Don't Just Build a Following, Build a Customer Base:How to Convert Followers into Customers
As a business, it can be disheartening to put in months of effort and receive little to no response from your target audience. Whether it's a product launch, workshop invite, or discounted offer, if nobody accepts it, it's a sign that something is off.
Having a follower base is of course important and helps to spread brand awareness, but vanity metrics without value are not going to have much business impact. Rather than thinking of people as followers, it helps to see them as customers from the get-go and to realize that the goal is not acquiring more followers, but building an engaged customer base.
The first step to building an engaged customer base is to understand that you need two types of content to gain reach and add value:
Reach content:
This is the content that brings a lot of people into your ecosystem
Value content:
This is the content that turns people into raving customers
The mistake many businesses make is that they focus solely on reach content and are surprised when their followers don't convert into paying customers.
Reach content should be related to your business's topic and should be content that general audiences care about. It's important to keep in mind that while reach content may bring a lot of people into your ecosystem, it may not necessarily result in conversions. As a result, the percentage of customers who convert from reach content tends to be low.
For example, an inspirational story about how a famous person achieved your customer's dream outcome may be a good example of reach content. It may bring a lot of people to your page, but it may not necessarily convert them into customers.
On the other hand, value content is what turns your followers into customers. Value content is content that only your customers care about, and it shows them how your business solves their problems better than anyone else. Value content tends to have a low number of people engaging with it, but the percentage of customers who convert from value content is high.
A survey by Sprout Social found that 86% of consumers want brands to be honest and transparent on social media (Sprout Social). Examples of value content including how your business solves the problem, explaining your methods, and testimonials. By posting more value content, you are providing your followers with a reason to become paying customers.
It's important to note that businesses shouldn't post too much reach content. Value content is what gets you customers, but your reach followers may not engage with it. If there is no engagement, the content won't spread.
Therefore, it's important to strike a balance between reach and value content. Start with roughly 75% value content and 25% reach content. As your account grows, you can shift towards more value content.
Here are a few more examples of what businesses can do to convert followers into customers:
Host Q&A sessions where you can answer questions from your customers and provide them with insights and advice.
Create tutorials or how-to guides that show your customers how to use your product or service effectively.
Share user-generated content, such as testimonials or reviews from satisfied customers, to show that your product or service works.
Offer free trials or consultations to potential customers to give them a taste of what you have to offer.
In conclusion, by focusing on building a customer base rather than just a follower base, businesses can convert their followers into engaged customers. By balancing reach and value content and posting more value content, businesses can provide their followers with a reason to become paying customers.