It seems that social media went behind the wildest dreams of their creators. They are growing uncontrollably and getting more and more users every day. It is estimated that over 4.5 billion people have an account on social networks. The fact that so many users are online on social media turned them into a vital part of every modern business strategy. However, not every business knows how to increase its social media conversion rate.
Because of the importance of using social media when strengthening the competitive advantages of the business, we prepared an article in which we will give you tips on how to have a high social media conversion rate.
How to improve the social media conversion rate of your business?
The first mistake every business can make is to use social media as only an advertising tool. You are not competing with only local businesses but with thousands of companies all around the world. And they all use the perks of social media platforms. In that environment, you will need something to stick out from others.
You can use social media to connect with anyone in any place. With the e-commerce industry continuing to rise, the need for brands to approach customers’ on-the-go is vital.
Always keep in mind that:
- Social media can be used to reach vast audience groups, and you are not limited by distance or time (only by budget). So, to have a higher social media conversion rate, you need to increase your marketing effort.
- Be careful how you use social media. If you use the wrong tactic or approach to the wrong group of users, you can do more harm to your business than good.
- Stick to the budget and optimize your campaigns.
We already saw how many people are using social networks these days. Acquiring just a portion of them will launch your business into a very successful one. Of course, that is the goal of other companies that are direct competition with your business.
So, to maximize social media potential, outperform competitors, and have a great social media conversion rate, you will need a carefully planned and implemented marketing strategy. We’ll show you what strategies work the best on certain social networks.
Best social media platforms for business
First, we will present you with the most popular social media platforms you must use to create a successful business.
With almost 3 billion active monthly users, Facebook provides an unparalleled opportunity to reach a large and diverse audience. But be careful, due to the sheer number of ads on Facebook, users may be less likely to take action on an ad they have seen multiple times.
Pros: easier targeting of users (based on interests, demographics, location, and more), powerful conversion tracking tools, and advertising on Facebook are relatively inexpensive compared to other platforms.
Cons: the quality of ads on Facebook can be questionable, optimizing and managing campaigns on Facebook can be time-consuming, and the average click-through rate (CTR) of Facebook ads is relatively low compared to other platforms.
Reaching over 1.2 billion users worldwide, Instagram has proven its popularity among modern social media. Instagram has a highly engaged user base, with users spending an average of 28 minutes per day on the platform, making building and promoting the brand much easier.
Pros: compared to other platforms, advertising on Instagram is relatively affordable and provides a high return on investment (ROI); Instagram provides a visually appealing platform for advertisers to showcase their products and services.
Cons: Instagram has made several algorithms changes over the years that have reduced organic reach, making it more difficult for advertisers to reach their target audience without paying for ads, creating and managing an Instagram ad campaign can be time-consuming, and there is a very high competition on this social platform.
Youtube
Youtube is a video-based platform that evolved into a search engine. It is the second largest search engine in the world, providing advertisers with a wide reach of potential customers.
Pros: YouTube advertising is relatively inexpensive compared to other forms of advertising, and ads allow viewers to interact with the ad, such as by clicking, commenting, and liking; advertisers can customize their ads for specific audiences and target their ads to particular demographics.
Cons: YouTube is a highly competitive space, making it harder for smaller brands to get noticed, but the biggest problem is lack of control because YouTube often places ads alongside content that may be inappropriate or offensive to some viewers.
TikTok
If you are starting an advertising campaign on social media, you cannot neglect TikTok, especially if you offer services and/or products suitable for a younger audience. TikTok is the highest-rising social network, and new users emerge every day.
Pros: with TikTok ads, you can target users based on age, gender, location, language, and interests. This makes it easy for advertisers to reach their desired audience. TikTok encourages advertisers to get creative and think outside the box when it comes to creating ads. This can help businesses stand out from the competition and draw more attention.
Cons: while TikTok does provide some analytics, it is not as detailed as other social media platforms. Currently, TikTok only offers one ad format, video ads. While this can give businesses more flexibility in terms of creativity, it can also limit the types of ads they can create. Due to the privacy concerns surrounding TikTok, some businesses may be hesitant to use the platform for their advertising needs.
Twitter chooses to be different through its character limit feature. Twitter is a great platform for creating brand awareness and engaging with customers. It’s easy to create custom campaigns and target specific audiences.
Pros: it’s free to use, making it an affordable way for small businesses to reach potential customers.
Cons: Twitter users often expect a quick response, so businesses need to be ready to respond in a timely manner. That means Twitter can be a time-consuming platform to manage and requires a lot of maintenance.
Other notable platforms you should consider for your strategy and try to increase your social media conversion rate are:
Pinterest: This is the top traffic-driving platform for small businesses that focus mainly on visually appealing and engaging content (suitable for design, photography, home décor, tourist agencies, etc.).
Quora: It provides a platform for advertisers to reach a wide and engaged audience. Quora’s ads are highly effective for generating leads, driving traffic, and increasing brand awareness.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a professional-oriented platform, meaning advertisers can target their ads to a highly specific and qualified audience, based on job title, industry, and other criteria. But, keep in mind this is a costly option. LinkedIn ads are more expensive than those on other social networks, making them less accessible to small businesses and start-ups with limited budgets.
