This One Change to Your Sales Strategy Can Make All the Difference

As a social media marketing professional, I frequently see phrases along the lines of "converting content into sales." But let me offer you a simple change in wording that could make a world of difference. It's a change that takes the primary focus off of you and your content, and puts it onto the buyer, where it belongs.

I challenge you to change phases like "convert content to sales" to "convert onlookers into buyers."

Better yet, make it singular: Convert an onlooker into a buyer. The key difference is it immediately puts you in the shopper's seat. When you think more about converting onlookers into buyers, I'm sure you're thinking less about what you want to communicate vs what your audience needs to see in order to feel truly motivated to shop. What is it that makes them go from the interest stage to the information gathering stage, and what makes them go from that to the most important stage of all when it comes to sales - the purchase stage.

Think about that for a moment. For the onlooker in your audience who is relevant to your products, what would convert them into a buyer? Let's say for example that they want to start leading a more healthy lifestyle. If you're a natural skincare brand, encouraging them to be good to their bodies by using more simple and safe products on their skin is a no-brainer. Though it's a commonly used social sales tactic, so you have to strengthen it with another supporting element, like positioning.

Positioning is simply communicating why your product is superior to that of your competitors. Again, if you are talking the focus off yourself and putting it onto your buyer, that should cause you to approach positioning in a personalized way. For example, if you own a clean makeup brand, why should your ideal buyer pick you over competitors? What is it they are really looking for? If it's a feeling they're after, then you know you need to up your content imagery to better match that vibe. If the clean beauty aspect is most important to your ideal buyer, then create content that will not only attract that specific buyer but that will best communicate that to them.

That last point is best for giving an example, I think. Because you really need to get into the mind of your ideal buyer but on a large scale. So let's say your ideal buyer is someone who very much is after cleaner, healthier beauty products.

An effective way to communicate your product's value to that specific desire is to learn the key buzz words and phrases she might use.

Anything specific like "does not contain pthalates etc." can work. Something more broad like does not contain artificial colorants or fragrances" can also provide the right amount of positioning. Helping inform your buyer as to why certain ingredients are important to avoid can then be a crucial part of their information gathering stage.

After emphasizing your buyer's "why" to them (the why of them choosing your product), repeating that over and over can go a long way with ensuring they reach the purchase stage. Repetition is vital here; just as it is with most branding, marketing and sales strategies. Because we rarely catch shoppers at the exact moment of their "when" for purchasing your product type. So in repetition, we're not only reinforcing branding but also maintaining contact and nurturing your connection with your buyer between the interest stage and when they finally reach their "when."

Of course none of this works if you don't know exactly who your ideal buyer is. If he or she cannot be deduced to a single shopper, then you need to spend more time getting to know them. What are her daily habits, her thoughts and hopes? Really dive in to that first and then you can figure out how to apply these tips.