7 ideas to convert your social media connections into sales

The following is an article I wrote for my Connections column in Event Solutions Magazine.

So what if you’ve amassed a thousand fans on Facebook? So what if you have hundreds of blog subscribers? So what if you’re neck in neck with Lady GaGa for twitter followers? What are you doing to turn those social media connections into dollars for your business?

There are thousands of different ideas for businesses to convert ‘friends’ into sales – here are 7 free ones your business can start implementing tomorrow.

1. Manage your connections

Gist is one of the most useful tools I have in my social media arsenal, not to mention it’s 100% free while it’s in Beta testing. In a nutshell, Gist helps you build stronger relationships with your connections by providing critical information about all of them. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you’re connected with John Doe on Facebook and LinkedIn. By simply inputting John’s email (which he uses for both social media sites), it will pull John’s phone number, address, his social media account names, website, rss feeds, shared connections, the last time you connected with him, etc. You can also sync with your emails so that your latest correspondence is stored with the contact! Essentially it’s a social CRM (customer relationship management) service. The power for businesses is being able organize all of your contacts in one place and zoom in on specific people to find out what they’re doing, saying and sharing across a variety of social media tools.

2. Solve a problem

Some of the most compelling and successful products and services solve a problem for their customers. Never before has it been so easy for businesses to unlock the minds of their target market. Now, we can hear their frustrations, their needs, their challenges by reading their tweets, Facebook updates and blog posts. Spend the time using a listening tool like Google Reader, Google Alerts or Social Mention to track conversations around brands or keywords. Use the intelligence you gain to find a solution to your target’s problems. This could result in new product or service offerings. It could also translate to an informational webinar or ebook (see point #5 below) created to provide expertise and advice around a specific topic.

3. Make it easy

We live in a world where time is our most precious commodity. Make it difficult for your connection to find information about you or your products, or *gasp* make it too challenging for them to click buy and you’ll lose a sale. One of my favorite new tools for businesses who have Facebook Fan Pages is Shop Now powered by Payvment. With this great application, businesses can sell directly through their fan page, without customers having to click through to another website!

4. Host a meetup

Yes, it’s true. You can still meet face to face. And what better way to leverage the connections you’ve made online than to press the flesh in person. Meetup.com is a site that allows you to create a group (for example, Brides of Mississippi) and schedule events around that group (for example, hold an event titled the Top 10 Things Every Bride Needs to Know to Avoid Wedding Disaster and partner with local wedding vendors to give 10 minute tips on what to do to avoid common mistakes). The key for businesses is to find a way to offer value…but you already know that after reading point #2 above.

5. Create a webinar or ebook

There are many different reasons why webinars (web conferencing used to conduct seminars, demos, training or live meetings) or ebooks (downloadable electronic books) can help convert contacts into sales. At the top of my list is the ability to show yourself as an expert on a specific topic. Use these tools as a loss leader to sell other products and services or generate income from your ebooks and webinars. The choice is yours.

6. Tap into collective buying power

If you haven’t already heard the buzz about Groupon, well, rush on over to your computer and check out groupon.com. It is one of the most exciting new tools for businesses today! Every single day, Groupon emails a featured product or service at an unbelievable price to the subscribers who signed up to be notified of deals in their area. What this means for businesses is that they merge collective buying power with social media to give businesses exposure and guaranteed customers. Businesses do not pay upfront for the service and instead give Groupon a portion of each sale. They also specify the minimum number of sales they would like and if enough people buy a voucher the deal is sent to their customer’s inbox and the business gets mailed a cheque the next day.

7. Plan for conversions

Larry Elder once said that “A goal without a plan is just a wish”. The biggest reason why companies don’t see ROI from their social media initiatives is that they don’t have a plan. Plan for conversions. Identify, before you proceed with your social media activities, what your goals are and how you will measure success. Ensure you have adequate resources and budget to make your program as effective as possible. And, assess how you’re doing at regular intervals throughout your program so you can recalibrate, if necessary.