Do you follow businesses on social media that only share promotional updates?
Probably not.
Most of us follow those that provide information that is educational, entertaining and enlightening.
Why do we look for information that has nothing to do with buying? Because we’re only in buying mode 3% of the time.
So if you’re running your social media strategies by only promoting you’ll probably get the occasional click, but you’ll likely not have many followers to begin with. The reason for that is you’re not focusing on the 97% of the time that people aren’t in buying mode.
But promoting yourself and your business on social media are still important.
Here are some tips for promoting on social media without being annoying and in a way that attracts people to you.
1. Use The 97/3 Rule
We now see that people are only ready to buy 3% of the time. So a simple way to promote on social media is to focus 97% of the content you share to be unrelated to promotion.
This still means that you can promote 3% of the time. It might not seem like a lot of time, but it doesn’t have to be.
Let’s say you share 100 items on social media each week. That’s a pretty good number. You can get there by sharing and re-sharing your own content and by sharing other people’s content.
Commit to sharing 97 items on social media that are not related to promoting your business.
Then commit to sharing 3 items that are promotional.
The non-promotional items should focus on education, entertainment and enlightenment. Start with your target customer. Share items that are helpful to them as it relates to your industry and to your life.
For example, a mortgage broker could share information, tips and articles about new mortgage regulations that affect homebuyers, home buying tips, but also things like financial advice and home maintenance tips – just about anything a homebuyer would be interested in as it relates to their home and life.
2. Talk About New Offerings
When you do share items on social media that are promotional in nature it can be less annoying if you’re talking about new offerings. Talking about the same things over and over again can get old, but talking about something new can be interesting. Long-time social followers might pay attention if you mention a new offering.
And get excited about the new offering. Tell the story about how the new offering came to be. Talk about the work that went into creating it, why it was created and the need it fills.
3. Focus On The Core Need
Telling someone to “buy this” or “check out that” is not a good way to get them to click through to what you’re selling. You have to focus on what they need and what they get out of the deal.
For example, a mortgage broker could promote their refinancing services by using a call to action like this: Could you save $10,000 in interest payments? We have refinancing solutions for you…
People want to save money. That’s a core need. Seeing what they could be saving or making or getting out of a situation is better than simply saying what you offer.
4. Case Studies
Building on the last tip is the idea that case studies can be a great way to promote your business on social media. In the mortgage broker case it might be a case study on how a recent homeowner was able to shave XX dollars off their total interest by refinancing.
The case studies don’t have to be super in-depth. They do need to tell a story and make it clear how the party made out in the deal. It’s not really about your business, but more a story of how the customer came out ahead. That will speak to your followers and they’ll be interested in how they can be in the same situation, which is by working with you.
And case studies can be done in text form or in visual form with video and photos. Photos are great for businesses like home builders. They can promote their business by showing off new home pictures. That is something people definitely pay attention to.
5. Ask For Questions
Social media is all about sharing information. But you don’t need to be the only one sharing information. Your followers want to share information and one way they do that is by asking questions.
Some businesses use social media to ask for questions from their followers. The questions will likely not be entirely related to what the business is selling, but that’s okay.
Let’s say you’re a home builder. You host a little question and answer session on your Facebook page. People might ask about trends in flooring and kitchen design. They might ask for some tips on getting construction loan approval or what makes for the best lot purchase.
Answer all those questions and you’ll provide some great value to followers. And they’ll also likely ask questions that are more related to what you’re selling. For example, you might get asked about the first steps to building a home with your company or what you charge versus other home builders in the area.
Conclusion
You’re probably not going to get away with promoting yourself and your business 100% of the time on social media. But you can still promote your business and earn new business on social media. Start with the focus that you’re going to need to share mostly non-promotional content on social media to build a following and provide value. Then use the other tips to weave in some good promotion that will not only engage your followers, but move them down your sales funnel to making purchases.