Last week we talked about why social media for small business is no longer a question. As we have transitioned into the age of the attention economy the question comes up about how to get content in front of the audience we want to see it.

“Attention is a resource- a person only has so much of it.” Matthew Crawford

As a small business owner you want to attract prospects, convert them into customers and keep them coming back.

Your goal is to create awareness with value and make sure that your solution meets the buyer’s need. Know what they need before they even need it by putting yourself into the consumers head. What problems are they facing and how can I help them solve those problems.

To be successful on social media you have to be active, watching out for what people are saying and asking in your field. That is when you direct them to solutions first and then once they show interest, to your material to help them make an informed decision. In order to do this you must be consistently curating and sharing information. Make sure when communicating with prospects via social media, you inform them about the resources your business has to offer.

Converting prospects into customers is all about building trust. With social media the content you create has to show proof that the customer will meet their goal. For example, a case study proves that others have had success with your product or solution. In turn, this shows that your solution provides more value than another solution the prospect has looked into.

Now, to keep your customers coming back you have to support them by creating content that supports and teaches customers how to solve their problem. You can use social media as a customer-service tool by answering questions directly rather than diverting them to tech support phone call or email, which is not the most convenient for the customer or efficient for you.

The next step after you start to create an audience with your content is social engagement, developing relationships using social media to develop trust, turning your prospects that much closer to the sales conversion.

Thanks for learning with us! Next Thursday we’ll go into depth on social engagement.