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We recently launched a fresh website for one of our marketing clients, and were following up on their Vancouver-based SEO traffic. We included a breakdown of their organic traffic, where clients were landing, where they were leaving, and how bounce rates were decreasing across the board. Visits to the Contact Page were on the rise, and site-wide conversion seemed to be going smoothly in most areas…except social media referrals.
“Have you been running any campaigns for social media?” we asked.
“Sure,” our client replied, “We’ve been running promoted posts on Facebook. It’s great. We’re getting hundreds of Likes on each post!”
This is an immediate red flag. It’s such a classic example to see someone approach social media marketing without a strategy in mind – so we dug deeper to figure out why their social media referrals were not converting web traffic into sales.
Here are 5 findings, all of which are reasons why your social media campaign might seem to be working – but really isn’t.
1. You’re Reaching The Wrong Audience
Before doing any marketing, we begin with the customer in mind. Not only do we want to increase traffic to the site, but we want to make sure that every visit is a qualified customer. This rule applies to social media, and especially when it comes to paid post promotion. Don’t let Facebook’s shiny “Boost Your Post!” button fool you – properly promoted posts require thoughtful consideration of Facebook’s targeting parameters.
When I reviewed our client’s Facebook posts, I saw one that had 86 Likes, and was linking to relevant site content. One of the comments was from a user who asked “Hey – do you know if your service is offered in Ontario?”
Unfortunately, our client is a clinic located in Vancouver, BC…whoops!
Even if your content resonates with the audience – if they physically can’t become your customer, you probably shouldn’t pay to reach them!
2. You’re Wasting Your Money
While every other post on our client’s Facebook page had a handful of Likes – I saw the occasional post with 90 Likes or more. These are pretty obvious to be promoted posts. In this case, the post was a customer review with no photo, no hyperlink and no comments…and had 96 Likes.
Likes aren’t exactly useful if there’s no call-to-action to your website. Even for branding purposes – if there’s no branded content (image) in your post, the impact of your message is weak. And if you’re promoting your posts to an audience that aren’t existing fans of your page – chances are you’ll never reach them again.
Unless you’re working on a branding campaign, you should always keep the call-to-action at the top of your mind when promoting a post. What do you want your fans to do?
If your post has no call-to-action, no branding, and no way to follow up – you’re probably wasting your money.
3. You’re Not Following Up
Here’s the thing. Just because you have an awesome Facebook post with cool creatives and engaging copy – doesn’t mean that a customer is going to buy from you from that post alone. This is where engagement comes in. Make sure to reply to your customers’ comments, start a conversation, follow up. This is how you build your brand and drive sales.
Unfortunately, I saw several unanswered questions and comments on our client’s Facebook page – all opportunities to connect with their core audience!
If you’re not taking the time to connect with your audience, you’re not maximizing your social media exposure.
4. Your Traffic Is Not Converting
This is the most likely reason why your social media campaign isn’t effective. Even if you gain thousands of visits on your page – if none of them convert, you’re wasting your money. Take the time to analyze the traffic coming from your social media referrals. How high is the bounce rate? Are people browsing your site? Where are they going? Are they actually buying from you?
Our client had a 92% bounce rate on their Facebook referrals – meaning that 9 out of every 10 visits was virtually worthless as prospective leads. In comparison, the organic traffic from their website was much lower and was actually driving visitors to fill out the Contact Us form.
You can also track your conversion rate across different sections of your website by using A/B testing and other other conversion rate optimization (CRO) methods.
If you’re not tracking conversions, you can’t justify your social media costs.
5. You’re Not Creating Awesome Content
A good social media strategy starts with the “why.” As in, “why would I want to click on this Facebook post?” Every single item posted on your page has to answer the question of “why,” or else it’s not contributing to your overall brand. If you’re looking to create awesome content, it has to be eye-catching, engaging and effective. This means that it needs to grab people’s attention, give them a reason to click or comment, and ultimately convert visitors into customers.
Unfortunately, I saw lots of promoted posts that lacked creatives or engaging copy. A simple branded card would have improved their content tenfold – a picture speaks a thousand words, y’know?
If you’re not creating awesome content, your content isn’t worth promoting (duh)
Needless to say, we’re giving some social media feedback to our client. We want to see them succeed, and success doesn’t just come from one area!
If you catch yourself wondering about any of the above 5 statements – it’s time to rethink your social media strategy. Contact our marketing agency and we’re more than happy to take a look through your social media pages and make some recommendations. We’re here to help! We’re friendly. We always have chocolate. 🙂