12 minute read
Converting Social Media Into Sales
By AMANDA BOUTWELL
“Many companies within the hardwood lumber industry are using social media marketing effectively.” Tony Cimorelli, Marketing Director at Baillie Lumber
7 STEPS
1. Research to discover which social media platform is right for your company. 2. Remember that social media is a community. 3. Engage with your audience. 4. Carefully create your social profile on each platform you choose. 5. Give people a reason to follow you by offering engaging, valuable posts. 6. Only publish things your potential customers care about - what interests them.
7. Post frequently
Social media marketing has a long, transformational history. The first social media website was created in 1997, and contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t Facebook! The first social media platform was called “Six Degrees” and was similar to an early LinkedIn. But social media as we know it today didn’t take off until 2004 when Mark Zuckerberg created Thefacebook (which later changed its name to Facebook). By November 2006, Facebook had over 50 million users and announced it would begin selling ads. Thus, the dawning of social media marketing.
It wasn’t long before other social media platforms joined Facebook. Some were successful, like LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok. Others were no more than brief blips on the radar. Today, there are dozens of social media platforms, with a total of 4.2 billion active users. Each social platform provides a unique audience, tone, and focus.
According to the Pew Research Center, social media can constitute 62 percent of a company’s lead generation. It is simply a matter of knowing how to use it effectively. Not all social media platforms work for every company. Each platform serves a different purpose. Some are meant to highlight photos (like Instagram and Pinterest), while others were created to share videos (like YouTube and TikTok). The most critical step in converting social media into sales for your business is to carefully choose which social media platforms will work for your business. Since the hardwood lumber industry covers a wide range of businesses, what works for sawmills may not be what is best for companies manufacturing equipment.
For example, NHLA Associate Members (those who use hardwood lumber to manufacture cabinets, flooring, furniture, moulding, pallets, and more) could be significantly served by a platform like Pinterest. Pinterest is a visual discovery engine for finding ideas on things like decorating, home remodeling inspiration, and more. Pinterest is where people create an online vision board for what they want. It affords companies in this sector of the hardwood lumber industry the opportunity to get their product in front of 291 million active users (and potential customers) who are actively looking for what they sell. The Real American Hardwood Coalition uses Pinterest to inspire consumers to use real American hardwoods in their dream homes.
Instagram is also a fantastic platform for NHLA Associate Members. It is
said that a picture is worth 1,000 words. On Instagram, beautiful photos of hardwood floors, furniture, and cabinetry speak for themselves, giving would-be customers inspiration for what they want in their homes. Plus, Instagram has over 1 billion monthly active users. How’s that for an audience pool?
Another excellent option for those involved in manufacturing hardwood products is called Houzz. Houzz is a social media platform specialized for home services businesses. You can use Houzz to tap into a network of customers looking specifically for products related to your business. Consumers can make purchases directly from Houzz, and many contractors use Houzz to buy things like flooring and cabinetry for their custom homes. NHLA Associate member, Koetter Woodworking, does a great job using Houzz to generate sales. For NHLA Active Members (those that manufacture, custom kiln dry, wholesale, or distribute hardwood lumber, plywood, or related products) and Sustaining Members (those that supply services, materials, or equipment), the ideal option may be different. Both do well on LinkedIn because it is the platform most decision-makers at companies use. Facebook can also be an excellent option, and every company has a place on YouTube. “We use LinkedIn because it aligns with our efforts to release important information, increasing our credibility in the industry. We use Facebook because it is a must-have to spread our message and a great platform for sharing informational messages and inter-office fun!”
Melissa Berry, Marketing Director at Continental Underwriters
To find out which social media platforms your business should be focusing on, you need to identify who your audience is first. You have a leg up if you already know who your customers are. But, if you are unsure, there are many tools you can use, like Google Analytics, to discover where your customers are the most active. You can also look toward role-model companies that are similar to yours. What platforms are your role-model companies on, and which platforms seem to have the most engaged users? Key things to look for include likes, shares, and comments.
The important thing to remember is that you do not need to be on every social media platform out there to convert your posts into sales. Unless you have a dedicated social staff or your company uses a professional service, it is often best to pick just two or three social media platforms. If you operate on too many platforms, your message will be spread too thin, and you won’t have time to make meaningful connections. Remember that social media is a community, and communities are made because of relationships. Forging relationships requires conversation, a natural back-and-forth. If someone comments on your post, reply to them. At the very least, react to what they have said. Relationships you build on social media are what translate to sales.
Many NHLA members do an excellent job on their selected social media platforms. One such member is Continental Underwriters, Inc. We spoke to Melissa Berry, the Marketing Director at Continental Underwriters, about ways her company uses social media to increase sales. They focus on two platforms: LinkedIn and Facebook. Melissa said, “We use LinkedIn because it aligns with our efforts to release important information, increasing our credibility in the industry. We use Facebook because it is a must-have to spread our message and a great platform for sharing informational messages and inter-office fun!”
Frank Miller Lumber has shined on social media recently with a five-part mini-series that showcases each stage of operation in the sawmill. Not only are they sharing the videos on YouTube, but they are also distributing them across other social media channels. These videos are fantastic educational pieces and show what actually happens in a sawmill.
BID Group is another member that excels at social media. Vicky Drolet, the Marketing Coordinator at BID Group, explained, “We choose to use LinkedIn and Facebook primarily, but we communicate mostly on LinkedIn, as most of our customers are using that
platform.” Vicky continued, “Social media is important to us because it lets us create relationships with our followers.”
