AL Marketing shares its five top tips for turning social media followers into shoppers
Using social media to make a business stand out and capture an audience’s attention is more difficult than ever, with so many brands competing for space across all digital platforms. It can be challenging to create content that is seen, and ultimately shared, by the people who matter most to the business. AL Marketing’s digital market strategist, Nesli Avci, says there are five things retail destinations should be considering to help plan and schedule content on social media that will genuinely stand out and convert followers into shoppers.
1) Leverage Video and Humour
According to a recent study, videos posted with humour get almost three times as many social shares than those without. “We live in an age of short attention spans and constant distraction, where engaging people is crucial – and there’s no better way than using humour,” says Avci. She advises making content both informative and fun for customers so they will be more likely to share it with friends and family.
2) Collaborate on Posts
If your business is trying to reach a new demographic audience, she suggests collaborating with other businesses that might be relevant for your ideal customers and share each other’s content: “This way, you can expand your own audience and reach a wider range of potential customers at once. Social media is all about having fun; let it show through in your posts.”
3) Engage Customers
Avci says that people expect a great experience across every social media channel, and recommends ensuring this expectation is met by planning and tracking the previous year’s peak metrics to create new content calendars that capitalise on what you know works for your brand and customer base on each platform.
4) Take Inspiration from Last Year’s Analytics
If you are going for a specific theme, she advises looking at your stats from last year’s data, such as identifying your most popular post, whether or not people responded well to certain content, which posts were the most share, and if any specific types of media that worked particularly well. “All these questions will give you ideas for how to spice up your current social media strategy,” she tells.
5) Tell a heart-warming story
Finally, Avci suggests a more personal approach to content creation: “We’re sure you have an anecdote or two about your customers and their experiences. Go ahead and use those fuzzy feelings as fuel for a story that could brighten someone else’s day. Sharing such stories is also a great way to help your audience feel connected to you and your brand. This is important when people are deciding whether or not they should be loyal customers for years to come.”
This was first published in Retail Destination Fortnightly. Click here to subscribe.
