This analyses the importance of converting social media followers into active customers for business success. It explores strategies like crafting engaging content, fostering interaction, implementing effective calls to action, encouraging emotional engagement, and leveraging the benefits of a website to drive conversions and foster customer loyalty.

In this Article:

• Why aren’t my followers converting into customers?
• Create Engaging Content
• Build Relationships through interaction
• Utilise Call to Actions (CTAs)
• Encourage Emotional Engagement
• The Many Benefits of Websites
• Final Thoughts

Attracting customers to your socials is only part of the equation for businesses. While increasing your followers should be a focus, and may appear to be promising, the true essence of success lies in what you do to engage and build on that relationship with those followers. In other words, a big focus should be on converting those followers into active customers.

We’ve put together a list of strategies to help you transform your followers into clients, from crafting engaging content that resonates to utilising and creating effective calls to action.

Why aren’t my followers converting into customers?

Let’s say you’re trying to grow your business, you’re gaining followers and likes on your socials, but your conversions don’t seem to be increasing. Several factors could contribute to low conversion rates despite a social media following.

Here are some possible reasons why your followers may not be converting into customers:

Your content: If the content you’re posting doesn’t resonate with your audience or doesn’t align with your brand’s offerings, followers may not see value in what you provide, leading to disengagement.

Lack of Engagement or Interaction: Social media is about building relationships. If you’re not actively engaging with your audience by responding to comments, messages, or shares, followers may not feel a connection or trust in your brand.

Lack of Social Proof: If there’s a scarcity of customer testimonials, reviews, or user-generated content showcasing positive experiences with your brand, it may hinder trust and credibility.

Something to remember is…

Simply having followers isn’t enough.

Having a following on social media is undoubtedly beneficial as it can increase brand visibility, expand reach, and potentially attract more customers. However, having followers doesn’t always guarantee conversions.

In fact, not all followers are actively interested in purchasing products or services. Some might follow your account for entertainment, information, or other reasons unrelated to making purchases.

Consider your customers’ intent; Why might they be following your business page? And think about what you can do to encourage them to go from a follower/observer to an active customer. For example if you’re a company that does acupuncture, and your viewers intent is to learn more on this topic then you could create a blog that goes into detail about acupuncture, and add some sections that emphasise the benefits of your acupuncture business.

Let’s say you run a campaign that generates your Facebook page 50 followers, that’s great! But you shouldn’t stop there, after-all, the likely reason you want those followers is to generate more business.

So how can you generate your followers into business?

1. Create Engaging Content

You may have heard the term ‘quality over quantity’, and we can’t stress it enough with social media. Using good quality content is one of the best ways to encourage interaction with your followers.

Some benefits of this include:

• Quality posts tend to resonate better with your audience, resulting in increased engagement
• Well crafted content will demonstrate expertise, authenticity, and reliability, building trust among your audience
• Delivering high-quality content consistently reflects positively on your brand.
• Quality posts that provide genuine value can influence followers’ decisions, encouraging them to take desired actions such as making purchases or signing up for newsletters.

Keep in mind that with so many businesses online it can feel a little saturated both for the customers and for the business, and encouraging positive interaction through quality content can play on that more ‘human’ element. Quality content will make your brand look trustworthy and avoid people thinking your business is ‘spammy’, which could lose you followers.

The content you share will play a large role towards your followers actually converting into customers.

Some tips for creating engaging content include:

Tell a Story: People are naturally drawn to stories. You could incorporate storytelling techniques into your content to make it more relatable and engaging. Share anecdotes, use real-life examples, and create narratives that connect with your audience emotionally. A well-told story can captivate readers and keep them interested throughout the content.

Use Visuals Effectively: Visual elements such as images, infographics, and videos can significantly enhance the appeal of your content. Break up large blocks of text with visuals to make the content more visually appealing and easier to digest, or for text themed posts make sure to include a relevant image. Visuals not only add interest but also help convey information more effectively.

For more information on how to write effective content, you can click here

2. Build Relationships Through Interaction

Engaging with customers online goes far beyond simply liking their comments. In fact, if done right, it can be an effective way to really build relationships, and is an important step to turning visitors or followers into clients.

