How to plan your social media content to maximise sales

Do you want to know how to plan your social media content to maximise sales?

Maybe you have just started a business and are ready to start selling on social media?

Or maybe you’ve been using social media in your business at the moment and are disappointed with the sales you generate with it?

Either way, I’m here to help you. When it comes to maximising your sales via social media it is about being strategic with the content you create.

Keep on reading to find out how to your social media content to maximise sales.

This page includes affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.

 

For many solo and small business owners, social media has become the first they think of in relation to marketing.

Let’s be real – social media is FREE and when you are starting a business that is appealing.

However, whilst social media marketing may technically be free it does involve using another precious resource and arguably that resource is more precious than time. If you haven’t guessed yet I’m talking about time. Planning, creating and posting social media content takes considerable time – time which you can’t get back. Therefore, you should be treating you organic (aka FREE) social media marketing with as much care and attention as you would your paid social media advertising.

To make the most of your social media marketing you need to be strategic about what you are posting and how you are using the platforms.

Personally, I think social media marketing can be tricky because it can, and should, play multiple roles. As a business owner, your job is to make people aware of you and then take them on a journey to buy from you. Social media content can help you make people aware of you, then engage with you and ultimately, convert with you. In order to maximise your sales, you need to create content that serves all three purposes. Here is how you can create content for each purpose.

 

Awareness

Social media is a great way for new people to become aware of you. However, simply opening up a social media account and posting away doesn’t mean people are going to become aware of you. In fact, time and time again I hear business owners complaining about opening an account and seeing little growth in terms of fan, followers etc.

If you want new people to become aware of you, you need to specifically create content with that goal in mind.

Each social media platform (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn etc) will have different ways of you be able to get your content seen by people outside of your current followers. However, here are some things to consider.

 

1. Use hashtags – Hashtags are very popular on social media platforms. By adding hashtags to your content you are allowing that content to become searchable. When someone searches a hashtag, they’ll see content that includes that hashtag whether they follow the accounts of not. Therefore, by using relevant hashtags in your content you can increase your reach and help new people to become aware of you. The key here is to use relevant hashtags that will connect to your ideal client.
2. Create shareable content – Another great way to help new people become aware of you is by creating shareable content. Here the goal is to create something that someone else will want to share with their audience. For example, on Instagram, it is very common for people to share the posts of others in their Instagram Stories. When someone shares your post in their Instagram Stories it means there is the potential for their whole audience to see it and become aware of your business.
3. Ask people to tag someone – I don’t know about you but if I’m tagged in a social media post I check it out. That is why this tactic is so powerful. When you ask your audience to tag someone in the comments it means that the individual tagged will get a notification and probably then come and check the post out. Not only is this resulting in more people seeing the post, but when you are specific about who your current audience should tag it should also mean that the people tagged are highly relevant.

 

Engagement

Whereas awareness content is designed with the intention of helping new people become aware of you, engagement content is created with the purpose of helping an individual to get to know your business better and to interact with you.

A key part of social media is being social. As a business owner, you need to always keep in mind the objectives of the platform. Each social media platform wants to keep its users on the platform for as long as possible. The more people use the platform the more they can learn about their users and the more revenue they can make from advertising spend. Therefore, social media platforms have created algorithms to help ensure that the users’ feeds are filled with content that they will find engaging. most relevant content.

Your goal is to create content that gets your followers engaging (liking, commenting, sharing) and bonus point if it helps you to understand their needs more.

