From Likes to Loyals
From Likes to Loyals – It’s no secret that social media plays a huge role in your overall marketing strategy. However, few companies understand exactly how to harness the power of social media and turn the “likes” they are receiving into loyal, paying customers. It takes much more than setting up a Facebook page for your business and making a few posts here and there. Having a functional social media presence means that you get a potential customer’s attention and then hold it long enough to make an impression that leads them to make a purchase. Social seeding is a strategy that you can use to help you maximize your social media influence.
Social seeding is a term used to describe putting your content on a visible online platform and then showcasing it in such a way that people are not only finding it, but actually reading it.
Using social signs like “likes”, “pins”, or “shares” are valuable tools you can use to measure the success or failure of your social seeding efforts. People who use these signs are usually people who are already looking for the products or services you offer. However, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t valuable. Social signals are able to increase your traffic, your online ranking and thus your conversions, which is what it is all about anyway. Here’s what you need to know about social seeding.
What is the goal of social seeding?
Your goals when you start your social seeding campaign are fairly simple and straightforward. You are going to want to identify the key influencers in the industry that you represent. You are going to want to get them to see your content and encourage them to share it with their audiences. And, you are going to want to convert anyone who comes in to look around into a contact (lead) or a sale (customer).
The first step in a successful social seeding effort is to begin developing social relationships. This step enables you to begin to identify who the players are and help you understand how they influence your industry. This is going to require you to develop an exciting social media profile and engage with your followers in such a way that they reciprocate your efforts. To do this, begin by “liking”, “pinning”, or “sharing” content that they have shared. This leads you naturally into step two. Encourage these same people to do the same for elements in your profile or feed. You can encourage them to “like” your page, your content, your pictures, or even your products.
Another successful strategy encourages the use of contests to lure potential customers in and asking them to share your page and/content with their audience. Lastly, you can use free or paid exposure like placing posts on high ranking blogs and other sites that allow readers to up-vote your stuff. Regardless of what strategies you use, make sure that you are always showing readers your personality. This allows them to put a face with a brand and begin to develop an emotional opinion about it, which is what really drives consumer behaviour.
Of course, step three is something that you are going to have to depend on your company/website and brand for. Converting people that are on your site into paying customers is something that requires you to elicit a positive emotional response from each person. Each person is different, so the key to creating that response is different for every customer. However, the good news is that solid business practices, quality products or services and affordable prices go a long way to establishing those relationships.
While there is no fast and easy way to get people to see and appreciate your content, the good news is that there are ways to influence the traffic your social media profile and ultimately your website gets. It is important to understand the difference between short term traffic spikes and the time it takes to truly develop a relationship with a loyal customer. It takes much more time and effort, but having a loyal customer is the ultimate indication of success. Put in the necessary effort from the start. But, if you don’t have the time or expertise to do it right, spend the money on a reputable marketing firm to handle it for you.