Engaging online creates this aura of ‘responsiveness’ around businesses. One study emphasises that engaging online is important for addressing concerns and providing solutions in real time. When somebody visits a store they have staff around who can help them with any issues they may have.

We recommend you try to recreate this same atmosphere on your socials.

This active engagement with your clients will significantly impact your business, in fact, it’s been found that this will not only improve your brand perception, but also lead to higher revenue and business growth opportunities.

Techniques for engaging with customers

The first thing to keep in mind is that there are a few different types of interactions on social media, for example:

• Likes
• Comments
• Direct messages
• Reviews
• Group interaction

For interaction purposes, the main ones that you want to keep in mind are comments, direct messages, reviews and group interaction.

As an example with comments, this is a good way to encourage conversation. A comment could be passing, maybe someone is complimenting your product, or perhaps they’re offering suggestions. What’s important here is that you respond, like their comment and give them a respectful response.

For example, let’s say someone suggests you introduce a new service to your business. You could respond by informing them that your team will look into it now you know there’s interest. This is a simple way of validating your client, and will encourage them to view your business in a positive light.

However, it won’t always be rainbows and butterflies, people can be difficult, and you will get negative interaction as well as positive. Keep in mind that the best way to deal with this is to educate. Don’t view negative interaction in a bad light, instead look at it as an opportunity to talk about your business, or solve an issue! This will reflect positively on your brand.

We’ve put together some tips for interaction below:

Comments: Respond to all/as many comments as you can. Make sure you encourage and talk in a positive tone to make your clients feel heard. Even for negative comments, respond in a positive way to show potential clients that you are responsive – Don’t forget to like all of the comments on your posts, as this will make your audience feel acknowledged, even if you don’t respond to their comment.

Direct messages: This will likely be inquiries and questions. Make sure you stay on top of your messages. Something that may help with this is to take note of the questions being asked, if you see a pattern, you should both include information on your page, or website, and write a list of potential comments and their replies. This will speed up your response process 🙂

Reviews: Respond to your reviews! Getting feedback from people online is great, but you shouldn’t end the interaction there. Be sure to thank the individual reviewing your business, you could tell them that you appreciate their feedback. For a negative review, use this as an opportunity to address the problem being raised, either solve it or inform them that you will look into it to make a change.

Group interaction: If you are involved in groups, or have your own group for your followers to interact on, keep an eye out for content that you can engage with. Is somebody talking about a problem they have that you know a lot about? Interact with that individual and help them out. This is great for both building awareness, relationships and gaining followers.

Using AI: If you’re struggling to come up with a response you can ask AI to help you. This is a great little hack to help you flesh out your responses; just make sure that once it gives you the base, you rewrite it to be relevant to your business.

3. Utilising Calls to Action

You will often see carefully crafted interactions on websites, these are there to encourage an action, whether that’s to pick up a phone or book a service. Remember that this same method should be used on your social media, not just your website. After all, your socials might be the direction people take to engage or become clients.

All of these methods we list in this blog correlate with each other. However, CTA’s are specifically important to encourage action, which can be the do or don’t between someone actually interacting with your social media rather than just observing.

Some outcomes include:

• Liking and commenting on your posts
• Getting in touch with your business
• Visiting your websites
• Conversions
• Reading your blogs

So what actually is a call to action?

One study defines CTAs as ‘a text prompt that encourages your reader to take a specific action’, and they’re spot on, for social media specifically these will be on blogs, comments and replies and more. On Facebook, you can also add CTA’s to your business page, and once that’s done you can track the number of people that have clicked the button!

Social media CTA best practices

In theory, CTAs are simply a prompt to encourage somebody to do something. But they still require careful consideration and implementation. We’ve put together some tips for creating effective call to actions on your social media:

Effective placement: Effective placement of CTAs on social platforms is crucial for engaging audiences and driving desired actions. For instance, on platforms like Facebook and Instagram these platforms allow direct incorporation of CTAs like “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” or “Sign Up,” guiding users seamlessly towards the desired action. You should incorporate these on your pages and ensure that you make your socials as easy to navigate as possible…

Straight to the point: Did you know that the average attention span online is 8 seconds? This means that your CTA has got a short amount of time to get its message across. So if you want someone to take action, using engaging phrases such as “Discover more,” “Join us,” or “Book Now” might prompt immediate responses. Regardless of your reasoning for the CTA, ensure that the overall prompt and message resonates with your viewers.

