Posted by Social media platforms help brands uniquely interact with customers. They provide a platform for users to communicate beyond local boundaries. Also, we cannot deny the countless possibilities of sharing user-generated content.
A survey shows 3.96 billion social media users worldwide in 2022. It will continue to grow over the next few years. The following graph from Statista offers clarity into this prediction.
The above data means that you can boost your sales using social media. This article will give insights into how you can use social media to your advantage in a business. We will also cover some real-life examples to help you enhance your marketing strategy.
10 Proven Ways to Boost Your Sales Using Social Media
1. Use hashtags consistently
Hashtags are very powerful on Twitter and other platforms that allow their use. Content tagged with a hashtag makes it easy for your audience to track and participate in conversations on social media. Also, your digital marketing team can track the engagement efficiently.
For example, Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke is the best social media marketing strategy ever.
The campaign drove sales for the soft drink company and spawned a heap of user-generated content on social media. It allowed for personalization on a mass scale and fostered a community spirit.
Here are some tips for using hashtags consistently to maximize their impact on the audience:
- Use hashtags that are unique to your campaign.
- Use trending hashtags.
- Use hashtags only for brand engagement and not when conversing with your followers.
- Use hashtags that relate to your post content but do not necessarily connect with your brand.
2. Promote free shipping
Everyone loves free shipping! You can start by creating a coupon code that consumers can apply to receive free shipping. Then implement the code into your CMS database and run a test order to ensure the free shipping discount works automatically.
Share the coupon code on social media and promote it by visual means. Remember, visual representations of your discount can get your brand 2.3x more engagement in a crowded social feed.
3. Generate leads via giveaways
People are more likely to purchase something on an e-commerce site if given an incentive. It is a brilliant idea to offer customers a chance to win your product completely free of charge.
Here are some tips for a successful giveaway campaign:
- Define your target customer.
- Create a landing page for your giveaway. Include entry details, terms and conditions, and a lead magnet for participation.
- Collect leads by using e-commerce tools that allow email integration.
- Promote the giveaway on social media and let your team track the engagement. Tweak the campaign if needed.
- Announce the winner via email and social media. Also, encourage non-winners to purchase on your site and provide them with other discounts.
4. Be mobile-friendly
Most people access social media from mobile devices than desktop devices. They also tend to share social media content twice as much as desktop users. This strategy should be the default optimization viewpoint for any well-designed landing page that converts.
How can you optimize your social media content for mobile devices? Here are some suggestions for you:
- Focus on simple objectives for your social media posts: build awareness, get more video views, etc.
- Post content during peak mobile usage times.
- Tell your team to implement device targeting with Facebook and Instagram.
- Use mobile post formats and add subtitles to your videos on social media.
- Direct users to mobile-optimized landing pages instead of the desktop version.
5. Increase exposure to your social media sites
You can increase exposure to social media platforms by embedding social buttons on your site.
The social media buttons come in a variety of sizes and variations. You can choose what suits best for your website.
Some of the ideal locations to place the buttons on your site include
- The header of your e-commerce website or blog.
- The footer of your e-commerce website or blog.
- Email marketing campaigns.
- Specific social media posts.
6. Work with social media influencers.
It is common among brands to use social influencers to boost their sales.
Social media influencers are people with a large number of engaging followers. It may sound crazy, but people trust influencers more than anyone else. 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations to buy a product after seeing it on their social media feed.
Thus, influencers create a golden opportunity for businesses to reach new audiences and influence the youth.
You can start by finding influencers that match your industry and have followers who might be interested in your product or service.
Approach them to promote your brand by posting your product or service and giving honest reviews. You can either pay them money or provide discount codes or free samples of your product or service.
7. Allow people to buy products straight from posts.
Some social media platforms allow customers to purchase and check out straight from a post. We assume you already knew that but let us go into the finer details here.
Letting users buy from social posts eliminates the multi-step checkout process. It also reduces the time for customers to rethink their purchase decision.
Let us check out the different platforms with such features:
Facebook (Meta)
Facebook allows business owners to list their products under the Shop section of their Facebook page. It is easy to set up.
