From Followers to Customers, How to Convert Your Social Media

In a world obsessed with friends, sharing and likes, independent business owners have a huge opportunity to establish a robust social media presence, positioning their establishment as a top destination on the high street. Social media is now an essential component of any businesses’ marketing strategy.

But how does using social media bring a welcome boost to your business?

· Builds brand awareness, giving you the competitive edge, keeping your business top of mind with customers.

· Increases website traffic enabling you to consistently engage with both potential and existing customers.

· Strategic marketing with targeted promotions such as  seasonal offers and products helping drive customers through your doors.

Customers rely more on authentic recommendations from real people, so it's crucial to give your social channels some love and attention.

· Refresh your bio. One of the first steps to take in grabbing the attention of followers is letting them know who you are and promoting your business. Keep content engaging as well as informative, tell your story, how you started your business and why you love what you do. Connect with your customers, they want to know about you as well as your great business.

· Location tagging your business enables your followers and interested “scrollers” to know exactly where to find you. Sharing a location tag increases your visibility and likelihood of appearing in the feed of locals and others searching for that location. SOCIAL INSIDER highlights how “Posts with a tagged location result IN 79% HIGHER ENGAGEMENT than posts without a tagged location. People who click on it can view all the other posts that have been uploaded on that location.”

· Tell a story. With stories and reels taking over the dominant content on social media, videos have become a crucial tool for businesses to creatively present their unique personalities. While producing videos may require a bit more time and effort, they provide an excellent opportunity to showcase your new products or provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse of your businesses’ operations.

· Share the likes, comments, and love. Independent businesses understand the significance of mutual support and frequently reciprocate the favour. By researching and engaging with other small businesses around you, liking and commenting on their posts, you can encourage them to follow your page and engage with your content, while also reaching out to their followers. Customer likes, comments and positive reviews not only increase brand awareness but can also offer cost savings, EXPRESSION offers additional discounts based on great customer reviews to independent business owners.

· Engage in small talk. Your followers are your brand advocates, spreading the word both virtually and in reality. Acknowledging them brings a human touch to an otherwise virtual process, reflecting the care and attention they will experience when visiting your business. Take time to reply to your followers' comments, answer questions promptly, address any concerns and thank them for their support.

· Just ask. Encouraging customers and followers to like and leave positive comments can have a great impact on your business and should be looked upon as a priority. Add a call to action to encourage activity, for example, a restaurant could post a photo of fajitas with text “we believe every day is fajita Friday - like if you agree.”  Follow up with a promotional offer inviting people to “Enjoy fajita Friday on a Tuesday! Let us know why you love fajitas any day of the week and we will pick the best response for a free fajita today!.”

· Hosting social media contests generates excitement and buzz around your business’ social media accounts, resulting in increased engagement and potential new followers.  Create contests or giveaways to boost interaction among your followers, encouraging them to participate by sharing their favourite product or tagging a friend in their entry.

· Hashtags bring people together, reaching more followers, building a community with similar likes and interests. Join in with popular hashtags that your potential customers might be using such as, #bookoftheday for a bookstore, #newdesign for a textiles store, #hairstylist for a hairdressers, or #goodeat for a restaurant or create your own relating to specific marketing campaign, make sure you like it, comment on it, and repost it when followers use it.

· Micro-influencers often have smaller, more engaged audiences whose authentic content can drive local advertising and brand awareness. By interacting with your audience on a more personal level, you can build genuine connections and grow your reach. Consider collaborating with local bloggers and business reviewers offering a free experience in exchange for a review or inviting them to attend a “meet and greet” or evening events to generate interesting content for your high street business.

·Create a loyalty program that includes exclusive deals or discounts for your social media followers. This not only encourages them to visit your business, but also helps to grow a sense of loyalty and connection with your brand leading to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth marketing.

In summary, consistently using social media provides independent business owners an advantage when reaching out to customers, promoting their business or seasonal products. Additionally, customers can conveniently make contact with queries, feedback, opening hours and more.

Remember the key points to social media success are:

· Post regularly

· Be creative with your posts, stand out from your competitors

· Interact with your audience

Discover how Expression supports independent business owners who love their business, and their customers visit www.expressioninsurance.co.uk