Conducting social media can effectively support sales and there is no doubt about that. However, achieving good results requires that you devote attention and time to your social media. If your company’s goal is to optimise conversions from social media channels, check if you’re not making one of the 10 mistakes that will undercut it.
Social selling – what is it?
Social selling is a sales technique that involves using social media to achieve sales goals. At the core of the technique is building relationships with existing and potential customers to increase brand trust and result in generating leads or closing sales.
The social selling technique reduces the need for sales and marketing departments to search for customers themselves and is used across all popular social media including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
What impact does running social media have on conversions?
Companies have social media profiles for a reason – they are there to support sales. In fact, social media is an excellent tool for this purpose, especially since social selling is linked to another phenomenon: social buying. Social buying is all about making purchasing decisions based on the information you find on social media profiles. According to the data, up to 75% of B2B customers use social media before making a purchase decision.
Meanwhile, a study on the US market shows that in 2019, as many as 72% of all customers used social media to learn about new products, of which as many as 36% made a decision and purchased a product or service directly through social media.
Additionally, data reported by LinkedIn shows that 78% of salespeople who are active on social media sell more than their peers who don’t use it. As you can see, there is a huge amount of sales potential in social media, so you really should take advantage of it. However, poor fanpage management may negate sales opportunities and even reduce sales. Find out the 10 most common mistakes made when running social media profiles which reduce conversion and… avoid them!
1 Buying subscribers and likes
While buying likes and followers seems like a quick way to boost your company’s social media profile, it’s a procedure that can result in significantly lower conversions. The bought observers are bots or people from developing countries and they have no sales potential for your business. Not only are they unable to buy any product or service, they negatively impact your account rating.
Accounts where the site’s algorithm detects spikes in followers or likes are less likely to be shown to users by the site. This is called a “shadowban”, which means that the profile will not be blocked, but the social network will significantly reduce its reach or make it impossible to be found by a search engine. Your social media service is not informed about the shadowban, but it is a punishment for violating the rules of the portal.
Such actions of social networks are aimed at rewarding profiles where real communities are built, so it is better to have fewer observers and systematically develop your channel than fight with the rules of the service.
2 Too many and unmatched hashtags
Hashtags are phrases that are preceded by a cross “#” sign. They are intended to assign posts according to relevant topics and thus make them quicker for users to find.
The vast majority of social networks prefer a small number of hashtags that are closely related to the material being published. Even Instagram, which until recently allowed around 30 tags, has introduced such changes.
Each social media post should contain only a few, preferably 1-5 hashtags, and their content should correspond exactly to what is described in the post or what the photo presented shows.
Properly chosen hashtags have a very good impact on the number of times a post is viewed. Twitter, for example, recommends only 1-2 hashtags, but this increases the chance of a post being shared by up to 55% compared to posts without tags. Inserting hashtags according to the recommendations of a specific social network can definitely help to increase post impressions, the account itself and to optimise conversions.
3. Not replying to messages and comments
Messages from users should not go unanswered. If someone has chosen to write to your company, it means they may be interested in buying or looking for a solution to a problem. This applies to both private messages and comments under posts.
Leaving questions unanswered can discourage a customer from coming to your business or making a purchase. On the other hand, lonely messages hanging in the comments section will give the impression that the profile is not properly managed and that the company is not interested in its customers. Meanwhile, posts from accounts that communicate efficiently and actively with their users are more likely to be seen by users. This in turn can translate into more visitors and better conversion optimisation.
4. Off-topic posts
In addition to content about their company, some social media profiles share personal views or musings with their followers. Writing about political or religious topics or inserting funny pictures will not bring your company new sales. Remember that people who have liked your profile are there because they want to be kept up to date with information from your company. Other content doesn’t interest them and can lead to arguments in the comments. Social media is a place where you can not only find recognition for your business, but also easily discourage your audience. Keep this in mind when running Facebook.
Distracting users from focusing on your business is not a good idea. When creating posts, focus on making them about your company, your products or services and the industry you are in. All other topics can only serve to worsen conversions.
