How Can You Expand Your Business Activities Online to Serve Customer Needs?

In the last year, we’ve really seen a larger focus for small businesses in transitioning to doing business online. This pivot was essential and it kept many companies alive during a turbulent and uncertain time. Since so many business owners in our network are relying on social media marketing to bring in new business right here, here are our best tips to converting leads into customers online.

Be Found

Are your profiles complete and appealing? Once you gain a social media user’s attention, the next thing they are likely to do is to visit your profile on that platform. Too many small businesses rush through the process and don’t take full advantage of all the space and opportunity available to convince viewers to click through to their website or a landing page. 

Also, every social media platform is searchable. Do you have the right keywords and information on your profiles? If you want to be found in the right searches, your profile must contain the right keyword phrases. 

The first thing we want you to do is to make sure your profiles are all up-to-date, with robust and relevant keywords, and that your website site copy accurately reflects your current offerings and business hours. It’s a shame to do all that work to lead people to your website but then lose them because your copy is not detailed enough or is outdated.

Be Transparent

There’s been a trend in recent years where small business owners were encouraged to not put their packages and pricing on their website. This was to encourage people to reach out so that you could customize a package just for them OR to be able to capture their information before you give over the ‘goods.’ 

However, with this move to online marketing and business transactions, do you want to be the transparent business that makes it easy for a lead to make a qualifying decision about working with you, or do you want to play the hard-to-get role that encourages your audience to look elsewhere? There are too many people out there that do exactly what you do. Your copy should convince people to contact you, not your unwillingness to post your prices on your website.

If your prices drive people away, that’s actually a good thing. Those individuals either aren’t your people or aren’t ready for what you have to offer. This will save you time, and money, in the long run because you’ll avoid wasting time trying to sell people who aren’t right for you. This will free you up to find and convert the right customers. 

There are also ways to post your packages and pricing on many of the social media platforms so we recommend getting that all set up as well.

Be Creative

What are some ways to create pathways to work with you outside of your traditional offerings? Could you provide gift card options for your customers to encourage them to refer you to others and give you a try? Could you add a subscription option, allowing you to have recurring income while building that connection with your audience each month? Is there a package you could create so your clients could have an hour or more on retainer with you each month for support? Once you figure out the different pathways to working with you, make certain you communicate those options in social media and through your email newsletters so that anyone on the fence about taking the next step could be encouraged to sign up.

Thinking creatively about how you can show up for your audience and bring value to your customers is one of the ways successful business owners survive crisis situations and learn how to thrive regardless of external circumstances.

Having a strategy in place for your social media postings will be key in developing relationships, staying relevant, and knowing how / what to post so you don’t run out of content.  By signing up for Quarterly Roadmap sessions, we will also cover the best ways to use ads and you’ll learn how to read reports so you aren’t wasting a ton of money. Instead, you’ll be strategic about your spending so you see results for your efforts. Contact The Social Media Advisor today to get started!

 

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

How Can You and Your Team Develop a Commitment to Your Social Media Marketing?

Every relationship requires a commitment. If you aren’t posting consistently on social media, you are showing your audience that you aren’t committed to the relationship you have with them. You are, essentially, training your audience that you aren’t serious about your social media so they shouldn’t be either. You are also teaching the social media marketing algorithms that you aren’t seriously committed to your audience so they shouldn’t make showing your content in new or underutilized feeds a priority either.

Are you ready to commit to social media marketing this year? Here are our best tips for you, and your team, to make an impact on social in the next three months.

Creating an Editorial Calendar

It’s easy to say you are making a commitment this year to social media marketing but it’s tougher to be consistent without a plan. The key to a successful social media strategy involves creating an editorial calendar – a plan for what you will post and when you will post it.

What does an editorial calendar include?

  • What channels or platforms will you use?
  • What themes will you talk about each month? (If you have 12 topics – you have a year’s worth of content!)
  • Which days will you post content?
  • What will you post on those days?

The more detailed your editorial calendar is, the easier it will be to stay on track and create content that resonates with your audience. Some marketers just post whatever they are thinking about that day. Consistency is important, yes, but if you want your message to truly resonate with your audience – a social media marketing strategy where you know what you are talking about each month and you are clear about where what you want your audience to do will return higher results.

Providing Value

While the #1 reason for having your business on social media for you is probably sales and conversions, you must remember that the audience you are seeking is not using social to consume ads all the time. Why does your audience use social media? There are a variety of reasons but the top ones are to establish and build connection with others, consume information that’s relevant or interesting to them, and to leisurely pass the time. They aren’t there trying to find what you are offering. This means your content needs to be created based on what the audience is looking for – if you want them to consume and engage with content. What is your audience looking for? What will get their attention?

Think of your social media content as if it’s the window of a department store. The wrong display will be ignored – the consumers will pass it right by without any consideration at all. The right window display will get attention and encourage people interested in what you sell to step into the store – your virtual pages and online community!

How to Promote Your Business

The whole purpose of engaging on social media with your business is to build relationships that will potentially convert into collaborative partners or customers. Therefore, you need to spend some part of your time promoting your products or services to be effective. Balancing providing value with not becoming too promotional can feel tricky at first but we recommend following the 80/20 rule. This means that 80% of what you post should be educational, inspirational, informative, or entertaining and only 20% of your posts should be promotional. With the right social media strategy, your sales posts will meld nicely with the value-added content you are sharing the rest of the time.

