As of today, 49% of the world’s population uses social media. A Statista study states the number of social media users is projected to increase to almost 3.43 billion in 2023. Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp are currently the three most popular social media networks.
With social media slowly getting more integrated into our daily lives, it isn’t surprising to see that an average of three hours is spent on social networks and messaging channels! Buffer reports 73% of marketers believe social media marketing has been “very effective” or “somewhat effective” for their companies.
And why not? It helps businesses enhance their audience engagement and boost organic visibility. But more importantly, it leads to an increase in sales if done right. Therefore, if your company has not fully explored this marketing function, now is the time to do so.
Here are six ways in which social media boosts sales:
1. Social media ads
While you might be wary of investing in paid advertisements, you can significantly boost your conversions with them. Facebook and Instagram sponsored ads allow you a lot of flexibility to set the audience sizes and demographics of your choice, which organic content does not always do.
You can also customize factors like the length of the ad and the kinds of visuals they flash. Moreover, if you link your ads directly to the product or service pages on your website, you are more likely to convert a potential customer’s impulse to buy into a final purchase.
The downside of these ads is the expense involved, but if you have the budget, they can be worth it.
2. Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is rapidly replacing celebrity endorsement to engage with new audiences of up to millions. Having an active social media presence allows you to reach out to influencers and collaborate with them to create fresh content for their followers.
The best influencers are selective about which brands they work with, so be sure to have a substantial following and a creative content schedule before reaching out to them. You should also reach a mutual agreement about compensation.
For instance, if you are a small business and cannot afford to pay money, you should give them complimentary products and substantial discounts. This way, you get to build a trustworthy relationship with them that can translate into a long-term association.
3. Indirect advertising
For smaller businesses, buying ad space on Facebook and Instagram may not always be affordable. Instead, you can practise indirect advertising by uploading a series of promotional posts around a product or service that you are launching or a sale that you are hosting.
You can use the post to point the target customer towards the website, where the offering is up for sale. While this may not yield immediate results, it helps promote your business and creates a positive sentiment in your potential customers’ minds.
And the more effectively you promote your offerings, the likelier they will be to actually visit your website and click the Checkout button, sign up for a Free Trial, or request for a free consultation – depending upon your business.
4. Ecommerce special: shopping on social media
Often, buyers don’t want to download a separate retail app to buy your products. That is where enabling the shopping option on social media works. Instagram recently released its ‘Shop’ feature wherein your potential customers can tap on your product photo to see its price and get a direct link to purchase it.
This allows them to buy something they like straight away and also allows you as a business to capitalize on impulse buying – something that may not work if consumers first see a product on Instagram and then have to go to the website or download an app to buy.
5. Boosted brand personality
Your business is the combination of the colours, fonts, graphics and messages that your customers know you for and recognizes you by. Your brand personality is what shines through in the content you put out, including social media.
Are you friendly and relatable to the buyers looking at your content? Are you responsive to their questions, comments and complaints? In particular, responsiveness is a major factor that buyers use to judge a company’s social media profile.
Therefore, it is vital to maintain a brand personality on social media that your customers and leads can relate to, including making changes and taking feedback, wherever required. That way, your brand sticks in the minds of even those who are not buying anything from you yet.
6. Staying top-of-mind for the customer
In today’s brutally competitive market, the one rule that holds true for every business is “out of sight, out of mind.” No matter how excellent your product is, if your potential customers don’t remember your brand, they won’t buy from you.
That is where social media plays a huge role. By consistently sharing useful and/or entertaining content that promotes your brand and speaks to what your potential customers want, they are likelier to hit the ‘Follow’ button.
And the more of your content they see on their feed, the likelier they are to remember your name and your products when it is time to buy.
Over to you
Regardless of whether you are a multinational corporation or a start-up, social media is an element of marketing that you simply cannot ignore. Almost every person on the planet is present on at least one social media platform.
To build a connection with your potential customer, you need to have a presence where they are present. The stronger your connect, the likelier you are to make a sale.
However, it is essential to remember that your social media strategy, including copy and designs, should be tailored to your business’s size, prospective audience, and growth plans. Need help with that? I have got you covered!
