SOCIAL MEDIA ≠ SALES
“This product isn’t selling well. I thought you put it on Facebook.”
“We’re posting on Instagram every day. Why aren’t our products selling?”
“We aren’t selling enough tickets. You need to push this out on social media more.”
We’ve heard different versions of these comments and questions from social media management clients over the years. And we can’t blame business owners for being frustrated. Why?
One of the biggest misconceptions about organic social media posting is that it’s meant to bring you sales.
Over the past few years, social media has been glorified as the key to increasing revenue or event ticket sales. Influencers and marketing gurus will try to sell you courses on how to best leverage these “sales platforms.” Even the platforms themselves are trying to market themselves as sales generators. This gives many business owners unrealistic expectations as to what social media’s role and capabilities really are.
So let’s start there. What does social media actually do for your business?
1. Social media builds credibility and trust.
Do you want people to not only know who you are but also trust you? That’s what social media is for. Think about how many times you’ve come across a product or service that you’re interested in, but you haven’t heard of the company before, so you’re hesitant to spend your money on it right away. When that happens, you more than likely head to their social media profiles to scroll through their previous content and get a feel for their brand to ensure that it’s one you feel good about. Once you feel like you know the brand and deem it to be trustworthy, then you’re ready to hand over your money.
If you saw that the company had a terrible social media presence or no social media presence at all, it would most likely cause you to think twice before buying something.
Social media allows you to foster a relationship with your audience through the content you share and the community you build.
2. Social media keeps you top of mind.
You won’t believe how many times we’ve jumped on a discovery call with a potential client who tells us, “I’ve been following you on social media for two years now and I’m just reaching out now because I’m finally ready to outsource my marketing.”
99% of the time it wasn’t about us. They’ve known about us for years, but had never reached out to inquire about hiring us because they were waiting for the right timing. Maybe they needed to make sure they had the budget. Perhaps they needed to tighten up their systems and processes. Whatever it may be, people will reach out to you when they’re ready to work with you. But it’s going to take some time.
Results don’t happen instantly from organic social media. It often involves spending months, or even years, nurturing your audience and building that relationship with them so that once they are ready to bite the bullet, your company is the first one they reach out to.
3. Social media drives website traffic.
Social media brings the people who are interested in what you offer from your social media profiles to your website. And this is important because your website shares who you are, what you do, and how you help. It’s your website – not your social media presence – that converts these individuals from simply being interested in your business to now being paying clients or customers.
A successful social media campaign brings people to your website. Once they’re there, it’s up to your website or landing page to do its job of converting these people to paying customers. If no conversions are happening, that’s an indication that there’s an issue with your site, not with your social media.
But what about paid ads? Surely those should be generating sales!
Well, yes and no. Yes, paying for ads fast tracks your reach and exposure, which theoretically should increase sales if that’s your goal. After all, sometimes sales is just a numbers game. But paying for an ad doesn’t change the fact that sales only happen once someone has gotten to your website, or had a call or email exchange with you.
So as much attention as you pay to your social media presence, make sure you're paying as much, if not more, attention to what happens after - your website, your landing pages, your discovery call questions, etc. If you haven’t redesigned your website in over 10 years, now’s the time! While you’re at it, audit your website and other marketing efforts for accessibility. If your branding no longer reflects who you truly are, invest in a refresh. Craft and execute a client onboarding process that is professional and intuitive. Keep in touch and nurture past client relationships.
Wondering how you can build a marketing strategy you’re confident in? Let’s chat!
