Don't Just Sit There...Promote! Social Media Marketing Strategy part 3

     No online content will bring in traffic if it just sits there. You've got to go promote it in social media. Each social media platform has different traits so we need to be aware of the differences and use them in their own unique ways. Once you have a blog post up, you can go to Twitter and tweet the headline, or a provocative question about the content in your twitter feed. and remember you can schedule these to hit at various times of the day or night. whenever you feel you get the most response from the time you write it to the time you post your next blog. Depending on your followers twitter feed your post can get buried quick. On Facebook posting the same headline several times would get obnoxious and your potential new guests would tune you out in a hurry. Look at maybe one Facebook post at the perfect time, usually between 7 and 9 am or 7 and 9 pm, wherever you find you get the most engagement meaning likes comments and shares. Over at Linked in you want to post your status update promoting the blog but then you want to cast an even wider net. You want to post to the groups you are a part of begin a discussion post centered around your blogs content. So great headlines, reaching the various stages of the buying cycle and promoting at the different social media vehicles your content now has some traction.

      Ultimately conversion is what you really want to gain from your efforts so how do we convert all of this into sales? We need to be intentional and make sure everywhere a potential customer engages with us we are providing the opportunity for them to take that next step. Slack calls on the 90/10 rule. 90 percent of the content we are providing has to add value, be useful and beneficial to them. If 90 percent of our posts follow these social media guidelines then 10 percent of the time we can promote ourselves and our businesses. We can include a link with a special offer or coupon or discount code. He also recognizes two different types of buyers. the Now buyer, ready to strike and the future buyer, someone just looking around, maybe not even realizing they need your services. The now buyer may not be your best conversion because by the time they find you they may have already formulated their buying criteria and if you don't fit exactly into this mold they have set your conversions may not happen. Focusing on the future buyer, the one living with the challenge hoping to find solutions may be a better target. if your content gives them information and is helpful while they are formulating their buying criteria, that's a much better position to be.

      You've got to help people, not push them into buying your products or services. The more they line up with your story, your helpful information, the more they are lining up with your unique selling proposition. Use both passive and active calls to action. Remember passive is simply providing your contact information on every page they engage with. Active calls to action give them a reason to take the next step, be parental, tell people what to do next. A link that says book now or check availability. Make sure you have all of these conversion elements on all your social media tools for potential clients to easily engage. What's most important? Slack recommends first step back, take a deep breath and don't let it overwhelm you. Second focus on your niche, your usp, what it is that you offer that no one else does. Spend some time on this one and once you have it locked down, you are in the best position to build a content plan that begins with this end in mind. Providing unique content making sure your customers know you are the go to company is a great social media strategy.