How home retailers can drive social media strategies and build brand advocacy with 3D planning
Using a 3D planning solution, home retailers can populate their social media channels with high quality user-generated and user-informed content.
For millions of shoppers worldwide, Pinterest, Instagram and other social media channels are an instant source of home inspiration and, in turn, a big opportunity for home retailers to drive awareness and showcase their brand.
But building a loyal following is one thing. For consumers to confidently apply the inspiration they find on a retailer’s social media channels and visualize these looks or products in their own home remains another. Here lies a disconnect between social media and a sale.
To help bridge this gap, social media strategies need to utilize quick, easy room planning and visualization capabilities, in conjunction with a seamless journey across other retail channels. This will generate brand advocacy and build the confidence amongst shoppers needed to convert more sales.
HomeByMe Furniture and Decor Planner is a cloud-based 3D planning solution that has the functionality to supercharge social media strategies in three prominent ways:
The 3D planning solution can help retailers build an online community of brand advocates through its inbuilt sharing functionality.
Home retailers can develop a meaningful ongoing relationship with their brand champions by encouraging them to seek, share and engage with inspiration on social media.
Home retailers can utilize a rich source of user insight from the platform to continue to inform and enhance social media strategies.
Build an online community of brand advocates
An online 3D planning solution allows home retailers to provide a platform for their users to experiment with new looks and view hyper-realistic renders of their exact rooms, which they can design in minutes. This not only builds the confidence of consumers but also helps them take decisive action, whether it is to make a purchase online or to visit the retailer’s store.
A home redesign is a big undertaking and so professional validation of their ideas and designs remains important for customers, even as e-commerce continues to soar. With the HomeByMe Furniture and Decor Planner, sales professionals can access their customers’ online designs in-store to inform consultations. In this same vein, users of the solution online have the option to share their designs via social media, providing a source of validation amongst family and friends, too.
With an inbuilt sharing functionality from the platform, shoppers can post life-like 3D renders of their home redesign with ease and directly to their favorite social media channels. From here, users of the platform can be encouraged to follow, tag and engage with the brand. In turn, those that come across the retailer’s page or content as a result of their customers’ posts will be encouraged to browse and try out the platform for themselves, driving more traffic to the website as a result.
Instead of a “buy now” button, for example, retailers can change up their call to actions with a “design now” option that will help capture the attention of social media users who may have otherwise only viewed a retailer’s – or a retailer’s customers’ – content in passing.
Tap into user-generated content to maintain engagement
Home retailers can utilize the shareability of 3D designs to not only grow their following but to ensure their existing community remains engaged with the brand. It is said that user-generated content in ads can prompt a 5x higher click through rate, meaning shoppers are more likely to trust and engage with content produced by their peers.
With a 3D planning solution, use of the platform can be encouraged by hosting competitions and creating unique hashtags to promote users’ designs and inspire others to contribute. As well as a means of engaging customers on social media with incentives and recognition, the platform also provides an opportunity to promote new products and styles.
What’s more, a bank of authentic, user-generated content that can be reshared as part of a home retailer’s social media content plan will save resource, while providing useful insight from engagement metrics. The addition of regular peer-generated content encourages a forum for conversations, reviews and recommendations amongst customers, boosting loyalty and affinity with the brand as a result.
Apply new insights to provide customers with what they want
With the HomeByMe Furniture and Decor Planner, retailers can access a rich mine of data to gain an in-depth understanding of user demographics, preferences and behaviors. Home retailers can identify key areas such as the most popular product lines and collections, preferred designs and styles, all of which can inform and strengthen ongoing social media strategies.
Insights like these allow retailers to keep campaigns current and relevant, helping them to stay abreast of customer needs and maximize potential revenue. But in addition to reacting to trends, an engaged following will be looking to their favorite brand to set trends, too. Data from the platform, for example, can also be used to suggest what products and styles are gaining more or initial interest, and should feature prominently across social media to get ahead of the curve.
Conclusion
Building up online communities of loyal followers and brand advocates takes time, but 3D planning technology can help home retailers boost their social media strategies with the very type of user-generated content known to encourage peer-to-peer engagement and establish trust. HomeByMe Furniture and Decor Planner solution provides home retailers with a unique opportunity to drive social media traffic to their website and vice versa. It can encourage meaningful engagement via social media, win the loyalty of followers, and provide a path to purchase that customers can be confident in.
If you want to learn more about 3D planning, request a demo here.