When You Really Should Ask your Audience for the Sale
We all have that one friend who posts daily about some “awesome” product with a call-to-action that says something like, “send me a dm to see how you can get it!”
And that post will have maybe one “like” on it -- usually from their higher-up in the MLM company. Every time I see these posts I want to send the culprit a private message that says, ‘Don’t you get it!? Those posts aren’t working! Try something else instead!”
Take yourself as an example. What is your goal when you open Facebook or Instagram?
For most people, it’s a quick escape. It’s a way to catch up on the news and to see if anything exciting has happened in any of their friends’ lives since they last opened the app. In short, people go on social media platforms to be social.
People don’t go on social media with the intent to buy things; it’s for connections. If your social media marketing strategy is to post day after day asking-- nay, BEGGING-- for a sale, people will turn a deaf ear to you. There’s nothing making them want to stop and read your post; they’d rather keep scrolling to find something better.
If you are in the position where you are only creating content to advertise your product or service and feel confounded by this new information, have no fear! In fact, take a sigh of relief. Always asking for a sale is exhausting! Instead, start by making a goal to post a call-to-action only every 5-7 posts.
And if you’re like, but what else do I post in-between!? Post the type of content your target audience actually cares to see! Show them who you are as a person and make them want to buy because they like YOU, not the product. Once your followers know, like, and trust you, ONLY THEN will they buy from you.
One way to think of what content to share is to use the 5 finger rule. Assign one thing that you love or would define you to each finger on one hand. For me, it would look something like this: my husband Joel, horseback riding, hiking, reading books, and travel.
Then, post about each one of those things before posting about the thing you’re selling.
Oh, and another thing, when you do post your call-to-action, sell it with a story. If you sell supplements, for example, start by relating to your audience by telling a story. Maybe it’s about how you used to feel so drained all the time and lived off of caffeine but once you decided to put your health first, your energy increased. Someone recommended that you take these vitamins so you tried them and within a few days, noticed that you felt even better!
Then, end with your call to action (CTA). It’s much more authentic and people will begin to notice and actually trust your judgment if you play the slow game.
If you want more ideas on what content to post, you’re in luck! I created this free guide, “What to Post Every Day of the Week” and it’s full of ideas of what you can post to get people to know, like, and trust you. If you’re ever stumped you can refer to the guide and get a whole slew of ideas!
Happy posting my friends!