For businesses targeting modern consumers, keeping your brand under the social media spotlight can give your brand visibility and sales a huge boost. If you think about it, social media is one of the most popular online activities that people worldwide engage in. According to statistics, 3.2 billion people are active social media users, a number that equates to about 42% of the population. With such a large number of active users, businesses can target their audience using one of their favorite social media networks.

The power of social media and influencer marketing

Social media and influencers hold tremendous power when it comes to influencing people to follow trends and buy popular products.

Platforms like Instagram and Facebook have become the kings and queens of communication and information exchange to a point that modern consumers will trust Instagram’s “trendsetters” and follow their lead. If you like finding the weirdest and most extraordinary things on Instagram as I do, then you’ve probably come across Park Eunkyung’s (@nail_unistella) Instagram profile. Notice anything different about this peculiar manicure?

The Instagrammer was the first to coin the term lipstick nails and since then, it has been declared as the latest beauty trend to sweep social media.

This is one of the few examples of influencers establishing new trends. If you take a look around Instagram you’ll see new trends emerging every day. And while some influencers might not be close to the Kardashian trendsetting league. A single creative and weird idea appearing on social media can spark a new trend.

3 ways to successfully use social media to increase sales

Now let’s see how businesses can use social media to ace their sales. Here are three key tips:

1. Find the right social media platform for your brand

Choosing the right platform to promote your business is key to convert new customers. To achieve your goals, you should focus on platforms that your target audience uses the most. For instance, a brand that targets a 15-18-year-old audience has more to gain from a teen-oriented platform like Snapchat rather than Pinterest.

To find the best platform, let’s take a look at some of the most popular social media networks out there:

Facebook

Facebook is the king of social media with a monthly active user count that reached 2.41 billion during the second quarter of 2019 worldwide. With a massive user base, Facebook is the perfect place to find your target audience and deliver exceptional content that will increase your traffic and sales. One of the advantages of Facebook is its advanced advertising system, Facebook ads.

MAAP

Here’s an example from MAAP:

Facebook ads allow you to target your audience according to their age, gender or profession. You can present them with content that will be relevant to their needs.

Apart from writing the best social media posts, you should create an equally appealing social landing page to accompany your ad to increase your conversion rate. Creating a landing page is not a difficult task. What you need is a landing page builder that will help you create clear and amazing pages for your audience.

Instagram

Instagram made its debut back in 2010 and since then it has managed to turn into a profit-earning machine. Instagram’s loyal user base and mechanics have turned it into the most popular platform to post stories and pictures.

As one of the first platforms to incorporate stories, Instagram’s new feature was its smartest move. It elevated the platform into the perfect advertising environment.

Function of Beauty

For instance, Function of Beauty’s sponsored story incorporates a nice picture of the product along with a customer testimony to make the ad more appealing and trustworthy.

According to Clikz’s study, “87% [of Instagram users] said that they took action after seeing a product. The action may have to do with visiting the brand’s website, following the brand’s account or even making a purchase.”

Twitter

Twitter is another social media network that has 330 million monthly active users. What differentiates Twitter from other networks is that users can make posts that are character-limited.

Despite this limitation, Twitter has a feed that is updated in real-time. This means a user can update their status and expect their followers to engage with them within seconds. This live-tweeting feature gives brands a digital channel of engagement. When combined with the right hashtags, it can become the ultimate tool for target research.

And the more specific your hashtags are, the more targeted your audience will be. This will lead to quality engagement and better conversion. For instance, if you are a shoe retailer who has a vast collection of athletic shoes, using a hashtag like #athleticshoes will be more effective than using a generic #shoes hashtag.

Schuler Shoes

Here’s an example from Schuler Shoes on Twitter:

2. Use email marketing to increase your social media reach

Your social media endeavors will need all the help they can get from other marketing channels. So, to maximize social media reach, you can combine your social media with email marketing and see your conversion rate grow.

To get started with your social media and email marketing collab, you need a great email marketing automation platform. It will give you the right tools to create social media infused campaigns. If you search the market, you’ll come across a variety of great platforms to give you access to amazing campaign editors. They will allow you to inject your emails with social media links.

