If you are wanting your marketing effort on social media to get better leads, you need to understand the mindset of your prospect. “When you’re spreading your message on social media, the scenario is twisted. Your target audience hangs out on Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram and other platforms, because they are social. Users want to learn about the latest life happenings of their family members and friends. They want to see cute baby and cat pictures. And, they want to watch funny videos.
So, while they might have liked/followed your brand to stay current with your updates, they just aren’t in the mindset to press the ‘buy’ button or make a serious commitment to you or your cause or service. Social media, therefore, is essentially a means of brand exposure and a top of the funnel contender.
Don’t get frustrated and abandon these social media platforms because of this because it’s the fastest growing trend in the marketing world. It’s the biggest source of referral traffic for your messages that you can ever hope to achieve. If Facebook were a country, it would have the largest population in the world. It’s obvious “crack the code” and you will get better leads.
Whether your goal is to inform and educate followers, ignite fan passion and drive action, or simply delight audiences with an immersive content experience, social media is the perfect mechanism to reward your inner content creator. Bit by bit you can develop your influence because over time you can build a direct relationship with people who share your passion. You no longer have to go through an intermediary. Ultimately through the use of social media you can reach thousands of people who want to hear from you and engage with you.
With well over 1 billion active users of Facebook per month, There is a plethora of experts marketing the fact that they turn you into a Facebook pro. Perhaps you’re reading this thinking:”I am a Facebook expert. I know all there is to know about tagging, commenting and posting.What could you possibly have to tell me that I don’t already know?”
But with social media platforms constantly updating and announcing fancy new features, it’s easy to forget the basics. And even if you are personally ‘Facebook famous’ among your friends, there are a few key things to remember when creating content on behalf of a brand or organization in order to ensure you become a Million Dollar Influencer via your social media success.
1. Know your audience
Even though this is so obvious, and I am sure you have heard it a thousand times before, it is still the most important thing to consider when writing anything – not just social content.
2. Pay heed to your tone
Is your message known to be fun and cheeky, or formal and informative?
Does the audience want stats and numbers, or opinions and insight?
Are the majority of followers reading the posts via mobile phone?
Your tone needs to be the embodiment of your brand, tailored to each relevant context.
3. If you don’t have a picture then don’t bother to post – Well maybe not!
You can write the most interesting post, filled with fascinating stats and figures, but without an accompanying image many people will skim past it.
There’s a heap of free sources online with great, high-resolution images that don’t look like generic stock photos.
A good place to start is StockSnap.io. The images are usually free to use in any capacity, and many of them make a nice change from the standard stock photos often accompanying social content these days.
4. Video has come of age
Drone footage, DIY craft clips, fast motion cooking and other engaging videos are getting hundreds of thousands of views and likes.
Have you seen NIke’s Facebook page lately? It’s exclusively video posts.
You get the idea. Get on the bandwagon.
5. Timing needs to be sweet
Those of us with a personal Facebook account know that Sunday afternoon is the sweet spot. If you want 50 plus likes from your mates? Sunday afternoon is a great time to post.
6. Remember you rent your space on Facebook
This may sound obvious if you are looking to get better leads, but for the majority of us, the end goal actually isn’t to accumulate thousands of Facebook Likes and followers. The goal is to get your audience away from Facebook, and onto your list, or at your event, purchasing your product, visiting your website.
While growing your Facebook audience should be a tactic in your overall influence strategy, it’s important to remember that for the majority of brands and organizations, Facebook is simply a tool in achieving your wider goals, and at any time Facebook may change rules or algorithms to your detriment.
Remember to include links back to your website and clear calls to action directing people onto your list.
7. Reuse, rephrase and recycle
So, you’ve written a fantastic Facebook post accompanied with a great image and a link back to your website. You got really high engagement – lots of comments and shares.
Job done, right? Wrong.
Always ask yourself if your content can be reused. Could it be turned into a blog post for your website? Can your media release be broken up into several great Facebook posts and tweets? Can your top performing Facebook posts for the recent month help you to draft compelling eDM content?
Your success on Facebook can be a useful measure in what a wider audience may be interested in. What about other Social Media? Could some of your Facebook content be tweaked, padded out and posted on LinkedIn? Could your LinkedIn post be shortened and tweeted? Reuse, reword, rephrase, recycle across all your social media platforms.
Keep all of this in mind and I am sure your efforts on Facebook will help you get better leads. If you are looking how to do the same with Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube CLICK HERE to get a copy of The Million Dollar Influencer.
