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So you have Facebook likes and Instagram and Twitter followers… now what?!?!

Once you hit the milestone of getting your business up and running (yay!), you more than likely worked tirelessly to increase your Facebook page’s likes and Instagram and Twitter followers. The battle was a slow and rigorous one, we’re sure, but the use of hashtags, audience targeting, and audience interaction sure paid off!

So you have social media followers… now what?!

If you’re like far too many business entrepreneurs, simply gaining the new followers was the extent of your plan. The standard mantra is to grow followers and build a loyal fan base. Unfortunately, that’s only the first step.

The truth is, anyone can post on social media – that’s a given. But transforming those social posts into lead-driven content is a whole other story. There are several key factors that go into turning followers into customers. Once you overcome these issues, you can better focus in on your lead conversion funnel.
The following tips will help you increase your business’s social media conversions by transitioning chronic “scollers” into clicks, subscribers, and sales.

Put a face to the numbers

First thing’s first. In order to understand the effectiveness of a landing page, you’re going to want to properly understand what one is in the first place.

As your followers grow, set aside a little bit of time each day (15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes in the evening) to find out who the followers are and what they care about, as opposed to seeing them as just numbers.

If you find yourself endlessly sharing posts via Facebook, retweeting on Twitter, or aimlessly double tapping on Instagram, you don’t have a conversion issue, you have a productivity problem. Give those new follower faces (not numbers) what they want.

Take those 15 minute session to also monitor mentions, respond to user questions, and engage in conversations with the people that are interested in your products/services. A little personalization goes a long, long way.

This will also provide insight on your ideal client. Or, if you already have a crystal clear picture of your ideal client, then you can monitor how well you are attracting them and serving their needs.

Be exclusive

Like we just mentioned, retweeting and sharing content doesn’t get the job done. It’s the exclusive content that followers won’t be able to find anywhere else that keeps your audience coming back for more.

Here’s how you can get a bit more exclusive with your followers:

• Show them something new
  • Use your social media platforms to reveal products/services you haven’t shared otherwise. Now and then, reveal the product to only one of your social platforms. This will keep your platform-specific followers feeling special
• Launch sales and deals via social
  • Make a short video or meme of your latest sample sale, BOGO deal, Spring savings via social. You’re followers will feel exclusive being the only ones to get the latest coupon code delivered to their feeds
• Ask questions… and engage
  • Give your followers something to talk about by asking questions – whether it’s looking for suggestions concerning your product, an industry-related question, or a more general, lifestyle question. This will also give you huge insight in return

Make it obvious even offline

Along with the idea of becoming more socially-friendly on social platforms themselves, throw ‘social’ features into your brick and mortar business locations that encourage word-of-mouth advertising from your customers. Some ideas include:

• #Hashtags
  • Create a custom hashtag for your store, event, or current sale. Place signs around or inserts into purchase bags and encourage customers to use them (for example: “Post with #CustomHashtagHere for 10% off your next purchase!”)
• Display profile name
  • Nothing is more frustrating than a customer who wants to tweet about your business… but can’t find you on social. Make sure customers know what your Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook handles are and make yourself easier to fine
  • Don’t be cryptic. It’s better to stick to your business’s actual name than trying to incorporate something ‘trendy’
• QR codes (those square, matrix barcodes)
  • Use QR codes to direct customers to mobile friendly web sites
  • Make coupons or discounts available to those who use the QR code on a rack and show you the results on their smartphone
• Throw in a selfie opportunities
  • Set up an area in your store where people can use their own smartphone to take a picture with a catchy background or frame
  • Encourage people to get involved with your products or service by setting up a fun place to take a selfie

Make your followers famous

Most social media followers would love to be “Instagram famous.” When you DO repost/regram/retweet, focus on sharing your audience’s images (especially those of your business!)

If there’s not much shared content showcasing your business, encourage user-generated content by running a photo contest. You can use all the images, including those that didn’t win, to promote your brand
Bonus: once you become known as a brand that posts user’s photos, you can post something along the lines of “We’d love to see your Fall-themed/pet-themed/New Year’s/etc. photos!”

You can also highlight customer testimonials through your social channels. Use website-generated testimonials or draw from social media reviews, themselves. After all, there’s no reason to waste that tweet or Facebook comment that speaks positively about your product or service.

Be consistent

With all that we have on our plates every day, it becomes way too easy to neglect our business’s social profiles (let alone our personal content). But in order to keep your social media ROI up, you’re going to want to remain consistent in both the quality and quantity of your content.

This is where you may want to enlist some help.

Your job is to focus on your business and keeping that business up and running. Many companies opt to place their social responsibilities (which, again, are just as important to keep up and running) in the hands of a third party – whether that means hiring an internal social media-specific team or teaming up with the expertise of a content marketing company.

At 24 Communications, we specialize in strategic, integrated marketing and effective branding. We’re always eager and available to lend our knowledge in designing and developing interactive, social platforms that help your business build trust, create awareness, drive engagement and market your products and services.
Don’t keep neglecting your social media accounts.

Get active today with the help of 24 Communications!