6 Tips for Using Social Networks to Increase Sales

Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are a marketer’s dream.

 

When utilized correctly, you can get your products or services in front of a highly targeted consumer base while simultaneously building brand equity.

 

Here are six tips for getting the most from social networks and sales.

 

1. Choose the Right Network.

 

Because the demographic of social media sites can vary, you should focus on the networks where your target audience is. Before launching a campaign, perform some demographic research among top social networks to point yourself in the right direction.

 

2. Update Content Consistently.

 

With a healthy amount of competition in most industries, it’s easy to be overlooked or forgotten without a steady stream of fresh content. It also shows that you’re on the ball, and it can be helpful from an SEO standpoint. On Twitter, it’s smart to update almost every day. On Facebook and most other sites, anywhere from two to five times per week should suffice. Just be sure not to go overboard to the point where you’re clogging your followers’ feeds with excessive content.
 

3. Include Images.

Consumers are attracted to visual stimuli and it naturally captures their attention. Capitalizing on this phenomenon by including images whenever possible is often the first step in getting potential customers to explore your product or service further. With image-centric sites like Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram, this is a given.

On other networks like Google+ and Facebook, you should take the time to add an image with each post to maximize clicks and generate interest. Also, make sure you’re only using high-quality images, no matter which network you’re posting on.

 

4. Curate Content.

Besides sharing promotional content, provide followers with relevant content from other resources. This could include products or services from other businesses that your audience might find useful. Another idea is to add articles or blog posts featuring information from your industry that’s entertaining or useful to your followers. Doing so is an effective way to network, prove that you’re not entirely self-serving, and gain credibility. Just ensure that all content you curate is genuinely valuable.

 

5. Offer Social Share Buttons.

One of the most simplistic yet effective ways to maximize exposure is by making it convenient to share your content. Social share buttons allow people to quickly post your products, services, or any other content to their platform of choice with one or two clicks. From there, this will appear in the feed of everyone in their network, which means the potential for even more shares. If you’re a WordPress user, browsing through the social media plugin list will provide a wide range of plugins that will add sharing buttons to your content.

 

6. Use Relevant Tags on your Posts.

Another way to increase exposure is to include relevant tags whenever possible. Although the tagging systems will vary from network to network, it’s important to insert them when you can. When deciding which tags to use, think about what consumers would naturally be searching for and take keywords into consideration.

This will make it easier for users to find your content on social media sites and potentially on search engines. Twitter allows you take this one step further and include hashtags into posts. If you can correlate your content into a trending topic and use a relevant hashtag, this can lead to a brief surge of exposure.

Social networks and sales can go hand in hand and be an excellent marketing technique when used correctly. The best part is that this type of campaign can be executed on a shoestring budget while reaching a massive audience. Following these tips and delivering great content should ultimately get your products or services in front of the right consumers, expand your reach, and lead to a higher sales volume.

 

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