By adaptive - May 21st, 2013

The link between social media and conversion has in the past been tentative to say the least. Recently however, evidence shows that social media now has a quantifiable impact on real-world conversions

Post it’s IPO Facebook has been playing catch up to a degree, as its floatation didn’t quite match up to the hype that preceded it. Corporations waited in the wings to make a killing via the so-called F-economy, but spectacular sales have yet to materialise, with many wondering whether Facebook can deliver high levels of conversion. And with the recent Q2 results making for less than impressive reading, it’s a good time to re-evaluate whether your business needs to overhaul its approach to Facebook.

As the behemoth in the social media space, Facebook commands a dominant position. A billion users can’t be wrong the company shouts, but savvy corporations are looking past these massive numbers and focusing on their results or lack thereof.

Interestingly, a new infographic from Coupon Cabin has touched on just this subject. As the company states: “Thanks to social media, brands can’t hide behind their logos anymore. These days, negative and positive brand experiences can be shared with millions of people in just seconds. Shoppers are no longer relying on glossy ads or incentives to make decisions; instead they are actively taking cues from their social networks for product and service recommendations.”

Social media including Facebook are now routinely used to find reliable bands to buy from.

What is clear is that conversion is possible if your business understands the key drivers behind the each purchase. Research by Ipsos concluded that 18% of American users of social media would buy from a brand after this has been liked or recommended by a friend. The so-called ‘recommendation economy’ is alive and well. Research by Marin Software found that click-through rates on Facebook had increased by 50% over the last year. This is in reaction to a massive increase in Facebook ad budgets, which has moved from 3% to 26% globally over the last year.

The recommendations of friends and family are powerful calls to action.

A Marin Software Whitepaper also advises: “Beyond the standard goal of conversions, consider the awareness amongst your target audience of a new product line or promotion. Think about how to influence customer perception of your brand to increase the likelihood of purchase in the future.

“Consider building customer loyalty in order to drive repeat purchases from your top customers. Successful marketers are experimenting with awareness and consideration building techniques by utilizing new Facebook ad types and destinations, while at the same time continuing to focus on driving conversions by targeting Facebook users with purchase intent. Those able identify and articulate clear “top of the funnel” and “bottom of the funnel” objectives throughout the organization will ultimately have a more successful Facebook campaign experience.”

Customer conversion

Clearly conversion can take place if the messages on offer are focused on their intended audience. Facebook offers a massive potential market, but corporations need to see the wood for the trees, and not become blinkered into using legacy broadcast models with their marketing activity. Social media – with Facebook leading the pack – offers the ultimate in targeted marketing. However, the messages must understand their intended audience.

Also, how your business approaches it’s marketing on Facebook needs to evolve. The rise of Pinterest has not gone unnoticed at Facebook towers. Research has shown that images on Facebook have become more prevalent and are now a major feature of the Timeline. As Return On Digital advises, it’s time to get visual:

“Facebook have noted that their audience is using the social network more times a day, but for shorter periods of time. Long text-based status updates run the risk of becoming lost. For business, this means you need to tell your story in a more visual manner. Make sure imagery on your website is up to scratch if you’re planning on driving traffic in this direction and you might want to learn how to use Photoshop too.

“Screens are becoming clearer as each smartphone is launched. Blurry photography and shoddy image editing isn’t going to cut it. For advertisers, an emphasis on the visual could mean more prominent banners and advertisements on your target audience’s timeline so if you’ve not thought about Facebook advertising until now, why not give it a test run when the changes have rolled out to everyone.”

Engaging with consumers via Facebook is certainly an evolving process. Many reports have attempted to place a value on a ‘Like’ or recommendation, but at the moment there is no universal metric that can be applied to any brand’s Facebook activity. This leaves corporations developing their own bespoke approaches. However, this doesn’t mean Facebook activity doesn’t have value and doesn’t drive conversion. It simply means the conversion process is moving through a period of evolution.

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