Working closely with retailers every day on their e-commerce sites, I am proud to say that most of my clients are using social networking in their regular marketing efforts. They’re posting on Facebook, tweeting on Twitter, and pinning on Pinterest. Unfortunately, many retailers are missing out on a huge opportunity when they post on Facebook. They are posting great sales, photos, announcements and products, but they’re not linking their posts back to their site.

Why is it so important? For the first time, the number of mobile users on Facebook has surpassed the number of those using Facebook on the web. CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that of the 1.06 billion active Facebook users in the world, 618 million of them are visiting daily and 157 million are doing it from mobile devices.

Facebook users on mobile devices are not going to want to back out of their Facebook app to find the sale you’ve just announced or shop for the shoe you just got in. As a retailer (or any business really), you need to make it easy for users to find you. Ideally, the link will take you back to shop the specific product that you’ve posted, but at a minimum, there should at least be a link back to your website.

Linking posts back to your site is too easy to not do it. With WordPress, a simple plug-in allows the site owner to use an “add this” button. When you use the “add this” button, your post on Facebook will include a link back to your site. That’s it. So easy, but still, so many people don’t do it.
While it’s wonderful that more and more retailers are embracing Social Networking, it’s important to do it right. The goal of using Facebook and other social media avenues is to promote your product, brand and ultimately, make the sale. So please, take the time to link back to your site and close the sale.