Need to know the best way to get more people opting into your email list or booking a free discovery call with you? Here are some simple ways to use your ‘socials’ to make this happen.
Organic reach is gold, it means you have authentic followers who really value what you’ve got to share. They’ve been following you for a while now and really like what you’ve got to say but have been reluctant to go any further with your business.
Maybe the quality of your posts isn’t hitting the mark. Paying for Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest advertising can make big leaps in increasing your profit margins and getting your message out there.
The key to extending your reach and engagement is to create high value, relevant, informative and consistent content on your social media platforms of choice. Compel readers to click on your opt-in freebie knowing they are going to find out something useful, educational or interesting.
Put those social media platforms to work!
Let’s look at 3 of the most popular social media platforms today and how you can use them to drive more traffic to your blog.
1. Use your Facebook posts to link back to your blog
It’s estimated that 1.6 billion people worldwide are connected to a small business on Facebook. Making your own videos or Facebook Lives can really extend the many different avenues you have for driving traffic to your blog or website.
Always start by thinking about what it is you want people to do – read your blog, join your mailing list or something else.
Facebook is a great way to drive traffic to your blog. You can even take snippets from your blog posts to create relevant informative posts that answer a question for your followers.
Think about what you want your followers to do and where you want to send them from Facebook. If getting them to book a free call with you, maybe link them to your contact page. If you’re wanting them to opt-in to your list, create a blog post around the freebie you’ve created for them, for instance, my Course Creation Planner. My blog post ‘3 Simple Steps to Creating Your Online Course’ has a direct link to the course planner.
You’ve managed to engage people in 3 ways, commenting and clicking on your Facebook post, reading your blog post and opting into your mailing list.
Facebook ads can be narrowed down to a very specific target audience, your call to action can be linked back to your blog post or opt-in. You can even have a ‘Learn More’ button on the ad to take them directly to your blog.
PRO HINT: You can learn how to create Facebook or Instagram ads in the same place by going to Facebook Business.
2. Set up your Instagram business profile correctly
Writing a short concise bio telling people who you are and what you stand for and what your blog can help them with is a great start. A clear call to action with a clickable link to your blog will take them exactly where you want them to go.
Create your Instagram images and posts to a high standard and make them relevant to your targeted audience. Make a list of the types of Instagram posts you could create that relate to your business and niche.
Share something interesting and leave them wanting to know more about the blog post that you’re posting in the description.
Fabrizio Van Marciano from Magnet 4 Blogging has some interesting tips for promoting your blog on Instagram, one is to convert one of your blog posts into an image carousel. This works nicely for ‘how to’ posts.
He also suggests having consistent branding for your Instagram posts and profile and your blog or website. This makes you instantly recognisable and builds your credibility.
People also like to see the real you, so don’t be afraid to post a photo of the crappy day you’re having, it will definitely resonate with a lot of your fans and they’ll feel a real connection to you. Post a photo of you creating your blog post at a local cafe.
Having an opt-in or freebie attached to your posts will also encourage people to join your email list and become firm fans. Almost every image you post can be linked back to your blog or website to give people more of what they’re looking for.
Instagram ads allow you to target who you want to read your blog by setting up campaigns by location, demographic, behaviours and interests as well as other options.
You can create different types of ads:
- Stories ads
- Photo ads
- Video ads
- Carousel ads
- Collection ads
3. Use great images on Pinterest to link back to your blog
You must have a Pinterest account for your business, not just your personal profile to make Pinterest work for your blog.
People use Pinterest more and more to get answers to questions and find things, things they want or need or are just interested in.
If you want them to click a link to your blog post about a new recipe or a how-to on digital marketing, ensure that you have several pins, each with a slightly different message. This gives you more opportunity for traffic and gives you insight into what they want or are looking for.
Change the image, take grabs from your blog post and have a clear call to action right there on the pin with a direct link in the description for them to click on.
Emily from The Creative Girl Boss Tribe advocates that the point of your pins is to get people curious and excited so that they click through to your blog post.
Having several ‘boards’ with relevant titles that match your website categories for your blog is a really good plan too.
To get the most out of Pinterest for business purposes make sure that you follow these best practices as outlined on Pinterest. One of the biggest tips is to make your brand the focal point of the image you use.
You can make the most of your Pinterest business account by doing these two simple things:
- Creating a Blog Board
- Including a ‘pin it’ button
Your blog board should have a brief summary or a quote so people know what it’s about with a great image attached. The link will go directly back to your blog post. To make sure that your blog post is easy to share for your readers, have a ‘Pin it’ button on both your Pinterest image and at the bottom of your blog post.
Promoted Pins will help you generate leads and other valuable activities on your website like your blog posts.
Make your call to action count!
Now that you’ve got your posts ready and your website or blog optimised, make the most of every opportunity to grow your list with a great call to action or opt-in offer.
Make things simple for visitors to your website to be able to find out more about you and your products or services. Have your opt-in form for your newsletter on your ‘About Page’ as well as your ‘Contact’ page. Better still, have an opt-in freebie that they get for sharing their information with you.
TIP: OptinMonster shows you how to do more with your popups and exit-intent offers too.
There’s a lot to take in I know! Cloud Executive Services can provide you with a virtual marketing team that will help you scale your business to the next level.
Alethea xo