What has Social Media Taught Us?
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In recent studies conducted by Sensis in 2015 on social media consumption by consumers, we see exactly how consumers react to brands delivery of content and it provides brands with opportunities to truly engage their consumers more effectively. So what steps should brands implement to ultimately sell more product?
Each day more and more consumers utilise social media for a variety of reasons, and brands are having to constantly refine their strategies to ensure their consumers are constantly being reminded of the product offering.
But no matter how quickly technology is progressing, brands need to capitalise on these studies and implement a strategy, which focuses on the following:
Education, Conversation & Conversion
So what does it mean to educate? And is it the only thing a brand must do to capture a bigger slice of the consumer pie?
More than 24% of consumers follow brands on social media platforms to find out more about brands. This means that consumers are open to brands messages to enhance their lives in one way or another. This provides brands with opportunities to constantly educate consumers on the viability of their products and services to ensure they are at the forefront of their consumers’ minds.
Brands can not only educate consumers on their products and services, but they can also use this rational to give back to consumers by offering free advice, and anything else which can add value to their consumers lives.
Consumers rely on brands to learn more and learning is where it should begin for brands to gain more traction and encourage increases in consumer engagement.
Can a conversation really increase sales?
45% of consumers are on social media networks everyday and the numbers are rising. So now that brands have their consumers attention through education, it is now time to start a conversation and interaction.
By asking a simple question through social media news feeds, brands now have the ability to interact with their consumers and find out what their consumers really like. If a consumer is already open to learning more, they are also open to making comments or sharing content with other consumers, and this is where the power of social media really shines.
We also know that 55% of internet users read online reviews prior to making a purchase, and brands can leverage this by utilising their consumer interactions into an ongoing stream of satisfied consumer experiences.
Conversion is key
These days brands cannot simply expect to advertise and see the sales roll in. Social media enables consumers to do their homework first and as we have seen, consumers do rely on reviews prior to making purchases.
We also know that 20% of consumers rely on social media to receive offers and promotions. So out of that 20% of consumers who are already open to receiving offers, how many will actually take up the offering and convert into a sale?
If brands follow the education and conversation steps first, prior to coming straight out with an offer, consumers will be much more receptive to the offering and hence sales conversion rates will increase. The conversion is the final step in the sales pipeline and it is what ultimately dictates the effectiveness of an advertising or marketing campaign.
When devising your Education, Conversation and Conversion strategy, firstly see how you can add value and enrich your consumers lives, as this is where the foundation will be set for brand success.
For more information on how RGC Digital Marketing could provide your brand with an education, conversation and conversion strategy with digital marketing and social media marketing, please contact Richard on (02) 8883 2988 or email richard@rgcadvertising.com.au