Monday, 26 August 2019
Sunday, 25 August 2019
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"
Article Source:
https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Susan_Friesen/260293
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10162803
https://ezinearticles.com/?Selling-on-Social-Media-Without-Driving-People-Away&id=10162803
Saturday, 24 August 2019
Top Ecommerce Experts Q&A | With Gretta Van Riel | FOUNDR'S HUSTLE 013
Listen to some of the golden nuggets shared by some of the top Ecommerce experts in their field had to say when questions about things that made them successful.
Friday, 23 August 2019
Lie to and Patronise Folk, and You End Up With Idiots for Clients
The other day, I received yet another email with a terrible subject line. It's not the first time I've received emails like this. It's not even the first from that email address.
The subject line is intended to make me PANIC!
Like I missed out on an AMAZING DEAL!
Oh my goodness... anything but that...
The subject goes a little something like this:
"Is this email account still active?"
And then the first few sentences, with the inevitability of gravity sucking you to the soil, say something like:
"I just want to check that this email address is still valid. Because you didn't respond to the amazing offer I sent through earlier... "
Urgh.
No.
Please, stop.
One of these days, I'll reply with something worthy of emails this dumb - something like:
"Have you considered, you know, making me an offer I want?"
This sort of gambit only works on the impulsive, the unimaginative and folks who've never used email before. Am I describing your idea clients or your nightmare ones? If the latter, think carefully about using this.
No one believes you care whether the account is active. It costs nothing to add one more email to a list. You're not frantically debugging your email software, muttering "I hope Sally got that last email!"
What's the big deal? It's just an email, right?
Sure - except you're lying to your readers. You're using a stupid tactic to trick them into opening, then hoping they're not paying attention enough to buy from you.
I'm hardly being dramatic - unless you actually care about their email address' status, you're lying to them... and you're not even being clever about it.
An alternative?
Well, instead of faking concern like a patronising in-law about how someone didn't open your email...
... maybe you could offer something worth buying, wrapped in an email worth reading.
And if folk don't read your emails?
Instead of assuming they're morons who'll respond to any tired, transparent gambit, assume you're the moron. Assume your emails aren't clear, clever or curious enough to get them to open. Or your offer isn't tantalising enough to get them to act.
Assume your readers are geniuses eager for your services, and you'll repel anyone who isn't.
Or you could do the opposite. Let me know how that works out for you.
Seems like an easy choice... except folk who should know better struggle with it. Do better than them and you'll do better than them.
Okay, enough ranting. Let's smile and talk about amazing email marketing.
Like what yours can be if you follow some basic principles and pay attention to your clients.
Then you can respect your readers, and they'll reward you in turn.
Let's talk about how to make that happen:
Article Source:
https://EzineArticles.com/expert/William_T_Batten/2522089
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10152813
Thursday, 22 August 2019
Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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