If you’ve been a regular on social media over the last couple of years, as most people are, you will have noticed that the promotion of brands through social media has gained a lot of momentum in a very short period of time. The reason behind this is clear. With an estimated 2.8 billion people using social media in 2016 and a 21% rise in 2017 alone, there is no doubt that we are living in the social media age. However, even if your brand page or account has a lot of followers, converting those followers into paying customers – though that is the ultimate goal – can be tricky. Here are 4 ways to turn your followers into customers.
Have a Designated Landing Page
The reasoning behind this is straightforward. If led to your home page, the user may browse, lose interest and leave. The main goal, when someone clicks on your Google Adwords or Facebook Ad, is to get their contact information, which you can then use to market your brand to them further. The best way to get a user’s email address is to offer them a lead magnet in exchange for their information. Hence, the importance of a good landing page.
Special Deals
Who doesn’t love a good deal? The very idea that you are getting something for less than the market price is enough to motivate just about anyone to go ahead and buy it (Black Friday, anyone?). If the deal is time-bound – 24 hours only, for example – this increases its value and the gives the customer a sense of urgency. Even better; market the deal only to your followers on social media. This gives an impression of exclusivity as well as affinity and, more often than not, will turn a follower into a customer faster than anything else.
Host a Contest
Fact: People love having their favourite brands share or repost one of their photos. As a follower of many brands on social media, I can assure you this is true. The best way to solicit some great customer-generated content is to host a contest. Ask your followers to post a photo of your product – or of them with your product – come up with a unique hashtag for them to include in the post, a covetable prize for the winner, and you’re set. Even though there will only be one winner, this will get your followers engaged and all of their followers will see it too, which is basically free advertising and who doesn’t want that?
Add Value
We’ve all seen those Twitter posts that went viral; you know, the ones where a customer tweets the company, maybe even with a complaint, and the brand replies quickly, solving the problem and maybe even adding in a bit of banter. That is effective marketing. It humanizes your brand and sets you apart from other brands. Responding in a timely and helpful manner will keep your existing customers happy and loyal as well as convert numerous others into paying customers.