The popular social media platform also has a product catalog feature. Brands can showcase their best products and let customers purchase through the site. Customers can see the photo, names, and prices of top-selling items.
Also, Facebook lets customers send messages to the merchant for inquiries, click on individual items to view more details, or download a mobile app.
Pinterest introduced the feature of buyable pins in 2014. Any Pinterest user can use them to purchase products while browsing through the site. It makes the shopping experience easy and enjoyable.
When you set up buyable pins on your products, all customers have to do is click Add to Bag. They can make the payment and complete the purchase by clicking on “check out” from their Pinterest shopping bag.
This quick and effective process helps increase product sales which mutually benefits both the business and the customers.
Merchants can use the buyable pins to sell their products to a large Pinterest audience. Customers are happy as the buyable pins allow them to make instant purchases without leaving the site.
Instagram’s new feature allows users to tag products on their posts and shop directly from the news feed.
Brands having a digital presence can take advantage of the shoppable tags to increase sales on Instagram. They can tag products or services from their e-commerce platform on their posts or Instagram story.
Customers can click on the item on your post or story to see its name, description, and price. They can also apply filters to the products, such as different colors or sizes.
Instagram allows customers to track their purchases and receive notifications about the shipment status from the Instagram app.
If you want to enable the shoppable post function, activate your Instagram Business account, and turn on the shopping feature in settings. You are all set to turn your Instagram handle into a sales funnel!
8. Curate and feature user-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) can help give more credibility to your brand on social media. It builds trust among consumers who abandon their online baskets.
We recommend three types of UGC you can use to reduce cart abandonment rates:
- Customer reviews and testimonials
- Customer Photos and videos
- Blog posts from previous customers
9. Encourage people to share their customer journey.
We spoke about user-generated content in the last section. Customer journeys (testimonials) can help convince other users about your brand value. Ask customers for feedback on their journey and implement new ways to overcome the biggest shopping challenges.
You can encourage customers to share their shopping journey by
- Encouraging new customers to follow your official page on social media and write a one-sentence social post about their experience with your brand.
- Creating a customer support profile for your brand on Twitter and encouraging customers to Tweet with their feedback.
- Offer discount codes for returning customers who gave you feedback on your social media page.
10. Provide sales support with native chat and Facebook Messenger
Most customers abandon their online baskets due to a complicated checkout process. But this is a golden opportunity to improve online sales by offering assistance. Research shows that 77% of customers will not purchase from a website lacking live chat support.
You can use Facebook Messenger and native chat to offer sales support. It will boost your conversion rates.
We can look at another example of a brand called Monitor Backlinks. It optimized the call-to-action (CTA) on its Facebook page so that customers reach out to its support team if there were any problems.
Besides, you can offer sales support by doing the following:
- Create a Twitter account dedicated to customer support.
- Add a CTA to your social profiles, with the option of sending an email.
- Install live chat on every page of your e-commerce site. Customers will be delighted to share their problems and get instant support.
- Integrate your live chat feature with virtual call center software. It will help your support team discuss crucial issues with customers over a phone call. It further increases your brand’s reputation in your customers’ minds.
Frequently asked questions
1. How can social media be used to attract customers?
Social media helps people connect with the brands of their choice and decide what they want to purchase. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, etc., allow users to see instant reviews on products and other crucial details. If brands post consistently on social media about their products and services, they can attract their target audience and boost sales.
2. What are social media sales funnel?
A social media marketing funnel (or sales funnel) is a path that your customers move through at each point of the user journey. It consists of four main sections regarding your social media marketing strategy. They are discovery, intent, conversion, and loyalty.
3. Which social media platforms drive the most sales?
Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter are the social media platforms driving the most sales in 2022.
4. How do I make my business stand out on social media?
You can do the following to help your business stand out on social media:
- Develop a brand voice.
- Use creative visuals in your posts.
- Decide and implement a theme for your accounts.
- Indulge in storytelling
- Create a social media marketing strategy.
5. Which social media channels have the best ROI?
- Youtube
- Snapchat
The following image gives us the ROI of the above platforms in percentage.
A Final Word
Social media, coupled with technology, can work wonders for your business. You can engage with customers, enhance brand value, and boost your sales using social media.