What is it about social media that is so appealing to bloggers, business owners, and online marketers? Much of the answers we can get by setting up our own social profiles, however if you own a business, then you know social marketing is great for influence. It’s great to build conversions, and even more powerful to help you achieve your bottom line. However, I’m surprised at the amount of people who choose not to incorporate social marketing into their business because I feel they are losing enormous conversions when they don’t. Next,
Did you know social media has shown to improve conversions by 25% when done correctly? I know the number is staggering, however you have to keep in mind the reach on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +. In the end, you just need to know how to use social media platforms to engage the right type of users which I’ll be showing you later on.
With that said,
Here are some things you have to keep in mind when incorporating social media into your business:
- Research
- Social buttons
- Engage readers to share
- Advertising
- Poke top influencers
Let’s get started, and explore some of these factors. If done correctly, they have been proven to increase social media conversions by 25%. Your feedback, and thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
Research
Everything started with research, and when it comes to social media, you have to know what networks to target. For example, if you do a quick search for “social media†networks, you’ll see about 50-60 platforms show up within the SERP’s. However, you have to be careful because if you spread out your efforts you’ll do more harm then good. I like to target the “3†big social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Did you know 75% of the worlds population are active on only these three networks?
What does this mean?
If you focus on these networks, you’ll be able to generate enormous buzz if you market your content, video or even products the right way. However, you have to make sure you know what your audience is looking for which is why you should research your competition too. I like to use the following to research what’s popular on these networks?
- Visit their social media profiles
- Understand what #hashtags they are using
- View the content type they share
- View the content topics they share
- Read the audience
- Understand the audience
When you have a better understanding of the following dynamics, you’ll be able to setup an engaging social media campaign which converts better then before. Remember, it’s all about visibility, and being able to attract more people then your competition. The more traffic you can drive, the better for your bottom line.
Social Buttons
You can achieve social shares from so many places that I’m surprised at the amount of people who fail to add the buttons in the right place. Right from the top of my head, I can think of 3-4 ways I can get people to share my content:
First, I can add buttons to my content on my website. Next, I can have people share content I’ve posted on social media platforms. Third, when people share guest content I have published on other blogs, and finally when people share content sent to them within their email.
It’s amazing what you can achieve by knowing where to place the right share buttons. Here’s something else. This use to be hard at one point, however you have so many options available that this can be done within a few minutes. However, people still struggle to add buttons because they don’t know where to get started.
Here’s are two tools you have available which will streamline the entire process:
AddThis.com – They provide an all-in-one solution to sharing which can be customized to fit all your needs. You can choose what buttons to add, and the code can be placed easily. They offer a great walk-through showing you how to place the code within the backend. Over the years, they have added more social platforms for customization just in case you want to make changes going forward. Next,
If you are using WordPress, you can install their plugin to easily configure the social share buttons.
Next,
ShareThis.com – This tool is exactly the same as AddThis.com however has a different style of reporting. Both of them offer great reporting, but you’ll find more options with Sharethis.com. Next, they offer a great WordPress plugin which can be configured within a few minutes.
I would suggest trying them both, then settling with the one you find easier to use. Both offer a great solution to adding buttons below your content, and some can be configured more then the other.
Next,
If you are writing content, or sharing on social media then it’s important to note the share buttons are already included within the interface. You just have to make sure you provide high value content to the audience looking online.
Engage Readers to Share
One thing I’ve noticed is that you’ll add buttons to your content, but very few people will actually share your content. I actually wondered for a while why this was happening, and did a quick case study. I wrote two pieces of content, and this is what I did towards the bottom:
- On one I asked people to share the content, and
- On the other I did not make any reference to sharing.
The results where amazing because when I asked people to engage my social interaction increased by 15%. I thought about this, and came to this conclusion. First, new comers need to be guided on what to do next, and these same people are new to the whole idea of social media. Secondly, many people sometimes forget to share because they have been overwhelmed with high value content. They are probably pre-occupied with absorbing the substance, etc.
Next,
We sometimes forget the actual people looking for content (depending on your niche) have no experience with blogging. This means they land on your page, read the content, and leave right after. They don’t understand how to show gratitude for providing value. Many of them don’t know how a single share will help spread your brand across many different channels. This is why you have to remind them to help you out by sharing your content, and you’ll be surprised how many of them do when asked. Next,
Think about when you buy a product online, and what you do right after. You probably forget to leave a review because you:
- Don’t purchase online too much
- Fail to understand how your review will help the seller
- Fail to understand how your review will help the buyer
However, when you are happy with your experience, and receive a “leave feedback†email, you most likely will to help out the seller…right?
This same approach can be applied to content, and why you should ask readers to engage with your content by sharing it on social media platforms.
Advertising
As these social media platforms have become bigger they have changed the way people interact on them. For example, which once was a portal for people to share content has now become one which people can market groups, content, landing pages, and applications. Even though I always recommend starting out with free social media accounts so you can learn what works for you, it’s important to find out how other options can help increase conversions. For example,
Facebook advertising is a great alternative for those looking to invest money, and build momentum quickly. You can set a budget and promote: content, products, groups, etc. This way when people are surfing online they’ll be able to find your content easily. This is great for someone who is just starting out, and is looking to build that momentum quickly. However, Facebook because of the data they have access to will allow you to target a custom audience, for example,
- Gender
- Location
- Age group
- Interests
- Relationships
- etc
I love the fact that you can set your own bids, and they can even be as low as $0.03 which obviously depends on your purpose. For example, when promoting community pages, you’ll be paying as little as 0.02 per “Like†which is a very low cost compared to other popular networks. The reason I’m putting an emphasis on FB is because they provide exceptionally awesome traffic for a very low price.
Anyway,
The point is if you have money to invest in marketing, then it’s going to be a good idea to throw it towards some targeted Facebook Advertising.
Top Influencers
Just like when you are writing content it’s a good idea to network with top bloggers so they’ll help put the work out, it’s good to do the same with social media. If you network with top influencers on Facebook or Twitter, then you can get help from users with 100,000+ followers. A share from these people can boost visibility quickly driving enormous relevant people to your website. However, it’s important you network with people who are in your niche, and which you have established a relationship with from before. For example, some of the people who I ask to share my content I have been working with for several years. I have written content, promoted products, or even asked for feedback way before I got on social media. What does this do?
With an established relationship I can easily reach out to these same people for social media outreach. I can ask them to share my content with their followers which are MOST likely relevant to mine. If these influential bloggers have 100k+ followers, then this can be awesome for my bottom line. However, make sure you have established relationships from before, or can offer something attractive in return.
Here are some options:
- Write content for them going forward
- Promote their product
- Mention them within an article
- Provide free advice or feedback on a topic you have experience in
In the end, these relationships can go a long way in building social awareness.
Final Thoughts
I hope you have enjoyed this quick overview on how to increase conversions through social media. Start by reading through the content again, and implementing some of the strategies mentioned. Test and then tweak until you find which ones provided the MOST conversions. You can then continue using the same methods going forward.