5. Arguing with users or competitors
One of the worst social media mistakes is behaving rudely towards your users or competitors. Getting into quarrels is an unforgivable mistake, which may turn off many recipients of your company and even result in “mass” attacks of Internet users – it is definitely better not to upset them.
Of course, running a fanpage in a professional way is difficult: if a customer encountered some unpleasantness or the service or product did not work properly, he or she may write about it in a public comment. These are not pleasant situations, but even if the customer is not right, you should not criticise them, but try to resolve the conflict. Polite answers are usually enough.
At the same time, it is bad to write about your competitors, even more so in a negative way. Posts and comments are not the place for having an argument.
6. No publication schedule
Running Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn requires diligence. Profiles that are not maintained regularly are less likely to be suggested in organic search results. In this way, you can very easily harm your social profiles and reduce conversions. However, the solution is to prepare a publication schedule in advance and strictly follow it.
Additionally, pay attention to what times your subscribers are most active. Some groups prefer to browse social media first thing in the morning, over breakfast or on the bus on their way to work, while others are much more likely to browse late in the evening after completing all their obligations.
7. Running profiles where your buyers do not belong
Your company has mastered running social media almost to perfection – you have a profile on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. All in order to reach as many users as possible. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, not all portals support sales to varying degrees.
This is completely normal, as companies should not at all maintain profiles in all available channels. If a medium does not bring sales leads, it is probably not used by the target group of your industry. For example, completely different users will use Twitter and Tik Tok than Facebook and LinkedIn. For this reason, social media should be limited to channels through which you can reach potential customers.
8. Focusing too much on sales
Do you regularly add posts to your company profile, but get little to no response? Perhaps you are focusing too much on sales. Successful social selling is not about showering your customers with information about your products or services. Usually, internet users browse social media to relax or to see something interesting. Advertising posts are definitely not something that will attract many subscribers to your profile. Posting information about e.g. a promotion from time to time is fine, but the content should consist mainly of messages that are interesting for the customers.
9. Communication not adapted to the needs of customers
We’re nearing the end of the list, but after reading so far you’ve come to the conclusion that your company’s social media handle is pretty decent. Matching hashtags, actively responding to comments and creating unique content is your company’s daily bread. However, there is one very serious mistake that many businesses unknowingly make. The language they use to communicate with customers shows the company’s point of view first and foremost.
The language emphasises professionalism, experience or credibility, and while these are important aspects, potential customers want to read about things that concern them. They want to read about solving their problems and satisfying their needs. This is the key to effective communication and better conversion optimisation from social media. Every time you create content to publish, try to look at it through the eyes of a third party. Is it information that would make you buy? Let’s give a simple example. If you are looking for a hairdressing service, you are more likely to be convinced by the message:
“Our hair salon has been around for 20 years and we use the best certified beauty products. Call us for a professional service”,
or maybe
“Make an appointment at our salon. We will discuss your requirements and assess the condition of your hair. We guarantee satisfaction with your haircut or your money back”.
The first message only talks about the advantages of the salon, while the second one helps to solve the problem and, at the same time, confirms its professionalism through a possible refund.
10. Failure to optimise your website or landing page for mobile devices
If social media is not your main sales tool, you probably redirect many posts or campaigns to your website or sales landing page. However, you need to remember that most people browse social media on mobile devices. If the website you are targeting is not properly optimised for these devices, you will lose a lot of potential customers. Most web users are used to the convenience of mobile equivalents of websites, and there is little chance that they will want to shop on a site that doesn’t work properly.
Check as soon as possible how your company’s website looks on smartphones and tablets. If it doesn’t look or work very well, then look for an interactive agency to help you adapt your site for mobile devices.
Social media can sell!
Not everyone believes that social media really sells. However, we are convinced because we have successfully managed our clients’ profiles and implemented many successful social media sales campaigns. So if you are wondering how to run your company’s social media and are looking for an agency to develop your profile, write to us and take advantage of a free quote.
