SOCIAL NETWORKS INCREASE CONVERSION RATES

Could your website’s conversion rate do with a boost? But, have you considered if your social media is in the right place to make this happen?

Targetting the right type of traffic via social media can make all the difference when it comes to improving conversion rates. We all know that social media can have a big impact. But are you aware of how much of an impact your social media is having on your conversions? Is it really as simple as sharing images, or getting users to like your page? We’d like to delve a little deeper into the options available to businesses on social media. Then how these features can improve your conversion rates…

Create & share valuable content

It’s important to create content that your followers & audiences will find useful or inspiring. Many markets find themselves saturated, with multiple brands selling similar products. The differentiation- the brand itself. What the brand offers, is this tips, advice, inspiration, or answers to questions. Content is a great way of sharing information that your audience will find useful. For example, a  company that sells freshly made pasta, try sharing recipes, tips on cutting an onion, and advice on setting a table for a dinner table. All of this extra information provides your audience with information that is relevant to your product, but it isn’t all just about why your pasta is so great.

Analyse your Data

Data is your best friend. it’ll tell you what users are engaging with, what they react to, and what their interests are. Business profiles on most social media platforms will have a location where you can view ‘insights’ or ‘analytics’. Here you can view everything from when your audience is using the platform, to what kind of social post gets the most amount of shares. This gives you great insight into what kind of content works for your audience, and what to post more of. If you have a website.

Google Analytics is also a great tool for analysing what your website users are doing on your site. Here you can see what product pages get the most views, how users get into your website, plus much more. Once you have access to this data, it’s vital to use it. For example, you see that users are clicking through from a social post to a product on your website but 50% of users exit the website after viewing just this page. This could mean a few things: the price isn’t right, images are broken, the page is taking too long to load, there isn’t enough information on the page, or the website doesn’t work properly on mobile.

Avoid a Hard Sell

The end goal of any business is to make sales, this is what keeps the company going and the staff employed. However, the hard sell approach doesn’t work for many users. As mentioned above, it is important to give extra value to your customers, and avoid always posting ‘sales’ posts. For many businesses, it’s much more effective to create trust, and the sales will follow. But how do you create trust? Interact with customers, answer questions, be open with your content, share valuable content, ask for reviews, and be consistent…

Social sharing

When you make a purchase on Amazon, for example, the social sharing option is simple and it’s offered in a fun fashion too. “I just bought this!” Offering your customers the option of sharing purchases on social media is a very effective way to increase conversion. The buyer’s social connections will see their purchase, learn that their peers are shopping with you, and trustworthiness increases through word-of-mouth marketing. It’s also a great opportunity for you to add headlines that can attract new customers; adding information about special offers for instance can increase hits enormously.

Social Checkout

Having the option to checkout on social networks has become super popular, with Facebook, Instagram, and now TikTok having this feature. It’s a great way of showcasing a few products that relate to a specific topic in your social post. For example, you have a clothing business & you post about the upcoming festival season. You could create an Instant Experience on Facebook ads where you showcase festival clothing items e.g. wellies, shorts, sunglasses & sequin tops. TikTok now has the option of linking to products that are used in a video, which makes buying once seeing results quick and seamless.

Communicate & Create a Community

Whilst you may be a business, it’s important for many people to understand the people behind the business. People are more inclined to buy from other people because they tend to trust other people and build relationships with them easier than with businesses. It’s a great idea to introduce your team on social media & a little bit about them. We’re not on about where they went on holiday last, but what they do within your business, their favourite product maybe and possibly a fun fact about them. Many businesses also choose to answer questions on social media with a ‘name’, again this is another way of reinforcing the fact that there are people behind the businesses who are just like your customers.

When it comes to creating a community, it’s great to get involved. Whether this is simply by interacting with social posts, posting in local groups or going to local charity events, or offering your services to those who may be struggling with something. But don’t just think physically local, this could be an online community, people who are all interested in the same thing.

Make moving between touchpoints trackable

As mentioned above, data is your best friend when it comes to understanding how people are interacting with your business. Yes, it’s useful to understand what social posts get the most likes, but how does this relate to what these users do on your website? Tracking between touchpoints can help you to understand e.g. not only which social posts got the most likes, but how many users clicked through to your website, how long they spent on your website, whether they purchased and how much their order was. It’s this information can really help you to understand what to post on social media, and how this creates conversions.

Social log in

Social login is what makes users able to easily sign in or sign up to your website, app, or service through their social accounts; this means that users don’t need to bother creating separate accounts for their various places of interest; they can sign up or sign in via their Facebook account or their Twitter account or whatever social media they’re using at the time. Because most users of social networks have their accounts set to ensure they are always logged in, they don’t; need to remember passwords or mess about having new ones sent to them every time they want to visit a less oft used site, they can just get into it the way they first arrived…through their social networks.

The way in which your social login is offered up to your visitors is crucial in snagging conversions; a simple button asking users to log in or sign up through their Facebook account is far more attractive than an annoying-looking form. People don’t like forms; forms want information that people can’t always remember or don’t have to hand; they’re awkward and they take up too much precious time. Social login is as complicated as hitting one button…nice!

Want to know more?

Social media can be a powerful tool. It can create conversions, and even help to improve them further. But that’s when the features available to utilised and data is analysed to understand what works and what doesn’t when it comes to conversions.

Get in touch if you’d like to know more about how social networks can increase conversions…