The Art Of Winning Social Media Conversions?

Advertisers frequently reference the magic of social media as a way to boost conversions and engagement in consumers..

And, in fact, social media has evolved into the go-to solution for helping users locate niche products and be persuaded to take the plunge (convert).

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Some of the biggest platforms -- X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, -- are associated with some of the biggest and most consistent of these conversions.

One big reason for social media's success in this regard is its similarity, in today's digital age, to the marketing and sales procedures that ruled the traditional pre-internet era: In those years, the best salespeople commonly focused on building a relationship and trust with customers first before they began dropping hints about their product in the context of an "advisory" role.

In short, these salespeople didn't suddenly jump from making a contact to selling the product outright. So, the argument could be made that social media continues this tradition. It too builds a relationship and trust in an audience or clientele as a way to prime them for conversion.

Studies support this notion: According to Instagram's own reports, 80 percent of people who use the platform already follow a business. Also, those that already follow a brand or business are more inclined to be engaged with, and increase awareness about, that business. What's going on here is people's trust in "social proof": It's something customers look for in order to make decisions.

How can your business make use of this psychology? Here are some of the easiest ways to capitalize on it and get more conversions via social media:

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1. Create unique content for each specific platform you target.

Much the way applicants submit supplementary essays when applying to multiple colleges, you should create content for, and gear it to, the specific audience expectations of the media platform you're targeting. Writing content that is native to a platform greatly increases the chances that its audience will accept it.

2. Use more than just links to promote your content.

When you post on platforms like Facebook or Instagram, you cannot rely only on a stream of links to boost your conversion rates. As noted before, hard-selling customers quickly turns them off to a business. To avoid giving your audience this negative impression on social media, you should promote your business by providing meaningful, interesting content users think is fun and genuine.

3. Keep track of your traffic.

As a basic rule of thumb, know which links and outlets are attracting the greatest amounts of traffic to your business's commercial pages. There are a ton of resources that can help you simplify this monitoring process, like Google's URL builder, which helps you capture important data about a specific link in the name of the link itself.

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4. Know whom to target.

There are a number of ways to do this. Keep in mind that these methods should be designed to fit one platform, to produce the best results. Look at the sample platform, Instagram. In order to track the prime influencers in your niche, you might use a service like Ninja Outreach. Ninja Outreach specializes in finding influencers based on data associating certain keywords and their relevance and popularity on the platform of certain influencers.

5. Leverage existing professional relationships with marketers and influencers.

If you have a good working relationship with a number of marketers and influencers already, you can easily ask them to throw you a bone every now and then through a Twitter post or Facebook tag. First, think of relatively inexpensive things that marketers and influencers can do. Then, just reach out and ask them to mention your business in a tweet or tag back to your business in a relevant Facebook post.

While that may appear like a small gesture, it actually makes a huge difference in helping promote lead generations for your business.

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6. Provide an easy, discreet log-in system.

So, users have begun clicking on your promotional link: Now, what? If you're thinking ahead a few steps, you should realize that making them feel welcome and providing a convenient medium for them to purchase through is key to increasing conversions. The easiest way to do this is to set up a social login system which lets users sign-up with a Facebook or Google+ account. Make it a point to not slam the login request in the face of a user with an involuntary pop-up or fade, as this may drive away inquisitive users with low commitment.

7. Make your checkout process simple.

If you make a checkout process too complex or long, you may find that users who'd intended to buy a product will change their mind halfway through. You want to keep their enthusiasm and interest for your product going strong as they fill in credit card details or a PayPal address. Having a payment system in place that can process a number of different mediums while being clean and efficient will greatly expedite the payment process. The less time that users spend in the waiting line, the less time they'll have to reconsider or second-guess a purchasing choice.

What can your site do to help you improve the conversion rates for your business?

Guest Authored By AJ Agrawal. AJ He is CEO and Co-Founder of Alumnify, an alumni-engagement platform. He's a Growth Marketer, Entrepreneur and Content Creator for Entrepreneur, Forbes, FastCompany and Fortune Magazine. Follow AJ on Twitter.

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There are two main actions to consider when you're trying to get more conversions through social media:

The first is tracking social analytics; and the second is ensuring that your website and landing pages have strong calls-to-action and smooth account systems in place to attract and retain new customers..

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

8 Branding Questions For YOUR Social Media Strategy?

Up your social media game by answering these 8 branding questions. Don't put the social media cart before the brand strategy horse..

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To excel at social media, you must be a social media expert, right?

While this is true in some respects, having narrow social media knowledge can also be limiting.

