7 Tips That Generate Real Results to Increase Sales Through Social Media Marketing
Social media platforms have come a long way from being basic websites where friends and family communicate with one another. Today they play a huge role in the business world and help companies both large and small gain customers, improve their profits, and enhance their online reputation.
Social media is a great marketing tool for many different reasons…
First, it allows companies to advertise their products or services for little or no cost. This is a great advantage for small business or those that are just getting started and have limited funds for marketing purposes.
Second, websites such as Facebook and Twitter allow customers to communicate with company representatives which can help with the improvement of products and allow businesses to learn more about what their target audience wants from them.
And Third, social media has helped companies expand their businesses to customers all throughout the world. Small businesses that once only sold to local customers can now easily offer their products online and increase their profits with very little effort.
If you are a business owner, and you are ready to get started with social media marketing, here are 7 tips that will help you generate real results.
1) Create Business Accounts with More than One Website
While Facebook and Twitter are the two obvious choices that businesses should go with when they are just getting started with social media marketing, there are many other worthwhile sites out there that you should consider. Instagram is gaining popularity with companies and it is an excellent choice if your target audience is made up of mostly millennials. Snapping a fun or unique image of your product can strike up a conversation with your current shoppers and possibly help you gain more customers as well. Other websites to consider include Tumblr, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, and YouTube.
2) Be Social! Post Often
If your main purpose is to generate profits for your business, then you want to post often so that your company’s brand is out there on the internet for everyone to see. You may want to assign a member or two of your marketing team to oversee all your social media posts so that you can get the exposure that you need without spending all your time online. Try to post at least two or three times a day. And don’t simply post something and forget about it. Engage in the conversation with your followers. Answer questions in the comments, socialize, be friendly, and get to know your customers better so that you can create better products and services that meet their needs.
Learn Everything About Your Target Audience
Your target audience is the people that come back to you again and again to buy their favorite products. So, it is important that you get to know as much about them as you can so that you can keep them satisfied. Learn about their interests and hobbies, find out what they like about your company (and what they don’t like). Use the tools that you have available to you to get the facts about your customers such as creating a poll on Facebook, or asking followers to rate a product by a number of likes an image receives. This can all be beneficial with your marketing strategies both online and off.
4) Be Creative with your Content
Writing a post about a new product or an upcoming sale is a good start, but if you want to keep your followers interested, you need to be creative with your posts. Add plenty of images that will help make your social media page more visually enhanced. You can also add posts that are not directly relevant to your company such as a funny meme or a festive image for the holidays. There are several websites out there, such as Canva, where you can create custom graphics for free. Keep the 80/20 rule in mind while posting content. The rule means that 80% of your content should be informative and non-promotional, while the other 20% can be promotional.
5) Learn How to Deal with Negative Comments
Every company must deal with negative feedback now and then. When it comes to social media marketing, sometimes you take the good with the bad. People like to express their opinion more online because they feel like they don’t have to deal with the aftermath. If a customer has a bad experience at your store, it’s likely that they will let everyone know about it on your social media page. This can cause your online reputation to suffer. Try to connect with the customer and ask if they want to talk about the issue more by email or a private message. This will take the conflict off your social media page and let your customers know that you are willing to sort out the problem.
6) Pitch Your Product to the World
With social media, you are not limited to your local community or selling in your own country. You have access to consumers that are located all throughout the world. And that can greatly increase your profit margin. Let your customers know that you will ship internationally, find out more about your customers overseas by interacting with them, and learn more about the needs of the foreign market. If you currently don’t sell to customers overseas, find out if they would be interested in what you are selling.
7) Make Online Purchases Easily Accessible
Your social media page provides a great way for you to communicate with your buyers, but it is not your company’s website. Make sure that your online store is easily accessible by placing links in a clear and visible location. Facebook now offers a “buy now” button so that customers can instantly purchase items directly from your posts, which is a great advancement for social media marketing that hopefully other websites will offer in the future.
Social media marketing continues to improve and create new ways for businesses of all types to sell their products online and increase their sales. If you are not already involved in this modern marketing strategy, it is time to get online and get started with this wonderful advancement in advertising. By following these helpful tips, you will be on your way to generating impressive profits and expanding your company’s brand internationally.