Using social media will inform your subscribers that you have active social media accounts they can follow to know more about special offers and new product arrivals before everyone else.

MVMT

Here’s an example from MVMT, a brand that uses social media buttons to direct their subscribers to their social media accounts.

Also, MVMT includes another section “Shop Insta” that redirects their subscribers to a landing page that includes pictures of various looks found on Instagram.

Clever, right?

3. Post amazing content on social media regularly to minimize disengagement

Now, you made a few posts that increased your traffic and made you a happy business owner. But then, more pressing matters emerged and your social media posts became less frequent.

As ideal as it’d be to post less but get more traffic, social media is a full-time job that requires you to post regularly. Since social media networks have thriving communities, posting content that will be relevant to current affairs is the best way to maximize your engagement efforts and drive more sales.

So, the frequency of your posts should be carefully timed if you want to keep your audience engaged with your brand and gain more followers.

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Since your social media marketing efforts are indeed a job that requires a lot of time, finding a great social media marketing tool will make your social media posting easier and less tedious.

3 ways to successfully use influencer marketing to increase sales

When you aim at increasing your sales with influencer marketing, you should make sure that you have found the right people to advertise them in the best possible way. According to statistics, influencer marketing ROI is almost 90% comparable to or better than other marketing channels.

Source

Now let’s see how to do it:

1. Leverage the power of micro-influencers

Micro-influencers might have significantly smaller audiences than grand influencers like Kylie Jenner; however, they can be your secret weapon to convert more and increase your sales. Compared to macro-influencers and celebrities, micro-influencers have a community of loyal followers with strong bonds.

As a result of these strong bonds, micro-influencers can influence their audience more easily. Communicate with them as if they were friends and establish a trustworthy exchange between the two. Reaching niche influencers with small audiences will be the perfect cost-effective way to power up your influencer marketing efforts.

Here’s an example from Core’s collaboration with influencers Jo and Jacqs (@sweatandtell):

2. Excite your audience with Influencer giveaways

Let’s be honest, we all love getting stuff for free! Successful influencer giveaways should focus on presenting followers with a fun experience that will excite them and create “hype”. Since a larger audience will give your brand more engagement, hosting giveaways through a credible influencer will help you increase your conversion rate and sales.

Here’s a giveaway from influencer Briana Dai featuring Credo Beauty products:

See how the influencer seizes the opportunity to celebrate the first day of summer with a fresh giveaway? Now her audience has more reasons to enter!

3. Plan influencer takeovers that rock

Takeovers rule! Period. Now let me tell you why.

First of all, account takeovers happen when an influencer uses a brand’s account to create and share exceptional stories. One of the best platforms to host an influencer takeover is Snapchat. Numerous brands like Vogue and Gucci have used influencers like Irene Kim and Florence Welch respectively to deliver content that left their followers in awe.

Snapchat takeovers work because they rely on the popularity of an influencer and their creativity to attract and engage more people with brands. As a result, the influencer’s audience along with newcomers will follow the brand to find out more. And you know what happens when your follower list expands like crazy, don’t you?

That’s right!

Your newly engaged followers are more likely to turn into customers that will support your brand long-term. Here’s an example of Shiseido’s account takeover by Snapchatter and Youtuber Jen Chae.

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During the takeover, Jen Chae delivered one of the most popular things people like to watch: a daily morning routine using the brand’s products.

Can I hear a ka-ching, now?

Key takeaway about social media and influencer marketing

Social media and influencers have changed purchasing behavior dramatically over the years. With new trends emerging every day, influencers are the perfect means to expand your followers. They can increase your sales beyond measure.

As technology progresses, social media and influencer marketing will be your sharpest sword and shield to defeat even the most difficult competitors. So, next time you wonder how to tackle social media and increase your sales with influencer marketing, take a look at these tips to help you become a social media and influencer marketing gladiator.

This guest blog article is written by Marilia Dimi who is is a creative writer working for email marketing software Moosend. Her passion for writing has made her find new ways to combine the art of creative writing with SEO copywriting. When she’s not writing articles, you’ll find her spending time on her drabbles. Follow her on Twitter @marilia_dimit.