Social media started off as a means through which family and friends interacted, but over the years it exploded and evolved into a platform that businesses use to immediately reach an audience in all parts of the world. In January 2022, the number of social media users globally stood at 4.62 billion, with users spending an average of 2.45 hours each day on social networks. With such a wide reach, social media is without question an effective channel for reaching target audiences online, playing a key role in the marketing strategies of businesses. So, if you’ve already been using social media to grow your brand and connect with fans but want to take it a step further and use it to drive in more sales, then it would be worth your while to try out some of our recommendations below.
1. Use the same platforms as your audience
The first and most obvious rule of social media marketing is to use the same platforms as your audience. Closely examine your target demographic and try to determine where they are most active—Keyhole can be very helpful in this regard. You can choose to be everywhere but that can turn out to be a bit too time-consuming. It may be smart to start with LinkedIn and Facebook if B2B is your target audience—they each have massive user bases. Being on the right social media platform increases your chances of reaching your target audience more effectively, greatly improving your chance of driving sales.
Influencer marketing is a popular marketing tool that has proven very effective in boosting sales. Research has shown that almost 40% of Twitter users noted that they had made a purchase simply because of an influencer’s tweet. This research also found that people’s level of trust in influences is on par with the level of trust they have in their friends. That makes it all the more likely that brands promoted in such a manner experience increased sales and very high returns on investment.
If you want to boost your sales through the use of social media, it would be wise to contract the services of social media influencers who will prominently feature your product in their posts. Some influencers also provide tutorials and/or honest reviews about your product. But if you really want to drive sales effectively, then providing unique discount codes through influencers is the way to go.
Daniel Wellington is a wristwatch brand that has achieved much success using this strategy. Within a mere three years of its inception in 2011, the brand was able to sell one million watches solely with the help of influencers. And to top it off, in the following year, 2015, the brand generated increased revenue of up to $220 million, a whopping 214% difference from 2014. And to this day, the strategy is still being used—both micro and top-tier influencers can be found promoting Daniel Wellington discount codes.
If you’re interested in giving it a go with social media influencers, Grin is an influencer marketing platform where you can connect with influencers relevant to your brand. Leadar can also assist in this regard.
3. Enlist loyal customers to serve as your brand advocates
Some business owners prefer using real people to promote their products. So, apart from influencers, what else is there? Well, you also have the option of using some of your loyal customers as brand advocates—this too has proven very effective. Offering them discounts and freebies in exchange for their promotion of your product should be enticing enough.
Most people tend to read product reviews before making a purchase—they want to ensure that the product and brand are trustworthy. Reviews of this nature ease buyer anxiety, particularly in terms of unfamiliar brands. When prospective buyers read about the positive experiences and opinions of other consumers, it strikes a cord—they feel an honesty that they can relate to. Encouraging your users to share their experiences and photos online, and then going one step further and sharing them on your own social media profiles, is an easy way to drive more sales. It increases loyalty with your current customers and contributes to the credibility of your brand.
Even with millions of people worldwide using social media platforms, if your brand is unfamiliar, there’s still the possibility that your marketing efforts may be in vain. Social media advertising can help make your brand noticeable to your target audience, thereby driving sales. Ad creation and content promotion options are available on every social media platform—make the most of them.
6. Simply the buying process as much as possible
Pinterest is a social media platform that simplifies the buying process with the use of buyable pins and rich pins, making it an excellent option for marking your products. Buyable pins enable buyers to complete their purchases right there on the platform. Rich pins enable you to present important details about your service or product so that people will be in a better position to make purchase decisions, for example, product availability and price. The add-to-bag button is another feature that simplifies product purchases. Such simple purchase options will no doubt translate to increased sales. Adding promotion of your pins to the mix further improves your chances of sale conversions.
Conclusion
These are some of the most effective methods to boost sales with the use of social media—most of them involve using the views and experiences of others to win your target audience’s trust. Ensuring the high visibility of your brand to a relevant audience and taking full advantage of the opportunity to publish content that is enticing and engaging drives potential customers to your brand. Also, whatever platform provides the option for customers to purchase your products, take advantage of it—the simpler you make it to purchase your products, the better.
