The purpose of most marketing campaigns is to generate awareness and revenue. However, one very important factor in converting prospects into customers is understanding the impact of social media and the value of your brand—your name, logo, or slogan—that is instantly identifiable.
Brand value takes a long time to build and a lot of hard work to earn and you’re always just a few bad mistakes away from losing it all and having to starting over. Fortunately, brand building happens all day, every day. It happens when customers walk in the door, visit your webpage, and through person-to-person interaction.
Social media is truly a game-changer when it comes to marketing and branding. It adds a layer of connectivity that was never before possible. Social media offers many opportunities to convert the same prospect that didn’t initially buy from you into a loyal customer. For example:
- A YouTube video featured on your landing page allows the prospect to learn more about your product or service than any 30-second commercial or newly-trained customer service rep could ever offer.
- A follow button for pages such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linked-In, Google+, and Instagram is a way to capture a follower, dramatically increasing the likelihood of that prospect returning and buying in the future. The cost for acquisition is significantly reduced from that point.
- Get a prospect to sign up for a weekly email or newsletter. This is one of the most powerful tools a marketer has to convert a highly-interested lead into a customer. Offering the prospect an opportunity to remain engaged through relevant email marketing nearly insures a customer in the future.
- A share button gives prospects an opportunity to share offer/product/service information with their network of friends through social media.
- By entering a contest or other promotion that has nothing to do with the current offer, the prospect “converts” instead of simply leaving your page and is now part of your future e-mail marketing or social media posts.
- Downloading a coupon or more information redeemable at a future date gives the prospect the flexibility to take advantage of an offer on their own time and keep them in control of the transaction.
If prospects care enough to visit your page, don’t leave them hanging by only offering a buy or leave proposition. Give them plenty of other options to engage using social media, email marketing, and contests or downloads so they can continue interacting with your company, providing future opportunities to earn their business.
A professional office environment like Heritage Office Suites provides opportunities to work alongside other business professionals, like Jessica Scanlon with Hot Dog Marketing, who not only utilizes but can also help you use social media to improve your business results. To learn more, call (512) 377-9010 or visit us on the web at www.roundrockoffices.com .
Source: Austin Business Journal
