meantime, investments and high-value products are seeing more competition than ever, with the presence of targeted advertisements. With that being said, what is your current business doing in order to stand out and remain ahead of the competition? Is your business finding new ways to integrate social media into your sales channel?