A social media-only focus can actually hold back your social media strategy from reaching its full potential. You are building more than a social media presence -- you are building a brand. Social media is not an end unto itself. Vanity metrics -- followers and likes -- may be early indicators of good content, but the true test of social media is business impact. Management will eventually stop paying for social media activity that doesn't lead to bottom line action.

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Despite the hype, spending on social media has failed to live up to expectations. In 2017, actual social media spending was nearly half of predicted levels. This stems from a continued struggle to show the real impact of social media and to integrate social media with wider marketing strategy. CMO Survey results indicate marketers still rank social media low in its contribution to company performance (46 percent) and low in how well it is integrated with the wider marketing strategy (59 percent). Social media actions, and even plans can exist on their own, but without having an understanding of the larger marketing and business strategy behind them, they could be acting in vain. Are you putting the social media cart before the brand strategy horse?

To help understand how social media fits into the bigger picture of marketing and business, consider the following key questions to help develop a basic brand understanding of your business or organization. The questions emphasize the consumer perspective which is especially important in social media. Answering these questions can help create a broader understanding of a business, its marketing and how social media contributes. They can help you gain more of a branding perspective, speak the language of business and move towards integration and improving ROI.

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1. Why Does The Business Exist?

Vision and mission matter to today's consumers. To make money is not a sustainable answer for customers or employees. What does the company behind the product or service stand for, and where is it headed? This could be a focus on solving a greater problem or spreading a bigger message. Maybe the business supports a cause, community or the environment. Perhaps the mission is simply being the absolute best at something specific.

2. How Did The Business Get Started?

A brand's backstory is important. People buy for rational and emotional reasons that can come from an organization's origin story. Show the human side of the business starting in a garage, the founders investing their last five dollars or making a childhood dream come true. Perhaps an event put the cause on their heart, or something they couldn't get as a customer motivated the creation of the company. Even large corporations can benefit by showcasing their humble roots.

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3. How Does The Business Measure Success?

Business objectives are where the rubber meets the road. All marketing action, including social media, must help support business needs such as sales, average spend, market share, leads, contracts, awareness, customer satisfaction, retention, referrals, volunteer, or donations. To do this, brand building must start with specific objectives clearly defined. Make sure they are SMART:

--Specific (quantified such as XX percent or $XX)

--Measurable (data you can access)

--Achievable (not too high)

--Relevant (support vision/mission)

--Timely (deadline like X months or X years)

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4. What Does The Business Sell?

Don't take knowledge of the brand's products and services for granted. Start by literally listing every product and service offering, lines and versions. But then go further to describe each from the consumer's perspective. What is the real value to the customer? Turn product and service features into consumer benefits. Then look for gaps in product lines and offerings from the company, but also its competitors. This can uncover key messages to emphasize and may uncover key opportunities for growth.

5. What Is Happening In The Industry?

An industry overview provides valuable context. Is the industry and category growing or declining? What innovations and trends are important? Are there gaps in offerings? What do consumers care about most? What are their pain points, threats and opportunities? What are the consumer's unmet needs? Once identified, clearly communicate how the brand meets these needs.

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6. Who Is The Business Trying To Reach?

Be clear on the overall market and ensure you have the right target market. Don't merely identify everyone who could possibly use the product or service. Focus limited resources on the segment with greatest possibility of return. Narrowly define the group most likely to have the unmet needs the business provides. Be specific with demographic (gender, age, income, education), psychographic (attitudes, values, lifestyle) and behavioral (products used, brand loyalty, usage) bases. Who needs the solutions the brand offers the most?

7. Who else targets this market?

Brands are evaluated by consumers against key competitors. Identify several top competitors by market share and sales in same industry and/or by replacement products and services outside the category. What do you offer that is different? Why should they pick you? With this understanding summarize the main distinctions of the brand.

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8. How Can You Sum Up Your Branding Strategy?

Understanding your main message focuses effort, ensures consistency and improves integration. Summarize all the answers above into a positioning statement written to the target market. Boil it all down to a main overall message. What is the essence of what the brand means to the target audience?

Now that you have a larger brand understanding, take that knowledge and apply it to current social media presence and actions. Where is the target market active in social media? Look at social networks, messaging apps, blogs/forums, ratings/reviews and podcasts. Look for ways to leverage geosocial, crowdsourcing, influencer marketing, social care, user generated content and paid social media. Identify the top social platforms for the target and then compare to the current business social media accounts. Do you need to make some adjustments based on the target market?

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What About Messages And Content?

Are you talking about the right things based on your products and services, industry and competitors? Look at business objectives. Are you driving to the right places and actions that matter? Are you telling the complete brand story? Don't miss out on parts of the mission, vision and backstory that could drive consumer action. Finally, ensure that all social media is integrated in message, tone and look with other forms of digital and traditional marketing communication to optimize efforts. It could be a good time to perform a social media audit.

