Having a lot of fans on Facebook doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a high conversion rate or that you even have higher profits. A clear example of that is the fact that the not-so-favourable but extremely profitable and influential Monsanto has just under 18,000 Facebook likes whereas small business operations such as Ten Tree Apparel have well over 100,000 fans. It is great to get exposure on social media, but you need to connect with your fans in such a way that they eventually turn into consumers. This social media conversion rate is something that is difficult to accomplish and even more difficult to measure. However here are some tips to grow the right kind of client base on your chosen social media platforms.
Twitter:
- Follow individuals who are in your industry or field or similar professional organizations. Re-tweet their posts once in a while to show your interest in the industry.
- Post links to interesting articles online. Articles that you know would interest and be helpful to your clientele.
- Add direct call to action tweets once in a while. These can include contests on your site or Facebook page, links to offers, or special promotions happening now. You need to make your clients feel like they have an edge because they follow your brand.
- Consistency is key so tweet regularly (at least once a day). This will allow for steady growth of followers that matter. Not like Justin Bieber and other celebrities, where most of their gajillion followers are fake or simply inactive.
LinkedIn:
- Join a professional group that has members who share your professional interests. Here, you’ll be able to take part in discussion and even make new connections.
- LinkedIn is actually a very rich place to develop clients. The conversion rate is a lot higher than other social media sites because there seems to be a higher perceived sense of accountability. Take advantage of this and don’t forget about LinkedIn in your social media stragety.
- Send personalized messages to clients once in a while to let them know that you are listening to them.
- Comment on other peoples’ posts in order to get more exposure on the platform.
Other Basic Tips:
- Encourage people who are already customers to join your online discussion
- Create content with your customers in mind! You’re doing this for your customers, it’s not a show! They way to get more followers is by simply giving your clients what they want.
- Make a daily time commitment. If you disappear for more than a few days, people will lose interest.
- Make sure you’re doing something that interests you. People can smell passion right through a computer screen.
- Karma. Give your clients what they want. Share posts from people that inspire you. If your content is not always from you, that’s ok sometimes too! They will appreciate you in the long run. You will eventually become an authority yourself.
There are obviously other social media platforms that are important for your business. However I chose to focus on Twitter and LinkedIn because in our experience it happens to be the most effective combo for B2B businesses. Do you have any other tips that have worked for you? Let us know in the comments!
