There are no denying that social media has become one of the most important tools for marketing in recent years. If you want to get the maximum amount of exposure possible, you need to ensure that your business has a social media presence. However, being online is, in and of itself, not enough to maximize your exposure and increase your conversion rate. You need to actively use those platforms to your advantage, Here’s how:
Start by signing up to new platforms
Before you do anything else, you should make an effort to ensure that your business is signed up to as many different social media platforms as possible. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter - that’s just the state. If you aren’t also on Pinterest, Tik-Tok, Snapchat and a whole host of other platforms...well you’re missing a trick and you might want to sort that out right now.
Of course, you don’t necessarily need to sign up to every social media platform; do some research on the platforms you target audience are most likely to use and ensure you’re using them too, and build from there.
Tailor your content to each platform
When you employ professional Facebook marketing services, one of the first things they will tell you is that you need to target your campaigns to that specific platform if you want it to do as well as possible, and this holds true for each and every social media platform out there. Where so many business people go wrong is by using the same content on each platform - it just doesn’t work.
What you need to recognize is that each social media platform has its own demographic and it’s own preferred categories of content, For example, people who use Instagram and Pinterest tend to prefer pretty photos and short videos while people using Twitter want short snappy info bites and Facebook users tend to like shareable lists, images and infographics. You need to repurpose your content for each if you want it to be liked and shared a lot.
Stories not selling
A really effective social media marketing strategy that more business should try is the art of storytelling. Instead of trying to sell your products and services overtly, you should think about creating an engaging narrative around them; something that draws the customer in because it’s interesting and engaging; something that allows the customers to learn more about you, your brand and what you do. Don’t go for the hard sell begging them to buy or they will simply scroll past. Instead, create videos of a day in your office, post photos and profiles of your employees, write the history of your products and services and make them care. You’ll sell more in the end if you do.
Create more visual content
Although there is always going to be a place for excellent written content in the world of social media marketing, right now, in 2020, visual content is becoming increasingly popular, and if you want to pull in more viewers and convert more customers, you really do need to focus on visual content. From product demonstration videos to informative infographics and funny viral videos in Vine or Tik-Tok, there are so many things you can do in a visual way to gain momentum and build awareness fo your brand, and because it’s easier to watch something than it is to reqd, they are more likely to get engagement in some circles.
Of course, the visual content you create will need to be interesting in some way to make a splash, so you’ll either need to make it funny, informative, shocking or otherwise shareworthy if you want it to do its job.
Run contests
Running contests is an age-old, tried and tested method of marketing businesses. Bricks and mortar stores have been giving things away for decades, and there is no reason for this to change with the move to digital. In fact, being online makes it far easier for the average company to run a competition and use it as a form of marketing.
The key to doing this well is to ensure that there’s an element of sharing built into your contest so anyone who wants to enter will have to share your post on Facebook or Tweet a picture of themselves using your products, for example. This will ensure that you reach more people and gain more followers... well, it will if you choose a prize that is sufficiently exciting for people to want to get involved in the contents anyway.
Give things away
As well as running contests, it makes sense to simply give things away from time to time. If your customers know that you will randomly select people on social media to periodially receive a freebie, more of them will follow you, giving you a captive audience with whom you can market to.
Solve problems
Posting content that solves a problem is an excellent way of being found on Google. It’s also a good way to increase customer engagement and have your social media posts shared more widely. After all, a large portion of internet searches are made by people who are looking for answers to their problems, and by helping them out, you can help yourself out at the same time. Not only that, but you’ll build more trust in your brand and set yourself up as the go-to for information within your own niche.
Respond to every comment
Okay, so if you’re Apple, this might be impossible due to the sheer volume, but as a small business, it’s not too difficult to respond to all comments, queries and complaints on your social media profiles, and doing so will not only show that you care, but also convince more potential customers that you are a company that can be trusted, which means you’re far more likely to convert them as a result.
Social media is the best tool you have at your disposal in marketing terms, so use it well by incorporating some of the above ideas into your business right now.
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