Running a successful online business involves more than just selling products and services and consistently publishing blog content.
In fact, it won’t matter how great your online shop is if no one visits your site and buys from you. That’s why taking the time to promote your website and using social media is important.
Social media has the power to increase your brand awareness, help you reach a broader audience base, convince people to take action, and help you establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
In fact, during the interview of Russell Ruffino, founder, and CEO of Clients on Demand, he mentioned that one of the most insightful things that CEOs can learn is how the consumers are now shifting from the information economy to the transformation economy.
He points out that smart CEOs realize that their customers don’t want more content, they want transformation. He even mentions how they’ve seen more audiences move from using Google search results into consuming visual content via social media.
When you consider how Russell’s company was Inc. 500’s 186th at one point, you know the advice is worth considering.
That being said, if you want to increase your web traffic, get better conversions, and boost your online sales, then you need to start giving the social media platforms far more attention.
Here’s how you can use social media to improve your online sales.
1. Optimize Your Social Media Posts
You may not realize this, but you can perform keyword research for your social media posts, just like how you’d optimize your WooCommerce shop’s product pages.
Performing keyword research for your social media posts will let you:
- Understand user intent
- Gauge market interest for products and service
- Discover where you can engage with your target audience
- Learn about social media search queries
- Track industry trends
Knowing which search terms that relate to your business are trending right now will help you craft your social media posts to have the most effectiveness.
That said, you can always use basic keyword research strategies to help you get started. For example, you can use Ubersuggest to find out whether your target keyword is popular.
You’ll also find keyword alternatives and websites that are already ranking for those terms to get more ideas, which can be used to create engaging social media messages.
When you create a social media post, add keywords into the message to help your posts appear for people that might be interested in what you have to offer.
In addition, follow these best practices:
- Use keywords that the average person might type into a search box
- Use your keywords in photo captions
- Include keywords in the message description that links back to your site
- Add keywords to your “About” section if you have one to
Grabbing the attention of people scrolling through their social media is easier to do when you highlight keywords that mean something to them. Monitoring your keywords is also important. With the use of social media monitoring tools such as Onclusive, it can give you an idea of the latest social trends that could be crucial to your business.
2. Go Visual
People are visual by nature and typically like to stop and check out social media posts that have great imagery on them. Because of this, you should always add an image or more to your social media posts.
Using a free online tool like Canva makes this easy to do because they have social media-specific templates you can use to create one-of-a-kind images your followers will love.
Once you choose a template you like, you can customize it to match your brand. For instance, change font styles, add icons, switch the colors, and even add your own images to replace the default ones.
Adding visual elements to your social media posts makes them more engaging and eye-catching.
This helps people notice you among all other posts and entices them to check you out.
3. Engage with Followers
Your followers want to know you after more than just their money when you post to their social media feeds. And it just so happens that social media offers you the perfect opportunity to engage with both loyal followers and potential customers.
Show your followers that you care about their questions and concerns by answering them directly in your social media posts. Direct them to your customer support team, relevant blog content, and any other resources they might find helpful. In addition, you can do the following to help with follower interactions:
Join Social Media Groups
By joining social media groups, you can find out what’s trending, discover keywords and hashtags, and engage with those that are already interested in your industry.
You can also post your own original content, share industry professional content your followers might enjoy, and establish a network online that will help you boost conversions.
Work With an Influencer
Influencers on social media can leverage their large followings and not only promote your brand to others, but engage with people that need or want what you have to offer.
Plus, they can direct them to your site to convert as a subscriber or customer.
For help finding influencers in your industry, use a tool like Phlanx.
Just type in the influencer that you’re interested in working with and see how many followers they have, the average number of interactions their posts have, and what their engagement rate is.
This tool tells you whether the influencer is involved enough with their own audience to make recommendations of your brand to them.
4. Create Captivating Headlines
As people scroll through their social media feeds, the one thing that makes them stop is a compelling headline. It piques their interest and makes them want to know more.
To find the perfect headline for your social media posts, check out the free CoSchedule Headline Analyzer.
You’ll receive a headline score, view previews of your headline, and have the chance to adjust it to become more captivating so people.
This way, poeple will not only read your social media post but click and visit your site with the intention of converting.
Here are some quick best practices to follow when crafting the perfect social media headline:
- Use numbers because headline with numbers are the most clicked on in social media
- Create headlines with 5-9 words, so you don’t overwhelm people scanning their feeds
- Use negative headlines if you really want to capture people’s attention (e.g., use words like “Never” and “Worst”)
Just like you would your blog post’s content, focusing on your social media headlines is a great way to improve click through rates and boost conversions on your site.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it! Some of the best ways to use social media to your advantage when trying to skyrocket your online business sales. Running an online business takes a lot of time and effort if you want to be successful.
However, tapping into easy, yet, effective social media marketing strategies and tools can help you accomplish great things online. If there are questions, strategies, or ideas that you’d like to share, please do so in the comments section below. Cheers!
