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Social conversions can be hugely beneficial to your business — after all, if you can convert customers distracted by the latest gossip on a social media platform, you can definitely convert customers once you’ve got their full attention.
So, without further ado, we’ll discuss:
A social conversion is a conversion that takes place on a social media platform. Pretty intuitive, right?
Conversions can happen in all sorts of forms – you could consider a new sign-up for your email newsletter to be a conversion. You could consider an individual clicking on the link you included in your latest social media post, following that link to a lead form, and then proceeding to fill out that lead form a conversion.
Social conversions differentiate themselves from other sorts of conversions by the fact that they take place on social media platforms and are thus driven by the community-led nature of these platforms. Essentially, with these free social media dashboard examples, you’ll be able to track your social conversion rate.
Now that we’ve established what a social conversion is, let’s talk about getting more of them. You’re going to want your social conversion rate to be as high as possible.
After all, the higher the social conversion rate, the more people have demonstrated interest in whatever product or service your business offers the public. And interest is good! Interest leads to paying customers, and paying customers are directly responsible for profit.
We’ve polled a group of experts to come up with twelve ways to boost your business’s social conversion rates. Read on to find out how you can achieve consistently high social conversion rates on any social media platform.
To monitor the impact of your social media marketing efforts, you may have to log into multiple tools to check how your accounts on different social networks are performing and spend hours compiling a comprehensive report. But, with Databox, social media reporting doesn’t have to be a time-consuming chore anymore.
Now you can quickly assess your social media performance in a single dashboard that monitors fundamental metrics, such as:
Now you can benefit from the experience of our social media experts, who have put together a plug-and-play Databox template showing the most important KPIs for measuring the impact of your social media marketing efforts from multiple channels. It’s simple to implement and start using as a standalone dashboard or in marketing reports, and best of all, it’s free!
You can easily set it up in just a few clicks – no coding required.
To set up the dashboard, follow these 3 simple steps:
Step 1: Get the template
Step 2: Connect your Social Media accounts with Databox.
Step 3: Watch your dashboard populate in seconds.
Consistency breeds trust. Consistency breeds trust. Consistency breeds – see what I did there? In all seriousness, maintaining the same aesthetic across all of your brand assets posted on every social media platform can only benefit your business.
By maintaining the same look across social media platforms, your brand will quickly become more easily recognizable. Better yet, make sure that consistent appearance is also professional.
The Forked Spoon’s Jessica Randhawa says, “Having a professional and unified look across all platforms and media is extremely important. We just finished going through a brand makeover. Since my makeover at the beginning of the new year, we have seen our traffic increase 10% in what is historically our lowest month, January, over our highest month, December.
Before my recent makeover, The Forked Spoon’s branding was done piecemeal over many years by many different outsourced professionals and internally. In Q4, I decided I needed a more modern and unified look to boost my brand recognition across social media, Google, and my website. To achieve all of that uniformity simultaneously, we outsourced our logo development, icon development, and all social media covers to a single company that specializes in branding and was well-reviewed in our industry. We couldn’t be happier with the results, and so far, our monthly audience of over 1,000,000 users seems to agree.”
People love a challenge. No matter whether you’re dealing with a tongue-twister or a game of Monopoly, it’s always a little more fun when it’s a challenge – and that’s why you should consider adding challenges into your social media strategy.
Challenges can also be interactive, which dovetails perfectly with the community-led nature of social media platforms. By starting a challenge, you’ll give your fans the opportunity to post about exactly what they’re doing and how it relates to your business – which is a solid way to build some excitement about whatever it is that you’re promoting.
Passive Income Superstars’ Leanne Scott says, “To create buzz around product launches or sales, I like to run a challenge in the lead up to create a little buzz around the product and raise engagement on social media. The challenge is designed to prep them for the product I am about to launch.
Usually, I will deliver the daily challenges in email format but using my Facebook group for regular support and encouragement threads and question and answer sometimes delivered in the form of Facebook live video. This helps me to grow my email list and Facebook group simultaneously whilst also increase group engagement (and therefore post reach) and buzz around the product which is launching.
If you don’t have a Facebook group then you could run something similar on Instagram.
I also have the opportunity to earn money through tripwire purchases when people join the challenge which I can plough back into paid Facebook ads or promoted pins for both the challenge and my final product.”
Not sure which channel to focus on? Our community of experts considers that Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are the top 3 channels that can bring you a ton of social conversions.
Think about the type of content you post to your business’s social media page or group. Is it staid, jargon-filled, and reminiscent of all the worst traits of traditional B2B marketing? Or do you post things that people can laugh at – perhaps learn something from – you know, posts that people are actually going to be interested in?
We hope it’s the latter.
Outgrow’s Saksham Sharda says, “We here at Outgrow try to incorporate a slightly different approach for increasing conversions. We try to create content that’s more entertaining and less sales-oriented. Furthermore, we do this by creating other brands around our product. For instance, we have our “Marketer of the Month” podcast, e-books, and interactive content like assessment and outcome quizzes. All of these aim to make our social channels educational platforms that provide immediate and real value.”
