Conversion keys help you sell. When you've done all the steps in the funnel, it's time to ask for the purchase.
There are a number of keys to help you in that process of the sales conversion offer and I cover those today in this podcast!
In this episode of the halftime Mike podcast I revisit each of the components of the Social Media marketing funnel and then dive deeper specifically into conversion keys to help you present offers that position you best to win the deal.
[powerpress]
Subscribe: Halftime Mike on iTunes | Android users via RSS | Listen on Stitcher.
Last episode I covered Email Lead Nurture and the critical importance of your sequence of emails...how to build trust, add value, be a resource, and in so doing how you overcome barriers and pave the way for sales.
Along the way this past summer we went through each step in sequence of the Digital Marketing funnel. We started with an overview on the Digital Marketing Funnel (image below) and past episodes have focused on the Attraction, Engagement, and Lead Capture aspects within the funnel.
The final area of content strategy to plan for is the “closure content” or specific sales offer content that is intended to “convert” or create sales for your business.
This will be only around 20% of your overall content plan (top of funnel is 50% while mid-funnel lead capture content is 30% of the overall mix of blog posts and topics on your site). If it is more than that, your audience can get turned off from continual sales pitches but if you are offering content that is largely of great value to them in educating and resourcing them mixed in with timely offers, then it all works together.
This is a needed shift in mindset for many businesses!
Those in the old-school “salesy” approach are used to pitching all the time, any time. They are the ones you see on Facebook shouting that it’s a great deal TODAY and you must act now. It get’s old fast! Why, because today’s web savvy customer doesn’t want to be sold all the time while on social media. They are there first to be social, so you must flow with that. As well, asking a new lead to buy now without building trust first is like asking your date to marry you on the first date. It’s too fast!
After drawing traffic to your site, moving them into the funnel with a soft lead capture, and nurturing them further with your social media posts and email nurture series content, the goal is now to help those interested persons and companies move to take action and purchase your product or service. This is the final stage that answers questions, takes away any remaining barriers and empowers the user to confidently proceed forward with their purchase of your product or service.
A key way to do this is with content that shows evidence of value, i.e. demonstrating ROI. Case studies are one way to do this.
A case study is an example of a specific client story and identifies ways that they saved money or increased their revenue. This can be helpful and convincing to remove the final barriers to purchase. Case studies are great to have on your website as resource content. Then in your final email in the nurture series you can discuss the ROI one customer obtained and direct them to the website where you have a specific call-to-action appear. You could also have the call-to-action in the email itself. Do not get hung-up on having massive case studies and thus never getting them done!
Let’s say you have worked the process we’ve outlined. You’ve attracted your ideal audience, engaged with them on social media and drove them to your website where they completed your soft-call-to-action lead magnet and joined your email nurture list. Via your email nurture you built trust, shared valuable resources, and showed the credibility of your company. Now it’s time to make the conversion offer!
This can be the last email in your series. As noted above, it should make the case for the value and return on investment that can be had with your product/service. Then the call to action should be:
Let’s break these each down a bit further. First, the offer must be clear. This is not a email that has 600 words and four keys items with the call-to-action being the 3rd item in the list! In this email it is about the ROI, the value, and the clear offer with details that are precise. Use a bulleted list or numbered list to provide steps to action. If the final item is to click a link, make that a call-out button that is action oriented such as “Buy Now”.
If you are offering a service maybe it is “Register Now” or “Order Now”. Prompting immediate action is the key.
Concise is a close cousin to “clear”. Your offer must not be hard to understand and grasp. It should not take paragraphs or even multiple sentences to outline. The best conversion offers are specific, short, and simple. Again, a ordered list or 3 steps is best, and should outline quickly the “what” message of your offer.
The third point I outline, “Require action” is really one of the simplest aspects but can often not be done very well. If you want them to buy, be sure to clearly outline what they must do! The “Click Here”, “Buy Now” and related action buttons are important to use! It’s not enough to outline that you have a great product and offer significant ROI! You need to tell readers what to do. “Act now and buy…” is a clear statement outlining the need to take action.
Closely related to requiring action is the aspect of “Be time specific.” If there is a most missed action in encouraging readers to buy now it is this one! In order to prompt action a user must be motivated and outlining a time deadline to act by is super important! Anything more than 5 days and a viewer will fail to have a sense of urgency.
The “time set” needs to make sense for your product/service of course, but must motivate the user to take action now. Using a time period such as “Available only for the next 48 hours” or “expires at midnight” can be the final key needed if you have done the work of building trust to move the person into your customer list!
Compared to the email conversion offer we just covered, social media conversion posts are quite a bit different!
First and foremost, social media posts must be shorter due to the confines and expectations of users on social media. On Twitter you’re only going to get 140 characters. On Facebook, it had better include a image or use video or it may not get seen!
The bottom line with social media posts with offers is that the four points mentioned earlier are magnified to much greater heights. It must ABSOLUTELY be clear, concise, require action, and be time specific. This must be done typically in one sentence, and with power and zip to catch the attention of the user in the News Feed. To do this it must use some type of media, whether an image or video. Why? These mediums are what capture the eye of users on social media as they are scrolling through their feeds.
Now, a key with social media post offers is targeting your audience. Indiscriminate posts to “all fans” with offers are quite random and often not well received. It’s not part of the “nurture flow” that you can have with sequences of email. Since they can seem more random to those seeing them on social media you have to be more selective and it’s critically important to not post direct “buy” offers more than 20% of your full social media sharing mix.
The better way to post offers on social media is to use ads, demographic targeting, or even a more advanced method of retargeting your email nurture list with a specific offer ad on Facebook.
The bottom line with conversion keys is that email will be a first choice to make the offer pitch as a finale of your email nurture sequence. Email simply works better than social media for the offers due to the control of the nurture series you have. That’s not to say you can put offers on Facebook you simply have to be selective and know your audience to do that. And the best way is to use specific targeting or retargeting on social to be sure to reach your exact, intended audience.
It's time to evaluate your conversion strategies! Are they clear, concise, and requiring action? Are they time specific and motivating? Take some time now to reflect on your conversion offers.
What's the next step you need to take to sharpen them?
So what’s your key takeaway from this? What do you need to do in the next 24 hours based on listening?
Share below!
Help Spread the Word!
Please let your Twitter followers know about this podcast. Simply click here now to post a tweet >>.
If you enjoyed this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast, please “go over to iTunes, leave a rating, write a review and subscribe!
Thank you so much for your support!
I’m an Indiana Hoosier native where basketball is the top sport. Every team heads to the locker room at halftime to evaluate the first half and create an updated plan for the second half. That plan includes adjustments based on reviewing what worked and what didn't. The “halftime” is a key review point where the game stops, the team pulls away to huddle in the locker room away from the fans, and they come out prepared and ready to succeed in the second half.
That’s what this podcast is all about, taking the time to pull away for a bit to evaluate, learn, and set some strategies for your business to succeed in the second half. Join me by subscribing and let me be your “business halftime” to help you find great success going forward!
Subscribe: Halftime Mike on iTunes | Android users via RSS | Listen on Stitcher.
