How to Use Social Media to Boost Sales

As the world becomes more reliant on social media channels, we spend hours of our day scrolling, clicking, sharing, and liking. Due to high visibility and shareability, social media posts are now an instrumental element of marketing campaigns for businesses. Posts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social sites offer brands the opportunity to reach a wide audience, while providing informative content.

With so many social channels available, developing a social media marketing campaign might feel overwhelming. Here are our top tips on how to use social media to boost sales and increase brand awareness.

Conduct Customer Research

Find an Effective Schedule

Before you start creating content, it’s important to develop a general schedule for posts. This will involve some market research about what time of day is most popular for your target audience. Track when old posts were published, and note engagement levels to determine when future content should be shared. Having a schedule eliminates the anxiety about when to post content, so you can focus on other elements of your social campaign.

Use the Channels Your Customers Use

Pay attention to where your target audience is most active online. With so many social channels to choose from, different customer demographics may prefer one social site over another. For example, Facebook isn’t as popular among Gen Z and Millennial consumers, whereas Instagram and TikTok have high engagement rates. If you’re hoping to engage decision makers at target client companies, the best place to start is LinkedIn.

Prioritize Brand Awareness

Social media’s biggest asset is the ability to reach a large customer base with a single post. This helps your business develop brand awareness across new target audiences. Brand-oriented posts on social media rely on cohesive aesthetic and consistent messaging.

A few brand boosting tips include:

  • Using brand specific hashtags on every post.
  • Choosing usernames that link to your brand.
  • Selecting quality cover photos and profile pictures.

Additionally, you can use sites like LinkedIn to promote brand awareness among other industry professionals. LinkedIn allows you to create industry-focused groups where likeminded professionals contribute ideas to message boards, make introductions, and chat.

Utilize Social Media Content Creators to Boost Sales

Partner With Influencers

Influencers are a fantastic resource for sharing your products with new audiences and educating prospective buyers about the benefits of your brand. A study done by Twitter and Annalect found that “nearly 40% of Twitter users say they’ve made a purchase as a direct result of a Tweet from an influencer.” Other sites like Instagram provide ideal platforms for influencers posting images or short videos displaying products.

Share User-Generated Content

Sharing customer generated content is another effective way to demonstrate the real-life benefits your product has to offer. Most customers turn to reviews before making a purchase, which is why sharing genuine customer reviews or photos is a fantastic way to promote your brand. This builds a sense of trust in the quality of your products and encourages customers to invest for themselves.

Promote Buyable Posts

Instead of exclusively offering your products through your website, take advantage of shoppable posts on Instagram and Pinterest. Shoppable posts allow you to add product description tags including price and product details. From there, customers are able to directly add a product to their shopping cart and complete the checkout process with just a few clicks.

Engage Your Customers

Customers should feel enticed to interact with the products they see advertised online. This is why social media marketing needs to go above and beyond information-based posts and influencer content. Creating a way for customers to directly interact with your brand is one of the most effective strategies to gain interest and convert sales.

Engaging content might include elements like:

  • Quizzes
  • Surveys
  • Special Offers
  • Flash Sales

You can also promote engagement through microcontent shared on platforms like Snapchat and TikTok. Microcontent focuses primarily on brief, lighthearted posts like video clips, infographics, and short demos.

Master Social Media Advertising to Boost Sales

Utilizing social media marketing is essential for running a competitive business in 2022. Partnering with an outsourced sales and marketing company like Acquirent can help you master social marketing and develop a growth-oriented business plan. At Acquirent we provide personalized marketing strategies tailored to meet your company’s needs. Contact us today to get started with your initial consultation.