Here are some things you can try:

1. Ask a question – A great way to get comments is to ask for them. It could be that your entire post is a question or you could have a longer post that then includes a question as your call-to-action.
2. Run a poll – A number of social media platforms allow you to run polls. Whereas a question might require an individual to think of a reason a poll requires less thinking. With options in front of you. most people can quickly choose their response.
3. Live Q & A sessions – Another great way to get people engaging with you, and demonstrate your expertise, is by running Live Q&A sessions. You can advertise your Live Q&A session in advance and ask for questions, as well as being open to questions in the session. If people are expecting you to answer a question they are likely to tune in and this will give you considerable watch time (which the platforms love).
4. Ask your audience to tag someone – Interestingly this piece of content that was suggested earlier. This shows how one post can have multiple purposes. Asking your audience to tag someone in a post not only means that new people can become aware of you. It will also get people interacting with your content

 

Want to create a robust content strategy for 2021? Book a 2021 Strategy Day where in just one day we’ll create your content strategy for 2021. Imagine sitting down at your desk in 2021 knowing exactly what to post and when. That can be your reality after having a 2021 Strategy Day. Find out more and apply for a 2021 Strategy Day here.

 

Conversion

This blog post was called ‘How to plan your social media content to maximise sales’ for a reason. You are a business owner and therefore you are using social media for the fun of it. You opened your account with the purpose of marketing your business and ultimately helping you to make sales in your business.

Now it can be tempting to think the way to make sales is to keep posting about what you sell. However, think about it. If all you ever do is post about your products or services what would be the need for someone to follow you. It wouldn’t be a great experience. If they want to just know about what you sell they can visit your website. To be a social media account that is worth following your need to provide value and give people a reason to engage. This is important, but that doesn’t mean you can’t even sell. In fact, you absolutely should be including selling posts within your content mix.

Variety really is key when it comes to selling posts. You don’t want to be posting the same video or post over and over again. You want to keep it fresh (it also is a great way for you to see what works and then use those learning for any social media advertising). Here are some things to try:

 

1. The straight sales post – This is the simplest version of a sales post. You simply have the information about what you are selling with a link to where they can buy it. Please note a lot of platforms will reduce the reach of posts that include a link to an external website so you may be best putting your link in the comments.
2. Share a testimonial – Share a testimonial from a previous client or customer. Make it clear exactly what they bought and then share how other people can buy the same product or service too.
3. Share why you created the service or product – Hopefully, there is a reason why you made your service or product. Sharing that story on social media will help people to understand your why.

 

Creating your social media content plan (to maximise sales)

Now you should have a good understanding of the three different types of social media content you can create. In order to maximise your sales, it is key to regularly rotate through the different types of content. If all of your content is awareness focused you can end up with an account with a massive audience, but low sales. On the other hand, if you only post with the focus on conversion, you’ll give people very little reason to follow you and end up with no sales.

When it comes to planning your social media content you’ll need to find a mix that works for you. Here are some examples of how it could work.

A NEW BUSINESS – 2x awareness, 2x engagement and 1x conversion posts per week

AN ESTABLISHED BUSINESS – 1x awareness, 3x engagement and 1x conversion posts per week.

There you have it! You now know how to plan your social media content to maximise sales.

I really hope this blog post has inspired you to get more strategic with your content and ensure that you are using your time wisely in relation to content creation.

Remember just because social media marketing is free doesn’t mean you shouldn’t treat it seriously. Your time is precious and by the sooner you increase your sales the sooner you’ll be able to outsource your social media marketing (if that is something you want to do).

Hopefully, you can tell that when it comes to planning your social media content to maximise sales there is a lot to consider.

Content planning is one of my favourite things to do and something I’ve helped coaches and consultants around the world with.

If you would like to some 1:1 professional help to get a personalised content plan created for you then check out my 2021 Strategy Day.

A 2021 Strategy Day is designed for coaches and consultants who are ready to have their best year in business by concentrating on creating a strong foundation and doing the necessary planning.

I’ll guide you through my 5-step process and ensure by the end of the day you have clarity over what your 2021 goals and are confident about how to achieve those goals.

If a 2021 Strategy Day sounds good to you then apply today!

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Prefer ongoing support instead? You can drop me a message here or if you would prefer to discuss your situation (I love a good chat) then you can book a call here.