Yay, you posted an awesome update on your social media feed! You received 400 likes, a couple comments and maybe even saw it shared on someone else’s page. You built a beautiful social selling community; but did you make any sales? Oops.
Small businesses are not the Ryan Seacrest’s of the Facebook or Twitter world. Social media is an incredible tool that is often being used incorrectly; a hammer being used to drill a pilot hole. While a tool kit isn’t complete without that hammer, it won’t get you anywhere if you want to hang a shelf. Yet you continue to make excuses to use it saying that it will eventually get you somewhere, right?
Stop making these excuses and start using social media posts as conversation pieces that lead to sales; not just decoration for the coffee table. 
1) It’s raising awareness, like a billboard. Great, but where’s the conversation? Customers want to engage your social media, hence the social. If your posts are just for kicks, customers are going to get bored and you won’t make sales. Don’t be entertainment only, be “infotainment.”
2) My product isn’t that good. So? Welcome to sales. Your job is to make your product the most desired product out there to fit the best audience. Use social media posts and conversation to reach that audience and make your sales goal.
3) Social media and sales figures don’t connect. Wrong! Thanks to awesome social media management sites like SproutSocial or HootSuite you can see how big an audience your posts are reaching. Take those numbers and compare them against your sales. Sales going up? Keep the conversation posts going. No change? Maybe try a different tactic or ease up on the random social media posts.
4) But social media is just about building interest. Did you send your sales guys out for coffee and doughnuts? Did you fire them? Unfortunately today’s audience are not exactly proactive so you have to guide them toward the next step; meaning you can’t just hang around waiting for the phone to ring after posts. Engage the audience in what they can do with the product and start a conversation in your posts. Build enough interest and bam – you’ve got sales.
These are just a few excuses you might have heard around the office. Bad habits die hard but now is a great time to start over and re-energize your social media posts. If you start a conversation, follow up on it. Ask for feedback and actually take it into consideration.
Have you struggled with these excuses? How did you change direction with your audience? We’d love to hear from you!
Photo Credit: khalid Albaih
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Photo Credit: khalid Albaih