3 Ways to be More Effective in Social Media

Wouldn’t you like to know that all the time and creativity you put into building your presence on social platforms would also help your content be more effective in social media?  It can, if you know how to connect with your audience in ways that also help you drive action.

You probably have many goals for your social platform activity, like building your network, securing appointments, or giving customer service. For all of these, it’s important to include strategies that invite a “next action” that could lead to real business. Let’s look at three under-used methods to improve lead quality, conversions, and connections.

Higher quality leads: build qualification into your “Free Call” booking process.

Do you get people booking time on your calendar who end up ghosting you? Do more than a few end up either not being a decision maker, or just not being a good fit?  The most effective social media users take steps to pre-qualify their leads.

These strategies will help discourage junk and poorly qualified leads (and none will be rude or alienating to even semi-serious tire kickers):

• Limit the number of auto-filled fields you allow. Platforms like Facebook let you auto populate certain form fields, so it’s fast and easy for users to respond—but sometimes it’s TOO easy! When users have to type in even one field—like a phone number or company name —it’s often enough to slow them down, discouraging spammers and prompting legit prospects to check that details are accurate.
• Ask a screening question that identifies your ideal customer or describes their need, e.g., “Are you the business owner or primary decision maker?” “If you like what you hear in our call, how quickly would you want to get started?” or “What will help us have a productive call?”

Wondering what questions to ask? Visit the Facebook help section clipped here for suggestions.

More conversions from video viewers: Incorporate an interactive element

Video is a great way to boost visibility and engagement, but many people are too passive in their call-to-action (also known as a CTA). If you don’t tell viewers what their logical next step is, they’ll drift off to someone else’s content. Guide them to stay involved with you by including an action-driving message in your video and/or page:

• In return for their email address, invite them to join your email list or give them a reason to follow you on social media or join your group.
• Structure the CTA as a prize drawing—it could be an item, free call or assessment.
• Create more engagement with a quiz. Offer some kind of prize or reward—it could be something as small as a “congratulations” message, downloadable badge or free information. Or combine it with the above idea and enter winners into a prize drawing.

Whatever you do, be sure you remind them of the CTA several times in the video—in the audio and on screen, if possible, as well as in the description. In this example, my co-host Helena Richardson and I have next steps in the video and in the description on YouTube.

Be more effective in social media group connections: Facebook Learning Units.

If you have a group, have you started using Learning Units? It’s a feature that helps you guide your audience through specific content you want them to learn or access quickly. And the faster and more often they engage, the more likely it is that your group will rise to the top of their feed. You’ll want your group type to be listed as “social learning” in settings. For a full run-down on how to get started, learn from Facebook.

• Any kind of content can be grouped into “units.” Try step-by-step lessons to get started in a program, product or service you offer; how-to’s; recipes; member spotlights; shared resources…
• Set up quizzes at the end of units. It’s engaging, helps members feel accomplished, and/or lets you know when people have completed certain content—thereby giving you a peek into what people are remembering from what you share.
• Set up topic tags, alerts and hashtags. You’ll get notified if people post certain types of content. And that will help you monitor what’s of interest and be more effective in social media follow up.

These are just a few recommendations for ways that you content can be more effective on social media platforms you’re invested in. I’d love to hear your thoughts, and any strategies that have been especially good for you. Comment below, or contact me.