I have noticed a bit of a debate recently over the effectiveness of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook for profit generation. Plenty of people are convinced that there is no real link. That even the marketing potential is over hyped. Which is a sentiment I cannot understand, especially coming from people who claim to be experts in online sales and promotion.
It is entirely possible to convert followers on both Twitter and Facebook into real customers. Many small businesses have especially found this to be true, thanks to Facebook’s integration of checkout platforms. But even without that feature, it isn’t difficult to direct viewers to products. Both new ones just launched, or sales going on to get rid of old stock.
But what do you need to know to start seeing results? These are the unofficial rules-of-thumb to keep in mind when you are working toward conversion from follower to customer.
1. Be Patient!
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I don’t know why this has become the culture in online business, but everyone is looking for an immediate effect. Customers take time to cultivate, especially for an ecommerce startup. Even if you have an established, physical store that operates locally, it will require time, effort and patience to see a wider market develop on the web. With a market so adequately handling demand, that has to be expected. Don’t believe these ridiculous ebooks and website programs that claim results within a week. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Develop Relationships
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Business, especially online business, is all about trust. Social media gives us a tool to better develop relationships and so build that trust. You should begin interacting with people prior to starting an actual conversion strategy. Update your status regularly, offer plenty of content, and watch your tone. You should have a tone that properly represents your brand, while still maintaining some level of professionalism. Speak directly to customers, handle customer service complaints and show your user base that they can rely on your. Twitter is especially good for this, because of their live search feature and hashtags. You can use that for great reputation management.
3. Build Content First
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You don’t want to start a real social media campaign of any description until you have an online presence. Have blogs written, photos on your website that you can also put into albums, and well written product descriptions. Once you have built a fair amount, you can start connecting it to a social media profile. This will help you to make catalogs and a shopping cart/store front, as well.
4. Cross Promote Your Profiles
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Not only should you be using Facebook and Twitter, but Pinterest and Google+. You should build a presence on one at a time. But once you have each, you can begin cross promoting to target each demographic in different ways. Twitter is great for keyword monitoring and reputation management. Facebook is great for direct sales. Google+ is great for creating an easily shared catalog of products. Pinterest is great for sharing images with embedded links in order to naturally spread to those more likely to purchase items. Using them all together, while providing links to other profiles, gives you a more thorough form of marketing.
5. Engage Customers
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I recently saw a small business that was holding a promotion. Anyone who bought an item over $10 and liked their Facebook page would be placed in a drawing for $100 worth of free items. It was a really good idea, and seemed to generate quite a bit of interest. Contests like this, or even just asking for their opinion on a matter or to give you ideas for logos, motto’s, ect is a great way to engage them.
How have you been using Facebook and Twitter for customer conversion? Let us know in the comments.
