Take one look at social channels from Twitter to Facebook and everything in between, and you’ll find the presence of many brands with something to sell. Are you one of those brands, looking to improve sales on social media? Is social media working to further your bottom line?
If it’s not turning out exactly as you’d like, perhaps you’ve complicated things. Here’s how to simplify your efforts.
Draw attention
One of the hardest, but most important things to do when marketing to a targeted audience is to put yourself in the shoes of your consumers, and to be critical of yourself. Are you boring, dull, or otherwise not attractive? Ask friends and people on the street the same question. Do people even know you exist?
Consider your content strategy. If you don’t have a clear plan of attack, a consistent message, and a familiar tone of voice, how do you expect people to take notice? Don’t blow your message into the wind with no hope of it landing in front of the right audience. Enlist the help of the most creative people on your team, and start spreading the word wherever your customers hang out. You might have to consider becoming more active on channels you’re not currently focused on. Here’s a little help with improving your appeal.
Keep them interested
Imagine being a barker on a street corner for a big show. Getting people to stop and listen to your message is your job, but more importantly, they need to actually purchase tickets. Many people in the crowd will simply walk by, smiling happily at the entertainment you just provided. You need them to stay and engage. You need them to ask questions, or to hang on, waiting for more.
Give your audience a reason to hang around. Find out what makes them happiest. Converse with them to better understand what they need from you to stay loyal. Retention is tricky for many corporations selling something “big,” but it doesn’t need to be. Be the friend, the resource and the source of information. Use your social channels to connect with existing customers. If you do it well, new ones will follow.
Ask for commitment
Far too often, you do tons of work to dazzle someone, and despite your best efforts, it still doesn’t convert to a sale. One of the big reasons why: you failed to ask. If you have their attention, and have held it by following through with your social strategy, ask for the sale.
You have to first successfully follow steps one and two to earn trust on social media. Once the rapport is built, and the prospect feels that you have your social media house in order, they’re far more likely to put trust in you on a grander scale.
Continue to feed the beast
Just because you seal the deal doesn’t mean you should stop interacting with a new customer. Even if your product or service is not something that requires repeat purchasing, and you’ll never see another dollar from existing happy customers again, keep being contact with your customers – authentically and passionately – and they’ll start talking about how awesome you are to their peers.
To make your efforts really go the distance, give your customers a reason to talk about you positively. Whether sharing user experiences via Facebook, or linking to interesting Instagram photos of your product in action to Twitter, make your content and your brand as sharable as possible.
Successful social media selling should go beyond just another customer. If you plan carefully and engage thoughtfully, you should find your content and interaction on social channels will continue to resonate with new customer after new customer. Need help engaging? Take a look at these 20 ways to succeed at social media engagement.
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