How to use social media platforms and influencer marketing to boost sales

You may be wondering why digital marketing is so hot nowadays and think that you can make it the old-fashioned way, without using influencers and urging people to like and share your posts.

You may even be trying to use word-of-mouth marketing, the old-fashioned way: A make-up artist will do someone’s make-up and that someone will suggest another someone and then another someone and so on and so forth.

This would’ve worked about two decades ago more or less, but today, this is one surefire way to fail. And, it will have nothing to do with your talent or your professionalism.

In the digital day and age, what is increasingly important is knowing how you use digital trends and what kind of presence you have on social media.

This may sound complicated, but let me give you a couple of tips that will help you make the best out of your online presence while implementing influencer marketing, for better reach.

 

Let’s begin with social media

First, you need to have a little brainstorming session with your team to determine your goals and the reasons why your business needs to boost sales through social media. Is it because, well, it was about time you did that? Or is it maybe because you don’t have the conversion rate you would’ve liked?

After that, consider: What are your buyer personas? What is your target audience? Why do they like you better than someone else?

These key questions will help you make sure to:

  1. Understand what your existing customers are like, what kind of money they make, what their day-to-day needs are and, eventually, how much time they spend on social media.
  2. Know what kind of reach to expect, when it comes to growing your audience through social media marketing and what kind of platform would be the best for you.

The platform your target audience uses is the platform you need to use and on which you need to be more active. Take a look at this example:

 


(Source)

 

According to the graph above, Snapchat and Instagram are the primary social media platforms for young adults in the US. Therefore, if your target audience is between 18-24 years of age, in the US, then these may be the platforms for you.

 

After determining the platform, make sure to follow these easy steps:

1. Content, content, content

What is your brand? What kind of colors does it use? Is the tone serious, business-like and formal, or is it fun, youthful, and upbeat? What is the message you’d like to send and what kind of solutions can your brand propose?

Essentially: Why should someone trust you and not someone else?

These are the key questions that your content needs to answer each and every time; the core of your social media posts.

Determining the answers to these questions will not only set you apart, seeing as the brand’s tone will be unique but it will also, through a coherent, unchanging message, build trust and familiarity.

This will also help you create new content for your posts, seeing as you’ll know, more or less, what the look and feel should be.

 

Oh and be cautious about one other thing: Don’t make your posts sound like a sales pitch. Rather, make your content seem like something a friend would say, in an attempt to suggest a product or a service.

Kind of similar to the movie quote: “If you build it, they will come”.

 

2. Leverage email marketing

There is not much to be said about the marketing tactic to end marketing tactics (or almost). Email marketing generates revenue in an outstanding manner and can promote your social media platform(s) as well as your brand, and even get you more leads through referral marketing, just by adding a small share button like this:

 

 

Make sure to invest in an email marketing software (like Moosend) that will do the job for you, when you need to send out that confirmation email or when you need to entice and get your name out there.

And, make sure your social media links are located at the bottom of your email and are clickable (and leading to the correct social media platform), just in case one of your customers needs to see more of you and hasn’t had the chance (or hasn’t thought of it) yet.

 

3. Post regularly

Of course, what “regularly” means, depends completely on the platform and your target audience. For example, Twitter is mostly about multiple tweets a day, whereas Facebook doesn’t need to be overused.

However, until you manage to get everything right and on point, and really analyze the reaction of your audience and how you can make the most of these and earn conversion, once a week is enough to remain relevant without wearing people out.

Once you see that your content is considered to be of value and is shared here and there, work it up to twice a week, then three times per week, up to the point where you’ll manage to post as frequently as possible and will every time get it just right.

Also, by having a posting schedule, you will train your followers on when to expect to see one of your posts. This is very common amongst brands that favor YouTube over other platforms.

Finally, don’t get too fussy when it comes to going through with a post. Practice makes perfect – just plan and shoot and you’ll definitely get the hang of it much faster than you’d think!

 

Onto influencer marketing

You’d expect that influencer marketing wouldn’t be a separate part, but it’s a whole different tool on its own. And, a fast-growing one at that.

 

(Source)

 

How could it not be? Since the very beginning of trade itself, people were looking around for suggestions on what to buy.

Now, imagine a public figure telling you that this shampoo is perfect for your hair. Oh, and this public figure has fantastic hair by the way, even in paparazzi shots. Wouldn’t you, as a customer, want to buy the shampoo?