Ways to improve social media conversion rate
Everyone can use social media to connect and engage with an audience, you just need a social network profile and some time. But how to use them to generate sales and increase ROI? Here are some tips:
Understand and optimize each platform
As you see from the introduction of social media we wrote above, they are very different. That means you need to use different marketing strategies for each of them to unlock their full potential.
For example, using photos will be more efficient on Instagram and Pinterest, while using video content is required on YouTube or TikTok.
Also, every platform has its terms of service you need to respect when uploading content. If you violate them, you can get permanently banned.
Before planning any social media strategy, just start with research for your desired platforms so you can have a comprehensive assessment of them.
Create quality contents
Content is the core of any marketing strategy. You should focus on creating truly valuable content that is useful to your target customers.
The more they get from your content, the better your social media conversion rate will be. There is a great way for creating engaging content called 5 W’s and 1 H you can use for your marketing.
Invest in social media ads
If you want to be successful on some social media, you need to use its ads. The same applies to search engines, like Google and Bing. If you cooperate with the platform, you will earn its support. Money creates money, and that is a fact in the business world.
When you put ads on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook, you can determine exactly what type of users you want to target and place your content directly in their newsfeeds. These marketing campaigns are more cost-effective when compared to traditional advertising.
Here are some helpful advertising tricks to keep in mind:
- Always include a call to action so customers can respond to your ad.
- Use clear and concise language, so your advertisement is easy to understand and communicate the value of your product or service.
- Put the most attractive information first to draw users’ attention.
- Your advertisement should emphasize what makes your product or service different from competitors.
- Consider putting reviews and testimonials in your ads because they can be a powerful tool in persuading potential customers to buy your product.
- Track the success of your ads with analytic tools to see if they perform well or need to change.
After you create and run your social media campaign, your next step is to approach potential buyers and convert them into sales.
Run promotions & offer discounts
Promotion is the tactic that has the biggest psychological effect on potential buyers. It can help you tremendously with increasing your social media conversion rate.
Because social networks enabled easier communication with your clients, you can now use simple tricks to make a sale. One of the most used ones is to create a sense of urgency. Adding a time-limited offer or a sense of scarcity can encourage potential customers to take action.
Make use of testimonials & user-generated content
When buying a product many people go online to see and read its reviews. If the product has a lot of negative reviews, there is a good chance they won’t buy it.
In fact, according to Oberlo:
- 56% of consumers read at least four reviews before making purchase decisions
- 62% of online shoppers decide not to buy from a brand if they censor reviews
It is obvious that people decide to buy only from trusted brands and manufacturers (still, in the majority of cases, they purchase from the brands they already use).
You must not censor user-generated content. By giving potential customers social proof through reviews and comments, your brand will be recognized as reliable, and your sales will increase. Of course, in the process, you will get some valuable info about the quality of your products and services.
There are two main advantages of user-generated content:
- Potential customers will see honest reviews of the people who have bought and used a product.
- Businesses can educate potential customers about products features and save money and time used by customer support.
You can build social proof on your own by using these channels (it will immensely help your social media conversion rate):
- Display company reviews on social media;
- Add a rating system to your website that allows customers to leave testimonials and reviews;
- Consider giving a gift to your customers who leave the review;
- Consider running a customer referral or loyalty program;
- Employ influencers from your niche to increase your reach;
- Post testimonials or interviews from experts in your industry.
Although user-generated content can be easily neglected, our recommendation is to spend some time in developing this part of the social media strategy. It will surely result in boosting your social media conversion rate).
Write interesting and engaging headlines
Every quality content needs an impactful headline to stick out from other posts on social media. The headline is the first thing people see when scrolling through social networks. Practically, you have a few seconds and several words to attract attention to your content. You need to be original and precise.
Here are several tips for well-written headlines:
- Use headlines that contain “Do it yourself (DIY),” “How to”, “Best way”, etc. to let people know they learn something useful from your content.
- Make your headline specific like “How X can increase your profit by Y% in Z months”.
- Try to keep your headline under 10 words, as shorter headlines tend to be more memorable and effective.
- Use words that create a sense of urgency, such as “now,” “limited time,” or “urgent,” to encourage readers to take action immediately.
- Use strong action verbs that are active and engaging to encourage readers to take action and read on.
- Include interesting adjectives. Instead of writing “6 tips”, say “6 proven and tested tips”.
- Include the main keywords for a better SEO result.
- Use humor, puns, or wordplay to create a memorable and catchy headline that will capture readers’ attention.
Track and analyze the results
There’s no point in sharing content across social networks if you even don’t know what type of engagement you’re getting back. By tracking your metrics (comments, shares, retweets, hashtags, etc.), you can measure the success of your content.
By analyzing the data you get from social media, you can obtain these valuable insights:
- The best time to post for each platform;
- Measuring brand awareness by tracking the number of followers, mentions, and shares of a brand’s posts;
- The type of content that your target audience cares about (photos, videos, etc.);
- Tracking competitor performance.
Analyzing data from social media posts can help identify trends in user engagement, such as the topics the audience is most interested in or the types of messages that elicit the most engagement.
Some popular tools that you can use to track your social presence include Google Analytics, Leadfeeder, Piwik PRO Analytics Suite, etc.
Social media conversion rate: Conclusion
Social media are now an integral part of any business marketing strategy. You cannot run a successful business if you neglect social media. Your presence among them must be strong and constant. You will receive many various queries, and you will need to answer them promptly to keep a satisfactory level.
So, take action and get the most out of social media for your business!