Facebook Marketing – Five tips for better sales conversions on Facebook

In a way, Facebook Marketing is just like traditional sales, it’s about building relationships.

But where it differs is where the real sales conversions start – forget everything you know about the competition, forget everything you know about sales and forget everything you know about your market – you need to redefine it all and then watch the sales conversions start pouring in.

Social Media Marketing is about working that virtual room in a collaborative, personal and non-selly way.

 

Not all Facebook Likes are Created Equal

There are different kinds of likers on every Facebook page. Most are fairly valuable, a few are worth their weight in gold.

Identifying the type of liker and using each liker to further your sales conversions is the best way to create direct sales.

 

Tip 1: Bums on seats Facebook Likers

These are the likers you get from “like exchanges”, “like ladders”, “Facebook marches”, “promote pages” and other networking pages designed to help startups.

You swap likes with a bunch of other Facebook noobs and 95% of them hide your statuses before you make your first post. They’re good because they make up the numbers a take away that “new page cringe”.

True or not, the perception of a new Facebook page will be that you don’t know what you’re doing, so you’ll post too much, sell too hard, and generally clog news feeds with rubbish. Bums on seats likers remove that fear.

 

Tip 2: How to Get the Most from Chatty Cathys

A Chatty Cathy won’t buy anything from you. They’re your high school friends, your mom, people in your network, complimentary businesses and Facebook likers who just enjoy hanging out on your page. They are extremely valuable if you play your cards right.

Chatty Cathys make EXCELLENT brand ambassadors – especially those who are just Facebook addicts who sit on Facebook all day chatting on pages – these are worth their weight in gold. How? Well, you need to cultivate the relationship, get them talking about themselves, about Facebook, about their friends – in short, become one of their friends.

While selling on Facebook is not the way to go, you should make these likers aware of why your brand is superior to competitors. When they leave your page, they go chat on other pages, like minded pages, “Find it on Facebook” leads pages, their networks, their mommy groups and their clubs.

They are the ears and mouths of your business and there is no sales pitch like a trusted word of mouth sales pitch. When a sales opportunity arises, your Chatty Cathys start chatting about you – delivering nice, primed, ready-to-buy Money Likers to your page.

 

Tip 3: How to Treat Money Likers

These are shoppers or buyers that like your page because they are planning to buy or ready to buy your product. These are GOLD – and rare.

This is not the norm for Facebook – if 10% of your likers are Money Likers, you’re doing well! These arrive at the recommendation of Chatty Cathys, via Google, via Facebook searches or via your interaction on other pages in your network.

To be sure you get the very most out of a Money Liker, set your landing tab to your photo tab filled with beautiful, enticing, well labelled photos (if you have a visual product) or a custom landing tab with an incentive to like and a link to your website.

Ensure that your info page is filled with branded messages about why you’re the one to buy from and that they get a nice warm welcome and make it easy-peasy for them to hand over their moola.

 

Tip 4: Facebook Networking – Where the Money is REALLY at

This is where Social Networking comes in, not social media marketing. Social Networking is where the money actually comes from. Social networking is about being warm and fuzzy, it’s about interacting and chatting and commenting and liking and contributing to complimentary business pages. (If it doesn’t sound like you, don’t do it, hire someone or get the 19 year old on reception to handle it – she’ll probably be great!)

Choose some nice, talented, professional networking candidates, preferably with a more established page than your own and start working the Facebook room.

Everyone wants great Edgerank and a happy, interactive social page – so businesses that offer services or products that are complimentary but not in competition to your own will appreciate your 2 cents on their wall.

They’ll appreciate your comments, your interaction and even “shout outs” from your page. Build a nice strong network, shout out regularly, do joint giveaways and competitions, celebrate their victories on your wall, tell your likers about their new products and watch them reciprocate.

Once you build the friendship up, something amazing will happen, you’ll start to see referral business. This is where the money is really at. Let’s say you are a web designer. You network with graphic designers, copywriters, programmers, shopping cart designers etc.

When your graphic designer’s client needs a website, it’s you who gets the work. When you need a copywriter for a client, you’ve got one ready to go – and when your copywriter needs a web designer for her client, she’s got you.

 

Tip 5: Make It Easy

• Make it simple for people to spread the word, interact with you and buy from you.
• Add your website link to your company information box in the info tab so when your page is shared, there’s a link to your website.
• Make Facebook part of your Website Marketing plan
• Add Social Media buttons to your website, email, guest blogs and other internet and real world interactions.
• Label your products clearly and with individual names or numbers so it’s easy for likers to order.
• If postage costs apply, label products with domestic and international rates.
• Have trust building guarantees and a recommendations tab.
• Watch lead generating pages like Find It pages like a hawk.
• Run competitions and cross promotions and give valuable prizes
• Have a contact tab and reply promptly if there are complaints or inquiries

They say that Facebook has low conversion rates but I say,” they” are the ones still using tired old traditional sales methods in a new media environment. Getting great conversions from your Facebook Marketing is about working that virtual room in a collaborative and friendly way. How very pleasant new media can be!

 

Dana Flannery is the Creative Director at Content Marketing firm, Talk About Creative. She specialises in Social Media Strategy and SEO Copywriting.