Selling on Social Media Without Driving People Away

5 Social Media Selling Tips & Warnings

Social media is one of the best marketing tools out there: you can grow and reach a large audience with content and ads, and people who like and/or follow you are your fans, so they're already your target group.

However, people can be resistant to selling on these platforms. They see sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as places to share content and interact with friends, families-and nowadays, brands.

You really have to approach this the right way or you could alienate your audience, causing them to unfollow or unlike you because they expect a two-way conversation and engaging content, not to be marketed to.

It's also important to clarify that social selling doesn't mean advertising your product or service online for people to buy.

Social selling means you're using social media to connect with sales prospects and nurture relationships to hopefully convert them into customers.

For example, I recently did a Tea Time Tip about things that you need to consider before you start building your website. People could comment and asking questions in real time, and the Facebook Live had a lot of information about hiring a professional web development company.

So, I wasn't simply talking at people to hire us for their website-building needs; I was sharing pertinent information and nurturing those leads who might be looking for a company to help them out.

Now that we've defined social selling, let's discuss what you can do to increase your odds of success:

1. Think relationships, not dollar signs.

Make sure you're posting relevant, non-sales content. You want to become an expert resource in your industry, so focus on adding value to your users' feeds.

According to a study performed by LinkedIn, buyers who are active on social media welcome input from industry experts. In addition, 76% of buyers are ready to have a conversation with potential providers.

Get to know your potential customers by asking them engaging questions, answering their questions in a timely manner and responding to comments. The more trust and loyalty you build, the better your odds of converting a follower into a paying customer.

Read: The Power of Social Media Storytelling

Once upon a time your strategy was probably largely focused on sharing links to third-party content with your audience. Well, those days are over, and if you want to stand out in the crowded and noisy online environment, you need to focus on content marketing storytelling.

2. Take the time to build out your accounts.

Make sure that your bio and profile are filled out on all the platforms you want to use for social selling. You should include your website URL, About Us, phone number and any other relevant contact info.

It can also help to pin relevant posts, make sure your branding stands out and have high-quality images to attract followers' attention. Again, this builds trust and loyalty, making people feel more comfortable and secure doing business with you.

See how one of our clients, A Family Law Firm, has taken the time to not only fill out their contact info, but also the "Our Story" section on Facebook.

3. Choose your messaging wisely.

What works on one platform may not work on another. Where do your potential clients hang out? Where do they talk business, or go for restaurant recommendations? Generally:

* LinkedIn is more business-focused, so people are more comfortable with marketing messaging there.

* Twitter has a great search function, so you can more easily connect with prospects, and find relevant topics.

* Facebook has many communities that you can join and network in (remember, don't be pushy!)

* Instagram and Pinterest is for visuals, not long content pieces.

By tailoring your messaging for each platform, you'll be more likely to attract the right kind of customer.

4. Let user-generated content sell for you.

You don't have to do all the work of social selling alone! There are so many ways to use user-generated content (UGC) to your advantage, including:

* Contests and giveaways that encourage followers to share your content, hashtags and/or messaging.

* Ratings or reviews for your product or service

* Testimonials

For example, J.Crew posts user ratings and reviews on their website, so when they post a dress or shirt on their social media account and someone clicks on through, they see other people's votes of confidence.

Not only does user-generated content help you, but it helps your customers. Almost 80 percent of people say that UGC drives their purchasing decisions. It's a win-win situation!

5. Try, test and try again.

Every business owner should be tracking and measuring their efforts, whether it's a digital Newsletter push or a Google AdWords campaign. Look at your data and stats to determine what's working and what isn't.

Maybe people are being referred to a page on your website from your Facebook post, but they're only spending a few seconds on it.

You need to look at why that is: is your messaging unclear? Boring? Is there a broken link? By tracking your visitors' paths, you can see where you need to take a closer look.

Google Analytics is a free tool you can use to measure your website statistics, and there are also paid tools out there that can help you break down and understand your data.

The more you test and tighten your social media selling attempts, the better your ROI will be (and the happier your followers will be).

While social selling is different than traditional methods, it's still about building relationships and credibility. Focus on the person behind the platform, not on converting them into a sale or guiding them down a marketing funnel. Take the time to build connections and you'll create a community of prospects who will welcome hearing from you.

Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.

As a result of working with Susan and her team, clients feel confident and relieved knowing their online marketing is in trustworthy and caring hands so they can focus on building their business with peace of mind at having a perfect support system in place to guide them every step of the way.

