Social media has emerged to be a revolutionary tool in the present times. From connecting long lost friends to linking professionals seeking employment, social media offers the best prospects for socializing with the world from the comfort of your couch.
However, the benefits of social media are not limited to just networking. Today, it has become a significant channel for the brands, e-commerce platforms, and even independent sellers to connect with their target audience and conduct sales online.
Over a billion active users on Facebook, 700+ million Twitteratis' and more than 800 million active Instagrammers provide lucrative business opportunities to the enterprises and independent sellers today. And in turn, these enterprises and sellers are also adapting to this dynamic route for marketing & sales and re-examining their strategies to draw higher revenues.
Even though this trend is spreading like fire, especially with the growth of e-commerce in India, there are still several tactics which can be practiced to multiply sales on social media:
Pick the right platform for the business
With the no. of social media platforms growing tremendously, it can be cumbersome for any business to ensure optimum presence across multiple channels. Instead adoption of a focused approach towards social media selling by discovering a platform which fits perfectly with the business.
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Conduct an audit and discover the platforms frequented the most by your target audience. Analyse the social networks that are most conducive to social selling and offer the best conversion rates. Post the audit, shortlist up to three social media channels to target, at least in the beginning. Optimize the content for each of these channels and make sure to listen and engage with your audience at each of these platforms.
Simplify the purchasing process
Remember that an average user's attention span is lesser than 8 seconds. Hence, strictly avoid information overload or complicated processes. Also, ensure optimal loading speed, weed out any broken links, and provide an easy experience for the buyers. Small-scale sellers and Homepreneurs can also set up shops at digital C2C marketplaces and direct the social media traffic to the same for an easy and smooth online selling experience.
Ensure optimum experience for mobile users
Mobile internet users have crossed the tipping point and hence, it is crucial to ensure an optimum mobile presence for mobile visitors. Hence, ensure that the website loads quickly on mobile and the content is more visual, easy to read. In addition to using aesthetically pleasant images, ensure that the same are optimized for viewing via smaller screens.
Grow your network
There are no shortcuts to social selling and hence, sellers need to be dedicated to growing their network on social media platforms. Have a plan in place for growing your network and segregate it under daily, weekly and monthly goals, in order to stay focused on the ultimate goal. Connect with influencers in your field of work, actively engage with social media audience via reshares, comments, likes and shares. One may also ask relevant questions to boost engagement or answer questions to demonstrate thought leadership on social media. Such valuable conversations result in a loyal audience, which is crucial to the success of any social selling campaign.
Include Call-to-Actions in Social Media Posts
When drafting social media posts, one has to ensure that it is fresh, engaging and inviting. While such a copy would boost engagement, including likes, shares and subscriptions, it is important that we convert the same engagement into sales. A simple way of achieving the same is by including Call-to-Action phrases in the posts. Call-to-actions provide a direction to the social media users and lead them to the next stop, such as dropping a direct message or clicking the link. Hence, include the action you would ideally want the audience to take after reading the social media post, such as Buy Now, DM Me Now, Download Now, Click Here, Contact Me Here, Register Now, Please Subscribe, Secure your Spot (for an event or a seminar, etc.).
Leverage Customer Reviews
Social media users put implicit and explicit trust in peer recommendations. To capitalize the same, brands or independent sellers must encourage customer reviews on social media channels. Connect with your past customers and request reviews and ratings. Ensure that these reviews are available on every social media channel - perhaps you may share screenshots of positive reviews on your Instagram channel etc. Additionally, pay close attention to any negative reviews. Respond to any critique without fail and make it a priority to address any grievances.