Social media is one of the fundamental building blocks for a strong digital presence for your brand. Because social media was used for socializing (you guessed it) before it was ever used for business, many incorrect ideas often circulate about how to effectively use social platforms to grow a business.
Do you need to add a call to action (CTA) at the end of every post? Should you avoid selling or mentioning your product altogether? What is the perfect balance between selling your business but not making people feel like you are spamming them on Facebook?
If you have asked yourself any of these questions, you are not alone. Social media, though simple to use, is one of the most difficult areas to market for many businesses. In fact, we will be sharing weekly blogs about the common pitfalls to avoid when social media marketing over the next several weeks, so be on the lookout for those.
Let’s make one thing very clear: social media is a fundamental tool used to increase brand recognition and to sell your product.
Let’s make one other thing very clear: you should NEVER post sales-y content on social media if you want to succeed.
So, how do you sell your product without selling your product? It’s simpler than it seems. You use your social media platforms to GUIDE your audience, not to sell to them. You see, people don’t want to be sold to. In a recent study about online shopping, more than 80% of consumers research a product online before ever purchasing it. So you don’t need to hard sell your product on Facebook; you need to position yourself as a resource where your audience can research a product more in-depth. You have to EMPOWER your audience with information, so they can make an informed decision about what you are offering. When you empower your audience with valuable information that helps them, you are already building a trust relationship and brand loyalty with them before you ever even talk with them one-on-one.
Let me give you an example:
One of our clients is a physical therapy office that specializes in treating lower back pain — a condition common in most adults at some time or another. Therefore, there is a large audience that this physical therapy office appeals to. Now, we could post things like “Tired of living with your lower back pain? Schedule an appointment with us today to find treatment.” It’s direct and it perfectly describes what the physical therapy office offers. However, there is nothing about this post that inspires trust or guides the audience to the website to schedule an appointment. There is nothing here that has positioned this physical therapy office above any other option the reader has.
But, what if we offered value before we ever thought about selling? Let’s take a look at what that looks like:
“Did you wake up with a sore lower back again this morning? Try these three simple stretches you can do at home to help loosen the muscles in your lower back and relieve some of the tension you are feeling: https://www.arrowptr.com/conditions/lower-back/at-home-treatment-lower-back-pain/”
Now, readers are interested in the advice you are offering because it is free and helpful to their situation. They are also now on the website, which means you have just inserted them into your digital conversion funnel. Once they are on your website, you can guide them through the steps of finding information about your product or services, the value you bring to your clients, as well as the best method to contact you when the time is right.
A good social media post will always lead people back to your website or landing page, and a good website or landing page will always lead people to more information about your product/services, and ultimately through a lead generation or conversion funnel.
Pro tip: If you’re having difficulty determining what a good social media post would be, ask yourself this: what is the most commonly asked question or concern I can answer about my product? In the example of the physical therapy office, the most common concern about lower back pain is how to reduce it quickly so it doesn’t impact the entire day. By providing information about simple stretches that can be done at home, the physical therapy office answered that concern, routed readers back to their website, and ultimately began a trust relationship with their audience.
To learn more about how you can use social media to build your brand and grow your business, subscribe to our blog or send us a contact form to schedule an initial consultation with our digital marketing team at Burg & Co. Marketing. Start a digital movement today!
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