You wouldn’t ask your date to marry you on your very first outing together, would you? We’re going to assume that the answer is no. Try thinking of your social media followers as a large group of people you’ve taken on a collective first date to the park. Why ask them to commit to your business immediately? Give them an opportunity to make a smaller commitment – perhaps a second date, perhaps opting into your email list after downloading a lead magnet. Either option is peachy.
Mike Tatum at SurveyMonkey says, “When it comes to social media you need to understand that is a top-of-funnel audience. If you’re not selling a low consideration item like a $5 Apple Watch band don’t expect to see sales coming directly from organic social. You’ll need something smaller that they can agree to with little hesitation like signing up for a newsletter or watching a gated video. Micro-conversions like that give you a chance to prove your value and build trust so you can get the conversion you’re really looking for later.”
If you’ve existed anywhere near the world of digital marketing any time over the past several years, it’s nearly certain you’re aware of the power of remarketing. It typically takes more than one touch to convince a prospect to take the next step towards working with your company or buying your business’s product. Once someone has taken that step, though, and once they’ve been impressed with the quality of whatever it is that your business offers, it’s far easier to convince them to convert for a second time.
Samiksha Rawool of Yummy Tummy Recipes says, “One effective strategy to drive conversions on Social Media is to run remarketing campaigns on existing customers and promote new offers, new posts, up-sell offers etc.
This strategy has worked wonders for me.
I use the Facebook pixel to create a highly targeted lookalike audience based on the list of my existing subscribers.
Later I run remarketing campaigns to promote new blog posts that I have published. This drives engagement on my website and helps me get new blog subscribers.
Overall I have seen this bring 27% increase in my blog subscribers at a 40% lower cost per acquisition.”
Wondering what’s a good social conversion rate? Most of our contributors believe it’s around 4-5%.
No one likes going to a big box store like Best Buy or Office Depot and then finding themselves lost in the aisles for hours upon hours, completely unable to find the one thing they came in to buy in the first place. It’s an uncomfortable experience – and one likely to leave you with far more office supplies than you really needed to purchase. Make the experience of interacting with your brand pleasant for your customers. You can do this by putting the information they need to make a decision about your business in easily found places.
Jennifer Neylon of My Supplement Store says, “Adding easily accessible links to your social posts or in your profile is integral to gaining conversions from social. Consider investing in a Linkin.bio or Linktree account for adding quick links to your product and landing pages that are relevant to your post. My company personally uses Linkin.bio by Later for Instagram links, but links can just as easily be shortened and pasted into Facebook posts, Youtube descriptions, etc. depending on the social media platform.”
ManyChat’s Fara Rosenzweig agrees, adding “Making it easy for the user to get information. In other words, we provide value, not sell our product, through engaging content (like animated videos, behind-the-scenes videos/images) and have the link handy to click. If they have to click three times before getting to the “buy now” spot, most likely we lost them. But if we make one click, this it’s a simple, quick process for the user.”
There’s nothing customers love more than a good deal. That’s why discounts are so popular in ecommerce marketing, in addition to their continued usage by brick-and-mortar stores. Offering a deal is a great way to get first-time customers in the door, willing to take a chance on your product or service. A healthy discount grabs attention – in fact, discounts can take mediocre offers from “meh” to “They’re selling THAT at THAT price? Honey, go get me my wallet!”
“Reward your followers with a discount.
First, create a custom landing page with the discount applied by default and then use that link in your social posts. It converts like crazy!
As a bonus, it gives people more reason to follow you on social channels, which helps your audience grow,” says Adrian Carter of Beastly Energy.
Imagine yourself at a party. One might be tempted to call it a rave, based upon the metric tons of glitter in the air, but it’s a shockingly family-friendly environment. The music is wonderful; everyone dancing looks fabulous; there’s even a catered buffet with the most delicious snacks any party animal could ask to be fed. This party isn’t open to the public – nope, it’s very much a behind-red-ropes event.
How did you get in? You’re not a celebrity – you haven’t even had your Andy Warhol-promised fifteen minutes of fame yet! But you’re lucky: you have a friend who always knows what the goings-on are. That friend stays on top of trends, memes, and keeps abreast of all the pop culture happenings. You should be more like your friend, who got you into that super fun party.
ProsperoWeb’s Brian Stewart says, “The one effective strategy I found is to “Stay on Top of the Trends”. So, knowing the current trends related to the target market and competition is the key for optimizing conversions. Once you find the content that is creating the greatest buzz and generating most traffic, you can perform deeper analysis using social media reporting tools to gain insights to help formulate strategies for crafting the content based on these insights.”
