How can I convert Social Media into actual sales?

I was asked,  “How can I convert social media into actual sales the other day in an online community I run for small business owners.  It is not always an easy question to answer because it depends on many different factors.

Something I’ve come to learn with social media is that it is not as clear cut or as easy as many make it out to be.  Social media requires a lot of focus, time and energy because unlike traditional media it is in a way very personalised.

Many people complain because they jump on board and start using social media, they set up a fan page and maybe a Twitter account, post a few things here and there and expect results within a few weeks or even a few months. As with anything in life, what you put in is what you get out, it is that simple really.

Social media is NOT an overnight quick-fix solution. Social media is a long-term investment. Think of it rather as building relationships, making new contacts and connections. Over time social media does work but you have got to lay proper foundations for it to work.  Converting social media to actual sales also depends on many different factors:

• Your marketing efforts, what campaigns are you running?
• Your content strategy, what are you posting, how often and where?
• The amount of time you spend on social media and how you are spending this time.
• Your network, the size of your network and the quality of your network.
• Your resources, in terms of money, advocates, staff, tools, etc.
• Your credibility, “why should I use you and not someone else?”  – and
• Most importantly – do you have a good product, a product people want and need?

You can’t hop on and post a few specials and offers, and expect everyone to pay attention and buy from you in that instant – then disappear because you are “too busy” and hop on again later and do the same. People have become almost oblivious to ads and besides, “who are you?” This is a global market with millions of people doing exactly what you do, so why should they buy from you and not Tom, who they know and who they see speaking to people, sharing his knowledge, being helpful.

Everyone is at a different stage of the buying cycle.  Tom may buy from you today but Mary will only buy from you in 6 months, while Sue in 2 years time.     The thing is people put ads out of their mind until they have a need for that particular product or service.  This means you should frequently be developing valuable content that helps your fans and followers in the decision making process.  In other words develop content that help answer questions related to your product or service and demonstrates to potential customers that you can be trusted.

What is your  follow up process?

Do you have call to actions in place in your blogs and in your social media space?  Sign posts that ask people to call you, or sign up to your email database for something in return, what action do you want them to take?

What are you doing to develop personal engagement and interaction?  In other words are you actually spending time with your fans and followers by getting to know them personally?

Are you networking, building relationships and developing brand advocates, people who are spreading the word, this can be staff, people in your networking, customers.

If you found this useful please post your comments and please share this with others.
If you have any questions feel free to post a comment and here is the link to part 2 on how to convert social media into sales.