If you’re planning to start an online business, or if you already have one, you need to get your products or services in front of as many faces as possible. You must show your offers to potential buyers wherever they are, also on social media. Promoting on social media must be done in a certain way, you can’t just go to the sites and say “buy my shit” if you do that you’ll be labelled as a spammer and it won’t do any good for your business. To avoid this to happen we will go through “best practices” for social media marketing.
Always Provide Value
People buy from people they know like and trust. If you provide valuable content and help someone overcome a problem they might have then recommend something that will help them achieve the results they want quicker, easier or to achieve even better results they are far more likely to buy from you
Sell Without Selling
People hate to be sold to so don’t make it obvious that you are selling a product or service. This might mean providing them with something for free such as a free eBook that has links in it that will lead to a paid product or service that you earn money from in the form of commissions
Or this could be directing them to a CPA (Cost Per Action) offer in which you earn money when they enter their email. This way they have nothing to buy initially, but you still get paid for providing that new lead to a company or service.
Brand Your Content
You may also want to add images or videos that have your name or brands logo in them such as a watermark, so people naturally go and search for the name on Google and find your blog or website
Start Conversations
Initiate a conversation with someone who you feel would benefit from something you’re promoting, take an interest in what they are doing and then ask them about a problem they may be faced with or something that they need to improve their business.
This will be when you can talk about what you do, the product you own or one you have used to achieve the results they’re looking for and then you can tell them where to find out more information
Always have a CTA
Always create content that ends with a call to action
CTA with YouTube video
Each YouTube video could ask your viewers to like, comment and subscribe but also each video should naturally encourage your viewer to want to click on a link to either watch the next video in that playlist, watch another related video, get something for free or visit a page on your blog or associated website
CTA on Facebook
Facebook is constantly changing their algorithms so you need to keep up to date with what still works and what doesn’t.
When posting new content, the main thing Facebook wants is natural interaction and not telling everyone to type something specific in the comments or to click on a link in the post. Facebook will reduce the post’s visibility. So, keep things social and provide content that people will naturally want to share. You can include links in the post’s content or add the link in the first comment
CTA on Pinterest
Use images that have a call to action on them such as a headline saying, ‘Grab Your Free Copy Now’ and then a call to action like a box saying, ‘Click Here’
Remember you can add a link within your Pinterest posts so when someone clicks on the image then they go to that webpage.
CTA on Twitter
Use attention grabbing headlines and images in your Twitter posts to help your Tweet stand out from the rest and grab people’s attention. Also use shortened URL’s/Links in your Tweets due to the limited number of characters you can use
CTA on Instagram
The main problem with Instagram is that you can only use one link in your bio. So, what a lot of people do is keep changing that link and in their posts their call to action will be ‘Click the link in my bio’
However, there is a simple and free way around this 😉
You can add a single link in your bio that opens up a page where your visitor can see your profile pic and find a number of clickable links that you create that can link to anywhere you like!
So, in your Instagram Bio your single link would look something like this
https://linktr.ee/marklaxtons
If you visit this link you will find that Mark Laxton has a number of links leading to his other social media account, his blog, landing pages etc
You can create a link like this for yourself at https://linktr.ee/
Then sign up with your Instagram account and start creating your links 😉
Affiliate Marketing
On a lot of Social Media platforms you will find that they do not allow you to share affiliate links…However, if you use URL shorteners then you will be able to add those
Join Groups that relate to your business and interests
If you run a local business and you’re looking for more clients or customers then search for and join local groups where you can attract and interact with other people in your area who have similar interests.
If you’re not limited to your local area then search for relevant groups and pages with the most followers and take a look at their posts, make a point of checking how much interaction such as likes and comments, their posts are receiving. This will give you a good indication of whether their followers are real and active. Remember you’re joining groups to connect with people so there’s no point joining groups and adding your own posts if no one’s listening.
Share valuable information and high-quality content that relates to your business and interests
The more content that you share, which people find useful, and really helps them, the more likely it is they also share it with others and this will also encourage them to check your your posts more regularly.
You can also share posts from other people, share a Fan Page, share a blog post or video that you’ve found whilst browsing the internet. If possible tag the fan page or person who originally posted the content. This will help to provide credibility and build connections.
The person or group will be notified that they’ve been tagged and my thanks you or even take an interest in what you’re doing. This is sometimes how possible joint ventures can be formed.
To tag a person, page or group then simply type @name (add the person, page or groups name after the at symbol, as you are typing it you may see a number of other names appear)
Connect with influencers
Connecting with influencers can lead to amazing results and skyrocket your social media presence or help grow your business.
Think of it this way, your trying to reach as many people in your niche as possible to gain more followers and build your reputation and that know, like and trust factor.
Influencers in your niche have already done this, so imagine if they shared or added a post and mentioned or personally recommended you, your business or product. Their followers listen to their advice and recommendations so you’re tapping into which can be one of the fastest ways to build your own authority.
Let it be the local celebrity or the top product creator or affiliate in your industry. You can reach out by congratulating them on their success, on their birthdays, when they’ve an upcoming event or product that interests you.
Post details about upcoming events/ launches/ free offers/ blogs posts
Whatever’s happening in your business let people know about it on your personal profile.
Write posts, share photos, do live videos. Whatever works for you. Remember to not make your posts seem pushy or salesy, people don’t like to be sold to, even if it is a promotional post then try to make it funny or entertaining.
Some product creators and affiliates create videos that entertain people such as music videos which main purpose is to create brand awareness or promote a product but they do it in a way that’s fun, so people are being sold to without even realising it. These posts are also more likely to be shared if they’ve enjoyed them.
Facebook have recently made some changes and don’t like posts that ask people to click like or share or require them to leave a comment so as to gain something you offer, they want people to genuinely take one of these actions because they feel the post deserves it.
Share your success, your company success and your student success
People like to see results, especially if they are thinking about using a product or service. This helps to reassure them that they would be making the right decision to buy and that they could achieve the results they want.
If you receive a quality testimonial or positive feedback from a customer, then let the world know! If your company broke new records, let the world know! People love hearing case studies and success stories.
