Nowadays, social media is an important part of every business. Regardless of size, industry, and classification, it is a powerful tool that can turn ordinary ventures into extraordinary businesses. From increasing brand awareness to expanding consumer base and reaching the target market, one cannot deny the never-ending benefits of social networks.
However, it’s not easy to build a large social media following and having tons of followers doesn’t necessarily equate to business growth and development. Even if you have millions of followers, this doesn’t guarantee increasing sales and customer engagement. Keep in mind that just because someone follows you on social media does not mean they will generate sales for your business.
If you want to scale your business and keep the brand growing, you need to turn followers into actual buyers. Along with great social media marketing strategies, here are some tips on how to convert social media followers into customers.
The Importance of social media
From Facebook to Instagram and Twitter, you need to diversify your horizon and have an active presence on all social media platforms. Although Facebook remains to be the undisputed king of social media, people still use a lot of other channels. There’s YouTube, Snapchat, messaging applications, sharing sites, and many more. Make sure to leverage these options to broaden your opportunities.
Your main goal is to have a strong online presence and increase your customer base; you can’t do this without exploring other options. If you opt to focus on a single social media platform, how will you reach those on YouTube, Twitter or Instagram? In today’s highly competitive world, entrepreneurs should exhaust all imaginable ways to sell their products and services – including all social media channels.
- Be aware of the latest social media trends, styles, and popular content.
- Discover what’s “in” and take advantage of new social media applications.
- Don’t concentrate on one channel, but rather divide your time to keep all accounts updated.
Who’s your audience?
You cannot convert leads into sales without properly defining your target audience. If you’re a car dealer, don’t expect real estate customers to buy an automobile from you no matter how good your deal is. Barking up the wrong tree wouldn’t yield skyrocketing sales, so you need to do some thorough research to help identify your target market. If you are having difficulty figuring out the ideal customer, try to develop a marketing profile through customer persona.
First, you need to identify the age of your target market. Does your product or service appeal more to younger generations or older adults? If your business deals with millennials, you need to focus more on trendy platforms such as Facebook or Twitter. What’s the lifestyle profile and income bracket of your audience? For professionals and nine-to-fivers, your business will benefit more on LinkedIn or Pinterest.
- Create tailored user-generated content based on your audience.
- Your marketing campaigns should deliver solutions to their problems.
- Communicate with your audience using the right social media channel.
What’s in it for me?
The next tip on how to convert social media followers into customers is to provide customers an experience, not just a plain product or service. Remember that they buy your products or services in exchange for an advantage or benefit. To turn followers into loyal patrons, provide them with clear and concise benefits along with an unforgettable buying experience. People can get a quick lunch anywhere, but offering a convenient and affordable meal is a real game changer.
Use the powers of social media to highlight the uniqueness of your business. Within a post’s content, you can offer solutions, explain the value of your brand, or garner exceptional propositions that will make them feel special. Competition is tough and you need to win the hearts of your followers to convert them into actual customers. To do this you can:
- Share stories of current and past customers about their buying experience.
- Focus on the selling point of your business, emphasize your edge amongst others.
- Stay active on social media in a consistent and timely manner.
Engage your followers
When you promote your social media channels, don’t just post photos and videos. Instead, engage your followers by providing good quality content. As a small business, you should make interactive Facebook or Instagram posts to maintain the interest of your audience. Ask them to share their favorite recipes, post stories, greet them during special occasions, and other things that will keep them in the loop.
The best content strategy should be kept well balanced. You should be able to promote your business while providing useful posts and engaging write-ups. The key here is to keep your followers connected at all times, prevent boredom, and make them curious about what you’re sharing. Ask questions, send website links, and post interesting content to keep them coming back for more.
- Create a unified message on all your social media channels.
- When posting content, make it regular and maintain consistency.
- Let them know your agenda, post messages while on vacation or when you’re away.
Give back to your followers
Finally, one of the most important tips on how to convert social media followers into customers is to thank them in every way possible. This doesn’t mean that they have to buy your products or patronize your services first before you appreciate their business. A simple sharing of your social media post to their friends, or commenting on your photos is enough to let them know that you acknowledge their time and effort.
Thanking your customers won’t cost you a penny and it isn’t hard to do. If you want to increase the chances of converting followers into actual buyers, be sure to thank them all the time. This is a good social media strategy not just to convert potential customers, but also retain their loyalty. You can thank customers in various ways:
- Provide special discounts, offer exclusive promos and freebies.
- Spend time with them by attending to their needs, questions, or clarifications.
- Create a fun event and invite your followers to get to know the business better.
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