Guest Authored By Keith A. Quesenberry. Keith is Assistant Professor at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA. An expert in social media and digital marketing, he is author of Social Media Strategy: Marketing and Advertising in the Consumer Revolution. Follow Keith on Twitter.

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"Being a better social media professional can start with improving your business intelligence and gaining a better understanding of overall branding. Having a strong foundation in branding will lead your social media activities in the right business building direction.

The latest CMO Survey results indicate that the top use of social media by companies is for brand awareness and brand building. Answering these questions will increase your brand knowledge and help improve your social media strategy.." -KeithAQuesenberry

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  Post Crafted By:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Salt Lake City, UT. where I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

8 Vital Social Media Marketing Tips?

More small and mid-sized businesses recognize the power of social media.

Research from GetApp revealed 56 percent of small business owners and managers say social media offers the best digital brand-building strategy. They believe it’s more effective than developing apps or investing in technologies like digital signage.

Although a small or mid-sized business can create social media accounts and post announcements relatively easily, reaching business objectives such as obtaining more customers and increasing sales and revenue is more difficult. Engaging with customers can be time-consuming and confirming the business value of social media efforts can be challenging.

Experts recommend these steps to help small and mid-sized businesses implement effective social media marketing.

1. Go Where Your Customers Are

Only large companies and brands have resources to remain active on most social media networks. Different platforms serve different needs and cater to different demographics. Instead of choosing networks arbitrarily, savvy businesses research platforms to determine where their targeted customers are active.

2. Provide Value

Constantly promoting your business will bore and annoy customers. A mix of helpful advice and promotional news gain a following while publicizing your products. Experts typically recommend a maximum of 20 percent promotional material and 80 percent educational. It’s acceptable to sometimes stray off topic to offer customers helpful information.

“Always ask yourself: Is this content valuable to my clients or prospects? If the answer is no, don’t waste your time – or theirs,” said Sarah Lane, marketing specialist at Impact Marketing.

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3. Listen To Customers

Monitoring social media for your businesses and products allows you to find negative remarks that require responses and resolve customer service issues. Monitoring can also uncover positive comments that businesses can share. Monitoring for industry terms identifies sales leads. As social media listening services become more advanced, they’ve become a viable option for all but the smallest businesses.

For instance, law firms can acquire clients through social media listening by monitoring for their specialties, such as “auto accident” and suggest their services. Customers feel more comfortable with businesses that offer valuable information while avoiding an immediate hard sell.

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4. Take Some Risks

Share advice in a fun and interesting way with humor and opinion. Share funny stories and quick facts people might find surprising. Education and information provided on social media is much more likely to be understood if it’s presented in an engaging way. But be careful. It’s easy to offend.

5. Include Images

These attract attention and increase engagement. Rather than being satisfied with generic stock images, seek high-quality ones that are relevant to your content or brand. You don’t necessarily need a professional photographer if you can produce photos with good contrast, lighting and composition.

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6. Support The Community

Support your community by sharing others’ posts, answering questions and participating in discussions.

“Sure your brand and logo are important – but what really connects people to you are shared beliefs and ideas,” said Ravi Shukle at Post Planner. “Talking openly about what you’re thinking and where you want to head will help unite your followers and grow a stronger, more passionate community.”

7. Measure Results

It’s essential to establish goals that are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-based. Changes in web traffic, website conversions and other metrics can reveal the effectiveness of social media marketing and where to make adjustments.

“Without the benefit of a marketing team creating a strategy complete with goals and measurement, small businesses have a harder time evaluating marketing efforts,” writes Suzanne Delzio, director of Informed Web Content, for Social Media Examiner.

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8. Dedicate Adequate Resources to the Task

“If you’re not investing, at a minimum, the equivalent of 25 percent of a full-time employee daily to execute your social media marketing strategy, you likely will not get the results you need and expect,” stressed John Beveridge, president and founder of Rapidan Inbound. “Your social media manager should be measuring, communicating, posting, responding and analyzing your social media marketing every day.”

Guest Authored By William Comcowich. William is founder and acting CEO of Glean.info, a media monitoring and measurement service for public relations and marketing. Follow William on Twitter.

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"Properly implemented, social media marketing can produce gains in sales, number of customers and lifetime value of customers.

It’s not easy; it takes effort and commitment.

In time, local followers will grow and positive results will accumulate.

One last tip: Promote your social media accounts to your existing customers on cash register receipts, for instance, and in mailings.."

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

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