6 Ways to Turn Social Media Followers to Buyers
Taking a personable approach to social media marketing is a very effective way to build a large and loyal following. However, there’s more to business than just being liked. Unless you’re giving your online audience great value and a clear, undeniable reason to convert, it won’t do much for your bottom line. To ensure your followers show their support with their wallets also, here are six best practices for converting fans to customers.
1. Take trending topics and relate them back to your business.
As a company owner and/or decision maker, part of your job is to identify the problems your customers have, even if they aren’t consciously aware of them. After all, you’re the industry expert and this means that you have the trusted ability to determine how your services or products can impact and improve lives. Use major search engines to find out what topics are trending on the web and then find one that you can relate back to your business. For instance, if you service and install HVAC systems and web users are in a frenzy over the latest report on indoor mold growth, generate a few blog posts on this subject and then offer a modest discount on HVAC system servicing and filter replacements. Not only will this be a timely and well-received value-add to your fans, but it will also give them a relevant reason to consider your offer and take action.
2. Create a sense of urgency.
This is the oldest marketing tactic in the book, but it has, does and will continue to work. Generate social media posts to let people know that you have a high-value offer that will only last for a limited amount of time. Make sure to include a link back to the appropriate sales page and provide all the information that they need for taking advantage of the related promotion. In addition to fostering rapid and positive purchasing decisions, creating buyer urgency is also a great way to offload products that are collecting dust on warehouse shelves or nearing their expiration dates.
3. Contribute to a worthy cause.
Believe it or not, consumer buying decisions can still be driven by a desire to do something good for others. When researching trending topics, also look for a cause that you believe in and address it in your social media posts. Also, make sure to tell your customers that you’ll be donating a portion of your sales to the specified cause. Actions like these create more buyer urgency, give people the chance to contribute to causes they want to support and generate goodwill and good word-of-mouth advertising for your business.
Be creative and relevant with the causes your support. For example, a computer repair company might donate a percentage of profits to solar-powered computers in developing countries.
4. Take it to the press.
Do you have a new product, a new service or even a new address? Write up a professional press release or source one from a trusted team of content writers and then publish a link back to any media outlets that issue this release. This is marketing on top of marketing and it is guaranteed to make people take more interest in your business. Media outlets are considered information authorities and if they perceive your business as being worthy of discussion, consumers will consider it worthy of their cash.
5. Solve problems for free.
You don’t have spend money on promos and giveaways in order to win trust for your business. You’re an informed, experienced expert in your field and this means that you have valuable information to share. Helping people troubleshoot common problems online without collecting cash will allow you to establish a reputation for trustworthiness with your audience. When it comes to choosing a supplier or service provider, most people heavily consider the companies that they trust.
6. Make it fun to buy from you.
Gamification has been one of the top marketing buzzwords as of late. Making a game of you marketing campaigns is guaranteed to be effective. Why? Online consumers love playing games, especially on social networking sites. The enjoy competition and they like having the opportunity to win something. Gamification allows you to give things away without having to give something to everyone, which is the surest way to control your online marketing costs. Tell your fans and followers that people who purchase now will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a special prize or give them daily puzzles to solve for product or service discounts. Additionally and somewhat surprisingly, the ability to win something is often far more appealing than being given something for free.
Use These Tips to Turn Social Media Followers to Buyers
Ultimately, when it comes to building a robust customer base through social media marketing, it’s not enough to just attract large numbers of followers and fans. You have to give your readership a reason to engage and adequate incentive for converting. Fortunately, there are countless ways that you can do this without coming off as being entirely sales-oriented. The leading strategy, when the dust settles, is to commit yourself to always giving your followers excellent value. If you consistently give your fans and followers something worthwhile, they’ll keep coming back and your profits are sure to soar. Lastly, if you are wondering if your social media marketing is converting well enough to return positive value to your business, here’s a dedicated post on that very topic of measuring social media ROI.
