Social media advertising has witnessed a massive boom in recent years. It’s almost impossible now to search for a product and not see it follow you with sponsored ads across every platform. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat — all the major players are using your information to serve highly relevant ads based on your interactions. When targeting aligns with demographics, social media marketing can become a very powerful thing — a thing that can leave your business with a lot of money in the bank.
So, we should be marketing all the time, right? Not necessarily. While promoting and selling your services over social media can help your business, it can also cast your brand in a negative light if you do it all the time. Users no longer are just interested in your products and services. They’re also interested in who you are as a brand.
- Do your beliefs align with theirs?
- Does your business give back to their community?
- Are your products ethically made and sourced?
These are questions users are asking, and you need to be ready with positive answers.
Along with promoting your products, you also need to bring value to your customers’ overall experience when they interact with you. This can come in the form of any of the below:
- Providing free content like e-books and infographics
- Spotlighting users who have done business with you for a long time
- Engaging with the community
- Responding to comments with a “no-sell” response
- Sending newsletters that just have quality information relevant to your audience with no intent to sell
Yes, all of the above tactics take time to execute and give no direct way for your audience to buy your products. But, the ROI here is sneaky. By establishing a strong reputation with your audience, chances are they will be more likely to spend their dollars with you when the time comes to make a purchase. Even if you’re a little more expensive than the competition, if users believe you’re the higher quality, more noble product, then they’ll likely turn to you for business. Plus, this strategy allows you to form a deeper bond with your audience – which is a win-win for all!
Tell us how you feel about Selling on Social Media.