Can you really use social media and content marketing to drive sales and grow your business? Instead, consider generating attention for your company by building up your personal brand and using it as a platform to educate and entertain your customers. Consider my online activity. Control the first impression: What shows up when people Google you? According to industry stats, that means nearly 50% (or 15 people) of those searchers are clicking on my results every month. My article shows up in Google’s infobox for that term, which means I earn 31% of those searches, or 99 people each month. Close the Sale I talk a lot about the importance of online reputation management for business owners and entrepreneurs. Of course, this seems painfully obvious for someone in the industry of personal branding, but it can work for any industry. Let’s say you write content about the best and worst kinds of solar panels, tips for self-installation, and how you used your own kit to save money and the environment. When they ask, “Did you install your own solar panels?” you can tell them “Of course, I’ll send you a Youtube video where I documented the whole process.” The point is this: having a portfolio of useful content shows that you’ve already thought through your customers’ potential problems -- and it shows you walk the walk.
You might have heard the stats: sales reps who use social media as part of their sales techniques outsell 78 percent of their peers. Leads developed through employees’ social media activities convert 7 times more frequently than other leads.
How does this work? Can you really use social media and content marketing to drive sales and grow your business?
Yes, and I speak from experience. I regularly use my personal brand to bring in additional revenue for my company and I’m not a salesman. The following tips can work for anyone. Online branding efforts will give you a competitive edge in driving sales, whether you’re in a sales role or not.
The process is simple: by getting useful content in front of potential clients, you get more attention, control the narrative, broaden your sales funnel and ultimately drive revenue for your company.
Get attention
Wouldn’t you be in better shape if more people knew about your business?
Of course. That’s why business owners spend thousands on advertising initiatives. Sure, advertising can be helpful, but those campaigns are often expensive, impersonal and don’t provide any real value to the customer.
Instead, consider generating attention for your company by building up your personal brand and using it as a platform to educate and entertain your customers. It may require more effort than throwing money at an ad, but it’s far more cost-effective and will build you a longer-lasting, loyal base of brand advocates in the process.
Consider my online activity. To get attention for myself, I publish articles regularly on top-tier publications like Entrepreneur, Forbes and Huffington Post, and share them on social media platforms alongside industry news and other important articles. The goal is to be as helpful as possible to people who might have questions about online branding and reputation management. I’m by no means a celebrity, yet I’ve built a following of 15,000+ people who follow me and engage with my content every day on Twitter. That’s kind of amazing.
Control the first impression:
What shows up when people Google you?
It better be good. Of all Internet users, 65 percent see online search as the most trusted source of information about people and companies. That’s a higher level of trust than any other online or offline source.
An impressive first impression that highlights press mentions and awards, and builds credibility? “Okay, maybe I’ll give them a call.”
Irrelevant or negative information? “Eh, maybe not.”
After all, your customers are just one Google search away from a competitor who looks much more credible than you do. So do your homework to make sure…
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