Jerome Williams of JWorks Studios adds, “Stay on top of your memes! As much daily internet nonsense there is to drive you mad, the truth is that most people choose happiness! So blending your message with a popular meme can get people to laugh, show them you share their sense of humor, and make them open to connecting (spending) with you! But you have to move fast! A hot meme can fizzle out faster than accidentally making yourself a cat during a video conference! Bundle up, Bernie, you’re gonna help me get more business!”
There’s something special about video as opposed to plain-text or non-animated graphics. You can see the actors moving and fully understand how the filmed parties interact with their belongings; you can see how items work in motion.
Seeing how things actually work in the context of space-time as opposed to a single still moment is a major selling point for consumers – and using video in your social media campaigns can help increase your social conversion rate.
Ravecode Solutions’ Jesse Heredia says, “We have seen the best response from our social media strategy when producing video content. Since only a small percentage of people actually post videos that add value to their target audience, you immediately stand out. Posting videos consistently will help you remain in the minds of your prospects and increase your authority as the expert.”
Paige Arnof-Fenn from Mavens & Moguls says, “More video! When building loyalty and trust with an audience to build relationships, creating and distributing video content is essential. Marketing professionals agree that content in video format is most effective at building relationships to generate leads that convert. Educational content such as webinars and original research are also effective.”
Related: 16 Ways to Increase Your Average Video Engagement
Explainerd’s Natasha Rei says, “The most effective way to increasing conversions from social media is to build interactions and create video content. By creating video content, people will be more interested in taking a long look than just text or images. Besides, conversions will also occur if we actively interact by replying to comments, likes, etc.”
“Use more video content. You should know that videos are the best way to catch the attention of your audience on social media. Visual content with colors has been known to be the most effective way to get the audience to have a look at your ad and the campaign you run on social media. By catching the attention of your audience, videos promote your products, services, and your business in social media, because this is what they are made for,” says Ansh Gupta of Buy Sell Empire. Use this social media dashboard software to measure the performance of your video content.
Do you ever wonder how much of the time – salaried time, mind you – spent by your employees at their desks goes to social media? How much time do your employees spend scrolling their feeds every day, when they should be handling their accounting duties or whatever else you’ve assigned them?
If we’re being truthful, it’s probably quite a large chunk. Office workers can’t help but spend time on social media – it’s human nature to start scrolling if given a large enough screen for a long enough period of time. However, there’s a way to put this unfortunate fact about humanity to use. Get your employees to share your business’s social media posts on their own social media platforms! That way, they won’t be wasting time while they scroll their feeds — they’ll simply be advancing company interests.
Howard Schulman of Lightico says, “In order to increase organic social conversions, your posts need to be seen by more people. In order to do that get active and well-connected employees – usually Sales and Marketing : ) – to share company posts and original content. Then get other employees to comment and share the original post. We encourage our employees to be active, especially by commenting, on social in any capacity, personal or work-related. The more active you are the more your post is seen, the more you are seen the more you convert.”
Remember the spokesmen, spokeswomen, and spokesmodels of yore? The idea (have a famous person speak for your product, thereby lending their clout to your own brand) remains a winner in the world of marketing. Celebrity endorsements are still hugely influential in consumer decision-making – but a micro-influencer might serve your business even better.
A micro-influencer is a sort of niche celebrity – the term refers to an individual well-known to a small community for their dominance in an interest unique to that small community. But by appealing to a select few people instead of millions of lukewarm fans, micro-influencers hold more sway over their admittedly smaller fan clubs – but make no mistake, micro-influencers are called micro-INFLUENCERS for a reason. (It’s because they influence people!)
Prime Time Pokemon’s Anders Rydholm says, “Influencer Marketing has proven to be the most effective strategy when it comes to generating leads. It is misunderstood to be overly expensive, but the influencers don’t have to be extremely popular.
A micro-influencer is as much capable of generating conversions as any other influencer. You just need to find the right one for your brand. They usually have enough following that any brand can tap in to drive credibility and sales.
I have noticed that sharing engaging content using influencers, getting them to use unique hashtags, encouraging them to engage with your brand or service has the most profound impact on converting customers.
A customer is more likely to be attracted to a brand and even convert when the call to action or promotional content is coming from the influencer directly. Using Influencer marketing with exciting visuals, mobile-friendly videos/graphics, giveaways, or shareable content can add to the overall social media efforts!
However, one word of caution!
I would never opt for an influencer whose persona does not resonate with my overall marketing campaign. I do not want to jump on the bandwagon and do what others have found successful for their brands.
Therefore the ‘selection’ of an influencer becomes extremely important! It must live up to the expectation of my brand Value otherwise a ‘forced’ influencer might just kill the whole strategy.” Use these free lead generation dashboard examples to track the number of leads generated by your partner influencers.
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Mariana Santiago is a copywriter, email marketer, theatre geek, and adventurer. While she's redoing her website, you can find her on LinkedIn or Twitter. If you're looking for someone to obsess over the power of CRM-ESP integrations with, she'd be happy to oblige.
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