“I use social media as an idea generator, trend mapper and strategic compass for all of our online business ventures.” – Paul Barron
Not only is social media an idea generator (according to Paul Barron), it is also a good way to leverage social influence to drive traffic to your website. The results of a 2015 study conducted by Pew Research Centre found that 72% of adult internet users have active Facebook profiles. Furthermore, 70% of Facebook users check their news feeds once a day while 43% of these users log on several times every day. Additionally, a 2016 Hubspot study found that the consumption of Facebook content has increased by 57% since 2014.
Social media marketing (SMM) versus social influence
Before we look at ways to leverage (SMM) to drive traffic to your company website, let’s take a look at its specific meaning:
In its simplest form, social media marketing is a “form of Internet marketing that utilises social networking websites as a marketing tool.” Additionally, its primary aim is to “produce content that users will share with their social network to help a company increase brand exposure and broaden customer reach.”
Furthermore, social influence or influencer marketing is a form of marketing that focuses on particular persons or personas (individual types) rather than the whole target audience. In other words, influencer marketing “identifies the individuals that have influence over potential buyers and orients marketing activities around these influencers.”
SMM: driving traffic to your website
If we assume, for the purposes of this article, that you own and manage a reliable auto transport company, the question that you will likely be asking is how can you increase your sales figures, and your bottom line by increasing your brand’s target audience?
The good news is that there are several ways to increase the number of visitors to your website:
Contract a motorsport personality as a brand ambassador
As you own a motor vehicle carrier, it makes sense to engage with one of the top Indianapolis 500 drivers to act as your brand ambassador; thus, endorsing your company as their chosen car carrier. The net result of this action will be that all of their fans and the people that are in their social circle will see your company as the go-to brand for transporting vehicles around the country.
Support a social cause
Consumers respond to companies who support social causes, especially if they are to the benefit of society as a whole. A good case that an auto transport company can back is a national road safety campaign. Ergo, your target audience will see you as a company that places a high priority on traffic safety. Therefore, they will be more likely to offer you their business.
Engage with your target audience
People, especially social media followers and users love to be asked their opinion on important matters such as traffic safety, etc. Therefore, create posts that are engaging as well as those that encourage users to respond and offer comments on issues that are relevant to your business and its industry.
