If you build it, they will come – if you do it right…

Remember CB radios from the 70’s? Breaker, breaker little buddy, that’s a 10/4. There we were, sending out information, calling it back to us, controlling the flow of information to suit our needs. All with a little help from our friends. Today’s social media affords us the same control, which may be why it’s no surprise that what began as crazy college experiment has changed how we live our lives.

To understand why social media works for business, look at it from your customer’s perspective. You log onto Facebook (or Instagram or Twitter) to scroll and check out what’s going on around you. And then you see a friend has just bought a new living room set (or dishwasher or dryer or mattress) and you happen to be in the market for a new bedroom set. Their glowing review entices you to do a quick Google search, maybe visit their website or Facebook page, where you’ll see others posting about their experiences. You, the consumer, now controls the path to purchase.

As we progress deeper into the far-reaching and, quite frankly, alarming economic effects of COVID-19, it’s clear that that social media can be a powerful tool in your marketing advertising strategy. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – where do you begin and how can you leverage those channels to drive traffic and – ultimately sales – for your business?

Using social media to drive sales

It’s time to start thinking of social media as one to one marketing, conversation marketing. Think about Facebook live chat and messenger with its “always on” approach. Businesses that are thriving through this crisis are delivering a steady delivery stream of custom content paired with real-time conversations. According to the Hootsuite Blog, “Overall, GlobalWebIndex reports that search engines are the primary source of discovery for new brands and products, slightly ahead of television adverts. But, younger users are more likely to turn to social media when they’re actively researching brands and products.”

Building and maintaining your digital strategy through a crisis positions you as a trusted, reliable and reassuring presence. As other local businesses slash their marketing efforts, they create a gap that will afford you a competitive advantage. And that advantage can be leveraged through social media.

Social media – how to add value and grow your business

Not sure where to begin? Start with ensuring your communication plan during a crisis is up to date. From there, look closely at your overall digital marketing strategy. Once those pieces are in place, let’s look at how a few simple ideas can breathe new life into your social media channels – whether your store is open or closed during the crisis.

First – and most important – order of business on social media is listening to your consumers, watching and learning what they like and when they like it, how they react to different forms of engagement. From there, let every step you take build on the previous step, constantly learning and fine-tuning your strategy based on feedback from your online community.

• Pay attention to detail. Treat your social media channels with as much respect as you do your website. SEO, proper spelling and grammar are expected but double check your company info as well, making sure that your contact info is correct, as well as store hours.
• Engage your employees. Your team members are strongest allies and by encouraging them to spread the word to their friends and family, you’ll grow your page faster. If your business is new to social media, this is an essential step.
• Link from your website. By simply adding a follow button on your website, you’ll transform random website visitors into social media followers.
• Link from your email signature. This is a simple way to ensure people you’re corresponding with can find your place of business on the web. Set it and forget it – because it works.
• Post regularly. A steady flow of engaging, informative (or inspirational or funny) content will help you stay visible to people who are following you – and make your more enticing to potential followers.
• Post rich media. Consider a Facebook Live chat to help your followers. Maybe it’s how to buy a mattress or a walk through your store to show new products or trends. If video makes you nervous, go old school and do a podcast.
• Join topical conversations and use hashtags. It’s called social media for a reason and engaging in conversation with new communities will increase your visibility. The more you engage, the more you expose your business to potential followers.
• Mention other businesses or influential people in your community. Mentioning non-competing companies or people you admire, allows you to get in front of their network and expand your own. Use this tactic sparingly as overdoing it can backfire.
• Study your competition. Regularly review what your competitors are doing and the success of those tactics. There may be gaps in their strategy that you can leverage for your business.
• Respond to everyone. Your engagement on social media says something about your customer service – make sure it’s the message you want to be sending.
• Give your fans a reason to keep coming back. Coupons, information and entertainment are all important ingredients. Sprinkle with care and listen to your community when they’re bored, frustrated, etc.
• Empower your community. Ask them about what they love most about your products? What they want to see improved? What new products they want to see introduced?

Creating a strong, sustainable social media strategy isn’t for the feint of heart and it can take time to perfect the process. But it’s a smart and effective way to grow your digital footprint and find new customers. Even when your place of business is closed.

As we weather the next few weeks and months of this crisis together, I’ll be writing about the importance of a content calendar, fine-tuning your social media voice and much, much more. If you’re struggling with your digital strategy, I’d love to hear your questions and how I can help. Drop a comment below or shoot me an email and let’s start talking.