Just about everyone is using a form of social media today, whether it is Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. Many companies use social media to sell their products or services, however, there are certain sales practices for using social media to help increase sales.
Social media is known for its “soft selling” approach, meaning most people are not online with the sole purpose of shopping and, therefore, they must be persuaded to buy your product or service. This depends on what you post and how you post it and the marketing strategies used to increase sales and keep your audience happy.
The first most important strategy when using social media to increase business sales is finding the right channel. Research must be done to find your companies target audience so you know you are appealing to the right customers. Consider the following: Who are they? Where do they live? Where do they work? What do they do for fun? What kind of products or services do they purchase? Once you answer these questions you will have the right idea about who your target audience is.
The second strategy is to produce and engage. In order to build trust, authority and an increasing online following, you will need to post quality content that will spark interest in potential customers often. The content must be informative and useful to viewers. Producing quality content is important, as is interacting with other bloggers, businesses and the audience. It is essential to “like” the comments and posts of others and to share other quality content that is relevant to your industry. Share opinions and popular topics on your social media portals so the audience can get to know your company. This will get the potential customers interested in buying.
On social media it is important to show the value of your company and how your product or service will benefit your potential customers. You can push these benefits through infographics, demos of your service in the form of short videos, free trial offers and other promotional deals. This is an easy way to get potential buyers to look at what you are offering.
The last step would be to persuade your potential customers to take action. This can be done by having a call-to-action in your posts and other areas of your profile. This presses users to make that step from the information stage to the buying stage. Connect your posts, advertisements and other icons to your website where you can bring them to the stage of potential purchasing.
As you can see, the most important step when using social media to sell a product or service is choosing the right channel. Once this is done, every step you take on social media counts towards that “hard sell.” By following these simple steps your social media outlets have the potential to gain followers and increase sales for your business.
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