How to sell on social media? The question is not trivial and the answer risks misleading social media managers. Because when it comes to platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the thought immediately goes to viral combinations that could, in some way, help you monetize.
And so it is, without a doubt. But the starting point is always what’s upstream: what can I do to improve the process that leads me to make money online. Or rather, do I expect social media to sell me or am I already doing something to activate this process? If you expect Facebook to do the miracle – perhaps with zero investment – you are out of the way. Seriously, it doesn’t work that way.
You have to focus on inbound marketing
Social media, remaining in a logic of inbound marketing and without falling into the classic interruption that tends to become spam, serve to attract attention to content that can be useful to the user. By turning the fan or follower into a potential customer. Can this be done in an automated way?
No, there is always a need for human wisdom, the touch of those who know the tools of the trade and know how to reach and whom to intercept. So how to sell on social media? We try to identify a general and valid path for different realities, not just for Facebook or Instagram.
Start working on audience retention
The real secret to increasing Facebook visibility and Instagram followers? Do you want to have more opportunities to sell on social networks? Make individuals happy to come back to your channels. You have to create habits, you have to feed an audience that is loyal to your brand.
Gain the trust of whoever you want to approach. To sell on social networks you have to use the right channels: you push commercial contents with advertising, but you reach the audience and you retain them over time with quality content. Maybe not necessarily yours but linked to the interest of those you want to reach.
This is why the link with content curation is important. And a tool can help you find new ideas every day to be included in the editorial calendar of your social channels.
Advertising (ADV) is a useful reference
It is impossible to make a sales speech on social networks if you do not focus on advertising, that is the ADV that is made available by the various platforms. Sure, a lot can be done with conversation and audience engagement but you know that increasing organic reach is difficult when pushing commercial content. In these cases you have to think in terms of investment.
The idea of arriving in the world of social media with the typical perspective of those who want (without giving anything) does not work. I’m not talking about taking a leap in the dark, putting money on the counter and hoping: this happens if you move without a professional by your side. How to sell on social media? By setting up advertising campaigns designed for this, based on data analysis and observation.
Take Facebook as an example: it is one of the finest ways to transform the social world into a source of online sales. This applies to Instagram, also owned by the social blue. Here everything is designed to create functional and efficient advertising, but you must have an ADV expert to make sure that the sales arrive. By optimizing the much-acclaimed ROI, the return on investment.
Don’t forget the conversion
A point that I want to deepen: all the advertising in the world will not help you sell if a suitable page for conversions is missing. Social media can push audiences to a resource, landing page, or listing. But if you haven’t worked hard with the tests you are proceeding blindly. You don’t sell because the web page is unsuitable, but at the same time you invest a lot in advertising. It’s a real contradiction, don’t you think?
I think so. So always give space to this point. How to sell on social media? Maximizing the focus on the dynamics of the various platforms, but paying attention to what is hidden behind the link left on social networks. An ineffective landing page does not do justice to a good SMM plan. A plan that can require demanding investments.
Here’s the secret weapon: retargeting
Retargeting (remarketing) is the real revolution for selling online. Do you know what it is? Take Facebook as an example. You need to add a tracking code, known as a pixel, to your ecommerce.
In this way the people who arrive on the site are observed, when they leave without buying there is advertising that intercepts with a studied message. Trying to persuade to buy what was left unfinished. This is a very effective online sales strategy, but you have to take care of two steps that I believe are decisive in this case:
- The risk of becoming annoying is high.
- You have to take care of the privacy of the public.
True, remarketing works because it tends to show targeted advertisements. Designed for those who had already expressed an interest in a product. How to sell on social media ? This is a good way, but respect for the customer must always be at the base.
Don’t forget chats and messaging
A new front is advancing, ever more compact and cohesive: that of the conversation that takes advantage of dark social networks. That is to say the platforms that do not make the content visible, and that in some way re-mediate the old idea of chat. By amplifying its potential and transforming the one-to-one interaction into something to expand to what the individual needs. Ecommerce too, that’s clear.