I would like to start by clarifying WHEN this question comes up.
- they have a new business (launched a few months ago) or who have not had much of an online presence until now;
- who have invested in a marketing strategy, in creating a branding and a website, and their expectation is that: "now that I have them, that means my business will be successful immediately" without considering that success comes from implementing strategy, and implementing strategy means TIME. It's not enough to just follow the posting plan that comes with the strategy (and even that isn't enough);
- who do not spend time understanding what online promotion means, who do not focus on creating a community around the brand (there is no intention to serve, there is only the intention to sell) and who promote themselves online because "we have to be here too, but let someone else do it without my intervention and with as little budget as possible";
After I have my marketing strategy and branding, what should I think about?
Marketing strategy. How long does it bring results and under what conditions?
Regardless of the goals defined in the strategy, the main goal is to SELL and sales will not come if ONLY one tactic is followed, namely organic Facebook/ Instagram/ TikTok posts. According to those from Converse Digital, a Social Media strategy "takes flight" after about 6 months - 1 year, and that's if you take into account what you're about to read.
However, this does not mean that you cannot have sales in the first three months, but it does require a little more effort!
ORGANIC PROMOTION WILL NOT BRING IN IMMEDIATE SALES without being supported by advertising and without growing a database of potential customers.
Um.. how? If I post people find out what I'm doing, how I'm helping them and they'll buy right?
Here is the wrong expectation. First you have to reach these people. "If I post consistently, the account grows and automatically after three months there are sales." Not enough posts!
What is the role of organic posts?
The main role is to GROW A COMMUNITY. Growing a community isn't easy and it takes TIME. It's important to BE, not just do.
TIME = posts made according to a plan but that feel like they are made by you through videos of you and your business, adding new friends to your list, being active in Facebook groups and giving your opinion there, to comment on competitor's posts, get guest posts, interact with other accounts you admire, etc.
Not all of these things can be delegated to someone external such as an agency, but must be done by you or someone inside the business.
Our role as an agency is to SAVE YOU FROM THIS TIME and guide you in this way to find out what suits you, what is easy for you to do and where to be present, but we cannot do EVERYTHING for you and especially not you can expect to get sales just because some posts are made.
At the same time, time is also measured in money. You can't demand results that come if time is involved (that isn't yours) without paying for it or paying less than you should.
Note here: The more time you put in the less you will pay in getting the results.
Why do organic posts not bring immediate sales WITHOUT ads and without being present offline?
BECAUSE I'M NOT REACHING MANY PEOPLE, I'm not reaching new people.
Algorithms change often, very often... and if you measure what you do you will notice that the posts reach 20% of those who follow you. 20%!! You can increase this percentage, it's true, by taking into account the times your customers are active on Social Media, interacting with other accounts before and after a post is made, posting as much video content as possible, and especially posting all types of content which we are allowed.
From what I wrote above, I think you already realized that organic posts cannot bring immediate results without an investment of time. A community grows if the intent is to give, not just receive, and sales here will come because you've earned people's trust.
How do you gain people's trust? How do you get them to buy?
By talking about WHAT, HOW, WHY.
WHAT THE you sell, what is the service/product.
HOW do you do what you do That is, talk about yourself as an entrepreneur, about the people in the team, about what is important in the relationship with customers, etc.
WHY do you do what you do WHY it's about the mission of the business, about your mission as a human being, and that has nothing to do with selling, with money… it's about serving, about contributing something to your customers' lives.
To walk people through the whole process WHAT, HOW, WHY it takes more than three months, although I tell you that a fine community can be formed even in three months, but it means INVOLVEMENT!
Okay, now I understand about organic posts, but how can I get sales faster?
Through other tactics that come in a strategy.
Tactics refer to what we can do on each individual channel:
- Social Media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Linkedin, Pinterest, Youtube) through organic posts and paid campaigns (together!) + influence marketing (as applicable).
- Website through SEO optimizations, through Google MyBusiness profile, through blog articles and through website data capture.
- Email Marketing to get people to complete the sales process (if it's an online store) or to increase your database of potential customers. Email marketing contributes to the growth of the community and to achieve this please follow THE VIDEO IN THIS ARTICLE in which I explained how you can get sales in the first three months through email marketing.
- offline presence, at events, fairs, networking, etc. Then from here the interested people to be sent online, where they will enter the flow above (cold audience).
Conclusion
To answer the question "Why haven't you gotten me any sales after three months of posting?" – Because only two tactics in the strategy were followed (posts and website) and because time was not invested for the tactics to bring results (to create valuable content). Even if there had been the investment of time, that would not have guaranteed sales without also applying the other tactics to help you reach as many people as possible.
I remind you of the article from Converse Digital that explains very well when and how results come from organic posts. These results refer to engagement, number of followers, NOT just sales.
To get sales in the first three months you do NOT have to be everywhere, that is, on Facebook and Instagram and Pinterest and Linkedin and you do NOT have to apply all the tactics.
It is important to choose the channel where you have the most customers and that you like of course (in terms of Social Media, and organic does NOT bring fast sales without ADS).
Also keep in mind that having a website does not mean that it will appear first in Google searches. The "battle" in Google is on several fronts, and the 100 (maximum) score for SEO optimizations does not guarantee that the site will be ranked among the first. There are other factors here, namely the relevance of the sites where your site appears and if it appears (link builds – getting others to write about you and your business). But here is another story and I will write in a separate article.
All this activity, the rush after sales, should be fun, should be oriented towards offering everything you know and do so that people get to know you, gain trust and then convert.
Although it sounds complicated, it's not, and we're here to make it easy and show you how to get results on your budget. But we can't do this without your involvement.
When we say we "treat business like our own," we mean that we're 100% dedicated, prompt, and solution-oriented, but we can't do everything for you.
We support you throughout the process towards the success of your business!
How?
Hire a MabIT is for you if:
- you want your business to have a relevant and constant social media presence
- you want to buy time
- you want to see results from organic and paid posts
- you want to understand how your business should be present on social media
- you don't have time to deal with your social media pages
- you want to know your customers better
- you want to educate your customers to make them understand what you offer
- you want to form a community around the brand
We make it available to you A TEAM OF SPECIALISTS to help you promote your business online.
See everything we can do for you HERE.
An interesting discussion deserves comment. I think that you should publish more about this subject, it might not be a taboo subject but usually people don't discuss such topics. On to the next one! All the best!!
Thanks for the feedback! In this case, we will certainly address "taboo" topics.