It also means that if your viewers are scanning they will quickly get what your CTA is trying to achieve and can make an informed decision on whether to take action or not.

Writing compelling CTAs: To do this create a sense of urgency or exclusivity, and address the audience’s pain points or desires. Phrases like “Limited time offer,” “Unlock your potential,” or “Don’t miss out” instigate a sense of urgency or exclusivity that might motivate users to act swiftly.

4. Encourage Emotional Engagement

Studies show that “emotions have a significant impact on our decision-making process”. In order to foster strong relationships with your clients and/or followers, a great step is to build on the emotional engagement.

Consider your clients pain points, their preferences or needs. Where and how does your product align with these? More importantly, how does it resolve them?

Creating a sense of exclusivity is a strategic way to incentivise followers. There are a range of techniques involved that you can utilise to create this feeling.

Share Exclusive Content: You could offer unique content that hints at being available to select groups. Whether it’s behind the scenes footage or a sneak peek at a new product or service.

Limited Time Offers: You should use your social media to share exclusive discounts with your audience. Doing so will encourage your followers to take action, for example, you could share limited time discounts on products using the tips we suggested for CTAs. This is a great way to build on urgency.

Highlight Social Proof: Showcasing testimonials can show your community how much you value your audience and build trust. It can also make the individuals who shared that testimonial feel seen, thereby helping you to build a loyal customer base. Interacting and responding to testimonials can also demonstrate that your business listen to feedback, which might encourage people to check your business out! Responding to testimonials, whether good or bad, is important for showing that you take action, listen to and appreciate your audience.

Teasers: Share teasers into upcoming products, services, collaborations and more. This will keep users engaged and make them curious about what’s next. These feelings will help to build on curiosity, which could result in them visiting your website, or interacting with your posts.

Emojis and Tone: Have you ever heard somebody say that a message didn’t ‘sound’ right? Maybe they picked up on a bad vibe because someone types in all capitals, or didn’t use emojis? The tone that you use throughout your social media will set the expectation for your customers on what your business is like.

Make sure that you consistently use a tone that suits your business, and don’t be afraid to use emojis when engaging with customers, as they’re a great way to add a touch of personality!

For example, the two posts below read and sound very different:

“Let’s unite and make a difference! Help us take action today by signing our petition for cleaner oceans. Every signature counts towards a healthier planet for future generations!

Click the link in our bio to add your voice and be a part of the solution!

Together, we can create waves of change. Click here to learn more.”

Versus

“We’re currently gathering signatures for a petition addressing ocean cleanliness. Click the link in our bio to sign up. Cheers.”

Using the right tone, emojis and more can significantly impact whether someone will interact with your socials or whether they will simply move on to the next post.

The Perks of a Website

Having a website linked to your social media can significantly improve conversion rates compared to not having one. A website acts as a central hub where potential customers can gain information about your offerings, fostering trust and credibility. When linked to social media platforms, it creates a seamless customer journey, which can help to drive enquiries.

Without a website, social media platforms alone will only be able to provide limited information. There’s only so much you can share on your socials before it would be more convenient to keep it all in place, both for you and for your clients. Afterall, potential customers likely won’t hunt your socials for information.

By strategically linking social media posts to specific landing pages or product pages, you could streamline the user experience, and guide interested customers directly to the place they’d need to be to convert.

It’s been suggested that it’s better to share valuable content that directs to your website, rather than trying to fit everything into your socials. By giving your audience more information, you’re building trust and positioning yourself as an authority in your field, which will increase the likelihood of them converting into clients.

Websites also give you a place where you can direct traffic to from both your socials and your google business listing. If people want more information, they will be more likely to visit your website than spend hours scrolling through your socials.

In conclusion

Increasing your followers and likes on social media is an essential part of any business’s marketing strategy, but it’s only the beginning. The true value lies in converting those followers into loyal customers. By focusing on creating engaging content, building relationships through interaction, utilising effective calls to action, encouraging emotional engagement, and leveraging the power of a website, you can transform your social media presence into a powerful tool for business growth.