Having a strategy in place for your social media postings will be key in developing relationships, staying relevant, and knowing how / what to post so you don’t run out of content.  By signing up for Quarterly Roadmap sessions, we will also cover the best ways to use ads and you’ll learn how to read reports so you aren’t wasting a ton of money. Instead, you’ll be strategic about your spending so you see results for your efforts. Contact The Social Media Advisor today to get started!

 

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

Do You Find Learning Social Media Frustrating?

We talk with businesses every day that are frustrated with social media when it comes to marketing their businesses. The time they spend on social media doesn’t feel productive or rewarding in any meaningful way. They hear all the bad press about social media as well and they often ask us whether or not the time spent posting on social media is worth it.

Is social media marketing worth it? Absolutely! However, it’s not as simple as posting and forgetting it. Social media marketing requires a solid strategy and a basic understanding of how it all works.

Sharing Content

Anything you share on social media is content. Unfortunately, too many small businesses waste their time online sharing content that someone else created. This type of content will earn you almost no attention, reach, or leads. AND when you share someone else’s content you are encouraging what audience you do to leave your page and go to someone else’s social media profile or website. That doesn’t sound effective, does it?

In order to be successful on social media, you have to create original content that is relevant to you, your brand, and your products or services. The whole goal is to get attention from strangers by share what you are doing in a compelling way so that you can convert these people into customers, right? Sharing someone else’s content will not accomplish that objective. Original content is the way to go!

Selling on Social Media

One of the tricks to being successful on social media is understanding that your audience doesn’t use social as a shopping channel. They aren’t logging in to be sold to 24/7. Yes, you can purchase things in a variety of ways on social media but since the audience isn’t there simply to be sold to – you must first work to get their attention and earn their trust. The way you show up on social matters. If all you are doing is posting about your sales, discounts, and promotions – then you don’t have an audience. That’s not why they are there!

The same goes for click-bait type of content. Clickbait is content utilizing creative ways to get people to click on a website. Click-bait is often misleading or dishonest in an attempt to get people to a webpage. It’s also a fast track to destroying trust in your business and will damage your brand. Savvy social media users know how to avoid click-bait and will scroll past promotional content if they don’t already have a connection with your brand.

If you approach your social media channel as a way of earning attention from your target audience, as a way of spreading awareness about your vision of your work, and as a way to build trust through establishing your own online community – who will turn into brand advocates – you’ll find that social media marketing works well. It’s a tool for connecting with people – not a sales tool. That connection will lead to sales but too many businesses skip it.

Annoying Spam

Since billions of people sign into their social media accounts every day, you can be certain plenty of them are trying to find ways to game the system and make money off strangers. Not everyone understands what does (and doesn’t work) on social and many don’t care. In the same way that your phone blows up with recorded voices talking about your car’s extended warranty, social media is a free tool making it quite appealing to scammers and spammers. This makes understanding how to use this tool relevant for people and businesses alike. You certainly don’t want to come off as a business that uses spam to get attention any more than you want to draw the attention of the scammers on the platform.

The bottom line is that social media can be frustrating if you don’t understand how it works, best practices, and what to avoid – but that doesn’t mean that social media marketing doesn’t work.

Are you looking for social media training you can participate in from the comfort of your home?  Join other small businesses, at your own pace, currently benefiting from the 40+ video training series included in the Social Power Program.  We have a Private Facebook Support Group, Monthly Ask the Expert Mastermind Sessions, a FREE Ebook, and regularly uploaded new videos to support your marketing efforts. Become a social media expert by learning everything involved in social media marketing from creating the editorial calendar, to creating custom branded images, to use of hashtags, to paid ads and reporting and so much more. Find out more about the Social Power Program here.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

Can Your Business Benefit from Social Media?

As a business, there are several marketing assets you’ll need to be successful. Your business cards, for one, are important for in-person networking and connection. Your website is essential for people to do research about your business so they can make decisions about whether or not to contact you. And, a robust social media presence with complete profiles, loaded with keywords, is also a valuable asset for your company.

Improving Search

Many business owners aren’t aware of how important social media is when it comes to online search. If you do a search for any brand or company, in the first ten searches their main social media channels will show up. Also, since each social media channel is its own search engine – using the right keywords and phrases will help your target audience find you when searching on social.

Growing Your Audience

While a website is great for search and getting questions answered, it’s not ideal for connection and audience growth. This is where social media excels! A social media channel will not only attract the right people, it gives them an opportunity to connect with you and with other members of your audience. This community-building aspect encourages your audience to come back and invite their friends!

Hashtags

As more and more people jump onto social media, getting the reach you need and getting in front of new people becomes harder. That’s why so many businesses are currently investing in social advertising to show up in the feeds of their ideal clients. However, hashtags are a free and less commonly known tool for finding new people. Hashtags are especially effective on platforms like Instagram and Twitter. Understanding and properly using hashtags is a great way to gain organic growth on social media.

Are you looking for social media training you can participate in from the comfort of your home?  Join other small businesses, at your own pace, currently benefiting from the 40+ video training series included in the Social Power Program.  We have a Private Facebook Support Group, Monthly Ask the Expert Mastermind Sessions, a FREE Ebook, and regularly uploaded new videos to support your marketing efforts. Become a social media expert by learning everything involved in social media marketing from creating the editorial calendar, to creating custom branded images, to use of hashtags, to paid ads and reporting and so much more. Find out more about the Social Power Program here.

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

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