Translating Social Media Buzz into Sales

Having an effective social media programme is a must for any business operating in this digital age.  For small and startup businesses, a social media programme is even more important as the business tries to identify and connect with its audience through this more direct medium.    

It is important to note that a social media programme is more direct and less expensive than traditional marketing programmes.  In this age of instant gratification, businesses respond better when they are able to access immediate feedback from customers and potential customers.

There is however a tendency for startup businesses in particular, get overly excited about the interaction on their social media pages.  Comments and likes while they are necessary to build the online community does not fulfill the business’s main goal of driving a profit… the following are four practical tips to translate your social media buzz into immediate sales.

1.     Provide opportunities for conversion – Any social media inquiry is a great opportunity to provide additional information to a potential customer using their email address.  Also provide links to your website for specific customer inquiries and present the option to subscribe for future information.   If your business is into hosting events such as any type of training, business conferences or seminars --- require online pre-registration as part of your data collection strategy.  This gives the business an opportunity to collect data on potential customers as well as to enable follow-up capabilities.

1.     Up the ante with advertising – Social media advertising has emerged as a bonafide means of reaching particular audiences with specific messages.  On sites such as Facebook, advertisers have an opportunity to specifically target their audiences by location, gender and interests.  Design attractive calls to action and pay for placements.  The more interactive the ad, the more likely it is to be picked up.

2.     Offer discounts and coupons – The use of discounts and coupons never gets old.  Customers are always looking for opportunities to save money.  Post these offers to your social media pages but make them redeemable ‘online only’… This was you can track your online sales and quantify your online advertising spend.

3.     Finally, use influencers or customer testimonials to tell your product story – The best advertising a business can get is the testimony of its customers.  Even better is an influencer confirming his use of your product and testifies to its attributes.  Invest in videos that may be used both online and offline to archive these stories.  Telling these stories will influence customer purchasing decisions and thereby affect the sales bottom-line.

A social media programme will only work if there is a strategy to engage the legions of fans that the business

attracts.  There must be a programme to understand the relationship between online engagement and the

business’s bottom line.

Is Customer Loyalty dead?

It is no secret that some of the more recognized brands that we enjoy today were built largely on customer loyalty.  Customer loyalty occurs in a business when a customer consistently receives a positive experience during the purchase and use of a product. 

This loyalty then fuels that customer to share his experience resulting in repeat and referral sales for the business.  This increases the business’s customer retention capacity and hence allows the company to experience profits.

But with so many competing customer priorities; is customer loyalty dead?  According to the research company, Access Development, while customer loyalty is not dead, it is definitely not what it used to be. 

Customer loyalty is affected by several shifts in the consumer market.  Firstly, there is a proliferation of brands with claims to do every imaginable thing to satisfy the consumer market.  Then there are other factors such as price and convenience, customer service and relationships, customer rewards and the business’s reputation which also affects customer loyalty.

Customer loyalty is further affected by competing messages.  Customers are constantly bombarded with messages from multiple channels and multiple companies, claiming that they can do it better than their competition.

While these factors are important, the presence of customer loyalty in a business is mostly attributable to an effective marketing programme which is a combination of the factors previously mentioned as well as marketing activities including social media, various promotional activities as well as both traditional and non-traditional advertising. 

To legitimize the brand story, customer testimonials may also be incorporated.  Potential customers tend to believe existing customers when they help to tell the brand’s story.  This also helps to build the brand’s reputation.  Rewards too are a significant factor to ensuring customer loyalty.  As long as the customer feels appreciated, loyalty is almost guaranteed.