BIG MISTAKE: Does this scenario sound similar to you? You’ve been on social media for a long time, pouring your time and energy into creating content that’s not really getting you “anything”.
And by anything you mean sales, don’t you?
There are a few big mistakes business owners make when it comes to social media and wanting sales from their efforts, which I’ll break down in this blog.
It is the number one gripe with business owners I speak with all over the world. They are on social media all the time, they are “everywhere” but in reality, they are not getting the results they desire versus the time and energy (and not to mention money) they put in.
If this is an issue you are having trouble with, read on!
Another area people find challenging is the type of content they need to put out there, which includes having some sales content. Many people don’t know this.
From there, I always hear the words, “but I don’t want to be annoying or seem salesy”.
So let’s delve deeper into these areas and some other mistakes people make when it comes to social media selling and being rewarded for your efforts with more sales.
Plus, we will look at people’s purchasing beliefs and I want to give you some easy ideas to implement to get more traction for your social media content.
You really can make your social media content work for you so you get everything you want from it to reach your business goals.
5 big mistakes business owners make when it comes to social media and sales
- Think they will be annoying, pushy or salesy
- Don’t think it’s appropriate to “sell” on social media
- Don’t know what content to put out there to sell
- Don’t tell people what they want them to do after reading their post
- Believe it doesn’t work – so they stop doing it
Now, there are plenty of others, but these are the ones I know many people I speak with have trouble with, so let’s focus on them.
- Think you will be annoying, pushy or salesy
It’s incredible how many times I hear this, but if you think about it, if you are just having a casual conversation with someone and it comes up that you have something of value to them and they buy from you … is that being salesy, annoying or pushy?
Rarely does being pushy work when it comes to sales on any platform, and yes, it’s true that if you keep being salesy with your content you will be seen as annoying to your audience and they will distance themselves from you.
So how do you get around it?
Just be yourself and have a conversation with people. Treat social like it’s meant to be “social”. I’m sure you have heard that before, but it’s the simplest thing you can do. Stop pushing your products and services on to people and just start talking about who you are, what you do and why you love it.
People will then be naturally drawn to you and want to know more about what you do.
- You don’t think it’s appropriate to “sell” on social media
You’re right, in some instances it’s not appropriate but the social media landscape is changing and it’s becoming more socially acceptable to “sell”.
There are plenty of opportunities for you to “sell” and “promote” in groups and with certain hashtags. So use those opportunities for your “salesy” content. Other than that, I am a big believer in just putting out really valuable content.
Again, even your “sales content” needs to show people some value. Transparency is key here. So if you have an offer, service or product you want to share, just be open about it and your intentions. Unless you are paying for advertising on the social platforms, then my recommendation is to always keep it fun, social and informative, even if you are “selling” something.
And let’s be honest, if you are in business you have to be selling something, right?!
- You don’t know what content to put out there
Ding, ding, ding! It’s the hottest topic on business owners lips! What do I write about? You know I love inspirational quotes and that’s because they are so relatable and shareable. So why not include that in your framework for social media content.
Other great forms of content include asking questions, sharing blog posts or podcast episodes, sharing other people’s content, sharing facts, statistics and even just your everyday life and your own personal stories.
When you can combine your two lives – personal and business – together on social media, your audience gets a really good idea about you and it builds trust quickly.
You also must have an element of sales content in there. If you’re still unsure about this move, why don’t you use the 80-20 rule for life! Share amazing content 80 per cent of the time, and sales/offers/events/services/products 20 per cent of the time.
- You don’t tell people what they want them to do next
Get ready to write this down … because this a gold nugget. You need a call to action on your social media posts. Always. Let’s talk more about this.
When you are putting yourself out there and sharing your life, business and offers, one of the things I notice people forget to do is actually direct their audience into the next steps.
This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make and one of the reasons you won’t be getting any sales from your content.
It’s not enough to just say you have a program that will help and not give people the chance the look at it in more depth because you think you’ll be annoying, pushy or salesy!
You have to make it very easy for them to take the next steps with you.
Now even if you are sharing lifestyle content, your call to action can be engagement based, so ask a question at the end. Something very simple like, “does this ever happen to you?”. This promotes the fact that you want people to talk back to you so you can converse – and they will.
- You believe it doesn’t work – so you stop doing it
Sadly, this is a very common belief and mistake many business owners make. They believe that it’s not going to work and so it doesn’t. Our mindset is very important in the scheme of things on social media.
You must stay positive and upbeat, you must celebrate the new followers and engagement often and stay open to the fact that it does work and it can work for you.
What happens though is that people have been trying to crack the social media code to get the sales for what they perceive is a long time and right before it’s about to happen, they stop it and say it doesn’t work.
Social media is a long game, and like the Lotto, you have to be in it to win it and you must post consistently everyday so you are seen by your audience regularly.
Want to know how to increase sales via social media?
Ok, let’s get you 10 tips on how to do this more easily with some implementable ideas to use also.
1. Firstly, know the right platform to use.Not all platforms are created equal and not all of them will serve you. Before you think of “going on social media”, it is important to know the right platform for your target market. Where are your people hanging out?
2. Establish yourself.
Having a strong presence online (all areas, website, blog and videos too) will help you cement yourself as the guru, authority or expert (whatever you like to call yourself!). You must be yourself in order to create a trustworthy persona to engage your audience. Share information about yourself in the first few instances before you go in “selling” straight away. Get to know people and get to know what they are looking for (so you know how to help them).
3. Connect with people on a personal level. Use stories! and build solid relationships with people. They may not buy from you but they may become your biggest referral source.
4. Post often and be consistent with it.Every day would be great, but generally 3-4 times a week will work for you too.
5. Use your hashtags. People use these to search for new topics and people. They are powerful. If you haven’t started using these on LinkedIn, now is the time.If you are launching a product or service or you are having a sale, have a special hashtag so all of your posts are grouped together.
6. Have a sale… or offer a reduced rate on a product.
7. Do a giveaway. This will promote new leads and is a way for your to sell more products or qualify people for your programs or services.
8. Have a free eBook or piece of content– and a link for people to download it
9. Ask people to tag a friend or anyone who would be interested in your offer/product or service.
10. New offer – do a two-for-one or a “bring a friend for free” offer. Try and think of new things you haven’t done before that will capture people and get them interested in you and what you have to offer
What to write in your content
- Talk about the pains people are having and how you can help them find pleasure.
- Give them a reason to want to work with you … this will come in many form such as an offer, contribution, story and so on. You will need to know what triggers your audience to buy.
- Talking about stories … share more of them!
- What have you got that’s new? People love new things!
- Show you care and ask for their opinion. Even ask for feedback so you can the product better. People like to feel wanted.
- Have you got anything that will make people curious? Can you word your posts in a way that create curiosity? Using questions will work here.
These tips work across all social media accounts and platforms, and we have successfully been helping people do this for many years.
If you need help in that department, we have you covered.
Here are 4 ways we can help you accelerate your lead generation and social media sales results:
- Grab our free 4-Week LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Course
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- Work with our team privately
If you’d like to work directly with us to create new marketing opportunities send us a quick message Click here … tell us a little about your business and we’ll organise a time for a deeper chat