Once you have committed to your chosen social media platforms, it’s time to ensure that your profile is optimized. If you fail to set up your social media profiles properly, it could mean the difference between converting a follower into a customer or never earning their business. Some crucial sections to focus on include your business name (if you have an acronym for a company name, make sure you spell it out), the correct physical address of your business, your phone number, and a link to your website. Including these sections will be critical if someone wishes to reach out after seeing something they liked on your social postings. Branding of your business should be top of mind. Your profile picture should be your company logo. Finally, the “bio” section (sometimes called the “about” section) should be fun and creative. You don’t want to bore people; you want to encourage them to learn more.
Once your social profile has been set up, it is tempting to publish one post after another, plugging your products and services. While you are encouraged to promote your company on social media, you should find a balance between those posts and posts that are genuinely valuable to your audience. The best way to succeed at publishing valuable content that will convert to sales is to make sure every post has at least one of the four Es. Your posts should be engaging, enlightening, educational, and encouraging. Your brand values must be embedded in everything you share on social media.
Posts that will lead to the most sales conversions will be those that reflect your company culture. Every company has a different personality. For instance, Ally Global Logistics has a video that has gone viral about its Ally Cares program, highlighting several aspects of its culture: charity and inclusion. Ally’s president, Steve Zambo, said, “Ally Cares is an important program to us. With Ally Cares, we give back by setting $1 aside for every load we move. It adds up quickly. Each year, our staff submits what charities they believe should receive the donation. Everyone votes, and the money raised is donated to the charity that wins the popular vote.” The video touches on the four Es and makes people want to learn more about the company.
If your company focuses on providing value to your followers on social, it is practically guaranteed to convert to sales because it builds a relationship of trust. Some ways to provide value on social include posting links to stories your audience would be interested in, polls, and behind-the-scenes imagery that humanizes your business.
A company that is showing its human side on social is BID Group, and people in the hardwood industry are taking notice. Melissa Berry commented, “BID Group does an excellent job on their social media accounts. They post about what is going on out front (informational/educational, how you can help), what they are doing outside (associations/hiring/community service), and what’s going on behind the scenes (employee accomplishments/culture/personal look inside). BID Group’s social media shows a well-rounded company that is real, not just on the screen.”
Kelsey Schweitzer, Marketing Manager for NWH
Tony Cimorelli, the Marketing Director at Baillie Lumber, said, “Many companies within the hardwood lumber industry are using social media marketing effectively. I would like to highlight the work of our industry associations. NHLA, AHEC, HMA, and more recently, those behind the Real American Hardwood Coalition, whose efforts help promote the value of using hardwoods and circulate excellent content we can all like and share, which helps everyone in the industry.”
If you want to convert social media to sales, make sure your posts are relevant and interesting to your specific audience. You can learn what your audience cares about by monitoring social media. Simply looking at trending hashtags can give you a myriad of ideas on how to connect what is topical and popular to your brand and your message. Websites like BuzzSumo actively “listen” to social media, the news, etc. Setting up an account can help you keep a pulse on what’s currently important to your audience.
Having social media accounts that are rarely updated can be worse than not having accounts at all. If someone is seeking your business on social and notices that you haven’t posted anything new in months, they may subconsciously feel like you are no longer in business or that you are too busy to care about their needs. Your window of opportunity is small. In today’s give-it-to-me-now world, people don’t have attention spans that last long enough to figure out if your company has what they need. First impressions are more important than ever.
How often you should post varies depending on the social media platform. You are building a community, so your post frequency will make a difference. Generally, it’s better to post too much than to leave vast gulfs between posts. You should try to post at least once every day or two on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. On Twitter, you’ll need five to fifteen tweets spread throughout the day to remain relevant. The newest hot social platform is TikTok, but it requires a lot of work – at least two original videos per day.
Kelsey Schweitzer, the Marketing Manager for NWH, said, “We have seen many hardwood lumber companies launch social media accounts but quickly fade away. Consistency is the key to success. You don’t have to post every day but keeping accounts current and posting on a regular basis is important to keep people engaged and get the most out of the message you want to share. Companies like Bingaman Lumber, Ron Jones Hardwood, Cormark International, The Wood Yard, Pacific Hardwood, and Advantage Lumber all do a good job on social. People love seeing behind-the-scenes content, and there are some companies in the hardwood lumber industry that do a great job at sharing posts like these.”
Kelsey continues, “NWH wants to continue to educate our customers and end-users about the benefits of hardwoods over other materials, and we think social media is one of the ways we can reach them. As long as people are still using social channels, we’ll continue to be there. This is an industry where people are still becoming active on social media, so in 5 years, we believe it will be even more impactful than it is today. Being active and consistent today will make sure we are ready and visible when social media becomes more influential in the hardwood lumber industry.”
The bottom line is social media is here to stay and becomes more pertinent to sales each year. If you haven’t joined, you are missing out on potential sales. While it is difficult to measure social media conversions, it is easy to see their importance. Tony Cimorelli with Baillie Lumber says they measure successful social “by looking for positive growth in followers, post engagement, and the number of posts we put up per month.”
Engaging with your customers, building relationships, and developing communities are all part of Sales 101. Social media is no longer a “nice thing to have.” It is a necessity.
Sources: https://thepaymentsassociation.org/article/the-history-of-social-mediamarketing/ https://eclincher.com/how-to-convert-social-media-leads-into-sales/ www.bramework.com/convert-social-media-sales/
www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/marketing-sales-export/marketing/turnfans-into-customers