Influencers in general, are not influencers without their followers. This can guarantee an audience that will, in a worst-case scenario, see the product organically and not reject it due to a sales-y or bait-y post. The best-case scenario is for the product to be purchased because they saw value in it.

The good thing with influencers is the fact that their followers chose to follow them because they admire them or their work – in most cases and not all, of course. There are also cases where the followers are either bought or the followers themselves are into this just for the free goodies, but that’s a whole other case.

Influencer marketing is something that can turn out to be an excellent workaround, when it comes to those blasted social media algorithms that don’t really favor businesses, unless there’s a sponsored ad on the way.

 

Now, how can you make influencer marketing work in your favor?

 

1. Pick the right one

Not only do you have to pick the right influencer, content and audience-wise, you’ll also need to determine what you need them for.

There are a whole different bunch of categories when it comes to influencers:

There are micro-influencers, with a small but highly targeted audience. Their work is more cost-effective, their audience is not as large as you’ll need but it will be just the crowd you need. However, you’ll need to collaborate with one or two to get more reach.

There are macro-influencers, the crème de la crème when it comes to social media marketing, but not the ones with whom you’ll be able to collaborate easily, or have the budget for. Macro-influencers have more than one million followers, kind of like Huda Kattan of Huda Beauty or Nikkie De Jager of NikkieTutorials.

Macro-influencers could be celebrities-turned-insta-sensation. Whatever the case, macros have the biggest audience, and are trendsetters, but their audience is not targeted and they cost way too much.

Macro-influencers could get you pretty viral, pretty fast. But this doesn’t mean that you’d be able to remain viral, seeing as their audience is not targeted and, therefore, not loyal.

And then, there’s the ideal solution: Medium-sized influencers. More expensive than macros, more audience than micros, as targeted as needed and at a good price, they’re more or less the ideal option, most of the times.

Just check what your main audience would follow and which influencer they’d trust for their purchases and make them an offer.

 

2. Run a contest

Who doesn’t love a promotional contest and a prize? Go forth with a giveaway on social media. Encourage your followers to share and like your post, include your website link on the post, and tag the influencer while you’re at it (have them tag you as well).

That way, the influencer’s followers won’t break a sweat in order to find your social media profile to check it out and to follow the steps you propose in order to win what you’re giving away.

Whether they win or not, a giveaway will make users follow your social media accounts and be on the lookout for any more giveaways or freebies you might have.

Ask the participants to tag a friend or two for maximum reach and your contest/giveaway will be a huge success, so long as you follow a few more steps as well.

 

3. Leverage testimonials

If social proof works for user generated content, imagine what a testimonial through an influencer can do for you.

Testimonials, in general, make the general audience trust in your brand and its skills. And, influencers do the same exact thing. So, if you combine those two, your audience is most likely to believe that your product and/or service actually work.

 

4. Hashtags and CTAs are important

Don’t think that you’re set with only partnerships and giveaways. Like I mentioned before, content is important.

Study the influencers’ hashtags, create your own, and try to be as faithful as possible to your brand’s tone and the influencer’s tone (as an influencer is a brand all on their own).

Furthermore, your CTAs (call-to-action) should follow the same tactic, as well as your contest guidelines. Simple for small prizes, complicated (not too much) for larger prizes. You’ll need something that will draw just enough attention to your brand, without ending up in a blunder.

Don’t be too cryptic. Some hashtags like #contest #giveaway and of course #brandname will do, as well as some CTAs like “Enter now” or “Don’t miss a chance to win”.

 

Takeaway

Influencers and social media platforms are exactly what a brand needs, when it comes to boosting sales and achieving goals. However, influencer marketing and social media marketing, while powerful, are but short-term tools. Therefore, looking forward to long lasting growth for social media is essential. Surely there are many platforms to which you can subscribe. Finding a suitable social media and growth tool would be very much crucial for your business growth. For instance, LinkedIn is a great platform for any kind of online business and growth tools like Dux-soup or other alternatives might help you grow faster.

If you manage to combine those two with the long-term tool, email marketing, you’ll definitely see your conversion rate skyrocket!

So, what say you? Is there another tactic you’ve been using? Tell us in the comments below and don’t forget to share it with your favorite marketer!

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