Visit http://www.ultimatewebsiteguide.ca and download your FREE "Ultimate Guide to Improving Your Website's Profitability - 10 Critical Questions You Must Ask to Get Maximum Results"

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How to Properly Do Your Own SEO in 2019

Search Engine Optimization is a great way to make money online. There are so many ways to achieves success using only SEO. This is probably why so many internet marketers claim to know exactly how to rank your site #1 on Google. But wait! If they really know the secret to internet marketing and this solution only costs $50 do you really think they would be selling their service on freelancing sites? Personally, if I knew how to rank on search engines for $50, I would be spending all day making new websites and ranking them on Google. I wouldn't bother trying to sell this secret method to others, certainly not for $50. In reality, SEO costs more in the range of $2,000 to 10,000$ depending on the niche you're in. So don't bother buying backlinks from so-called gurus, it will only get your web pages banned from search results. With new Google and Bing algorithm updates, it's harder to rank if your buying backlinks. Even expensive backlinks can now be flagged by search engines. Once they know you're buying your links, say goodbye to your position, your web pages will simply disappear from the results. So is there a new method to rank websites? Yes, and I will explain exactly how it's done. I have seen billion dollar companies use this technique to rank on Google and Bing. The best part about this SEO method is that it's free. This is perfect because Google will ban your site if you buy backlinks.

So how do you rank on the #1 spot for FREE?

Back in the dawn of the internet, SEO used to be about getting the biggest quantity of links pointing to your site. Marketers would submit their site to directories, they would submit bulk articles with links to thousands of websites. They would post blog comments with software to an uncountable amount of blogs and they created tones of web 2.0 social backlinks. Nowadays, I can't stress this enough, these outdated techniques do not work, they will harm your SEO efforts and get you banned from search engines. The solution is to adopt a mindset that is focused on getting your site noticed for real. You want real backlinks that generate traffic and brand awareness. And no I'm not talking about contacting your competitors and asking them politely to post your backlinks on their website. The solution is to spread the word about your brand or product.

So where should my links come from?

Write on Blogs, News and real article sites. You need to take the time to write about your product and your niche. Show your expertise on the subject. These sites are craving for real content. A single blog post can generate more money than you might think. Some blogs pay bloggers and marketers hundreds per post, and you get a backlink to your site in the process. Don't worry about not being the best writer out there. Most people only want a professionals advice, they don't care if you have a PhD in literature, they only want to "learn how to fix my computer" or "learn how to play the guitar". Your opinion and expertise are worth more than you think.

Where can I find the right blog or news site to post on?

You need to take the time to research your backlink source. Search for the terms "Blogs that Accept Guest Posts" on Google. When researching for potential blogs make sure to check the Domain Authority of the blog you're going to post on. Read a few posts on that blog to see if the content is genuine, some blogs use autogenerated content and search engines don't like that, this type of content usually doesn't even make sense so it's easy to spot. Check the number of links pointing out to other websites. If you see a large number of outgoing links then don't bother posting on that blog.

I'm not good at writing can I buy blog posts?

Yes, but be careful! The only place I completely trust to buy blog posts is Adsy. All of their blogs are legit and they do not use PBNs. The articles they provide are real and unique. The blogs have high DA and PA. To make sure you are getting quality backlinks, don't buy the whole process as a service. Don't buy packages that say 50 PBN backlinks for $10. Since you can't really know where these links are coming from I strongly discourage buying this kind of product. If you're not using Adsy you should outsource the article writing itself. Then check the quality of the article, run it through a duplicate content checker to see if it already exists on the internet. If it does already exist it won't get indexed so it's worthless. Take your time, do some research, find blogs that have real readers. And then submit your articles to a real audience. Only then will your backlinks be worth the time and effort.

How many links should I get?

The number of links varies depending on the niche you are in. The rule of thumb is to roll out one article per week. And from there it's not really a matter of how many backlinks but how much time it's going to take. It usually takes a few months of blogging to rank in a low competitive category. You can increase the number of posts you write every week to rank faster but remember to post on a regular basis to spread the indexing evenly. You don't want to get 100 backlinks one week and then nothing for a month, that would raise a red flag to search engine bots. Remember that a quality link from a real blog or news site is priceless. I have seen websites with five quality links rank before other sites that have thousands of domains pointing in.

In conclusion, Google and Bing now rank content, not keywords. Your site has to have great content and the sites linking in just as well. Write about your niche, show your expertise and you will be rewarded with the #1 spot on search engines.

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Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Guillaume_Dornier/150561

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