As a small business, social media is your secret weapon for marketing. It's essential to use social media to reach new customers and connect with existing ones. Whether you're just getting started or already running a highly successful campaign, there's always room for improvement. In this article, we'll explore the top social media mistakes small businesses make and how to fix them, including our own tips on improving your social media marketing strategy.

Not Posting Regularly Enough

One of the most common social media mistakes small businesses make is not posting regularly enough. This can be for a variety of reasons, from lack of time to simply forgetting. If you're not posting regularly, your audience will quickly lose interest and move on to other brands that are more active on social media.

The fix: Set aside some time each week to plan and schedule your social media posts. If you can, designate someone on your team to be responsible for social media and make sure they have the time and resources they need to succeed.

Some popular social media planners include Hootsuite, Later, and Buffer all with free to paid plans.

Posting Too Much

On the opposite end, some businesses post a little too much. This can be overwhelming for your followers and turn them off from your brand. It's important to strike a balance between posting too little and too much.

The fix: Take a step back and analyze how often you're posting on each social media platform. If you're posting multiple times a day on any platform, try scaling back to once a day or a couple of times a week. Experiment with different posting frequencies and see what works best for your audience. Remember that each industry is different, so what frequency is too much in one niche is perfectly fine in another.

Not Posting Relevant Content

Another common mistake is posting content that isn't relevant to your audience or industry. This can happen if you're trying to be too general in your social media marketing or if you're not sure who your target audience is. As a result, your posts will fall flat and fail to engage your audience.

The fix: Take some time to research your target audience and what kinds of content they're interested in. Once you know who you're talking to, you can start creating content that resonates with them.

If you're struggling to come up with ideas, try looking at what other businesses in your industry are doing on social media. Use social listening tools to track relevant keywords and see what kind of content is being shared the most. Then, adapt and improve upon it for your own audience.

Not Engaging with Your Followers

Another mistake small businesses make on social media is failing to engage with their followers. This means more than just responding to comments and @ mentions (although that's important, too). It also means liking, sharing, and commenting on other people's content.

The fix: Spend some time each day engaging with your followers and other people in your industry. Like and comment on their posts, share their content, and start conversations. Not only will this help you build relationships, but it will also make your brand more visible to new potential customers.

There are many tools that can help you organize and consolidate all your social media profile into one dashboard. These listening tools can single handedly change the game if you’re trying to increase your engagement across all social media platforms.

Sprout Social, Salesforce’s Service Cloud, and Reputation are the best at this. On a budget? Try Hootsuite.

Not Measuring Your Results

Measuring your results is essential. This is important for any marketing campaign, but it's especially important on social media. With so much noise, it can be easy to get lost and not know if your efforts are actually paying off.

The fix: Use social media analytics tools to track your progress and measure your results. These tools will help you see how many people are engaging with your content, what kind of impact you're making, and where you can improve.

Without measuring your results, it's impossible to know if your social media marketing is actually working.

Many platforms will have these tools built in, but addition services like Sprout Social, Buffer Analyze, Hootsuite, and Social Report, can give you deeper insights about your customer base and what resonates with them.

Not Having a Social Media Strategy

One of the biggest mistakes small businesses make on social media is not having a strategy. They might post randomly or without any purpose, which can lead to wasted time and effort.

The fix: Having a social media plan in place will guarantee that your efforts are more successful and are working to assist your company's broader objectives. When you're coming up with a strategy, it's critical to keep in mind these goals so that you can create material that supports them.

Additionally, figure out what your social media goals are, what you want to get out of it, and make sure to track them with analytic software (mentioned above) to ensure that your work is paying off. When developing a plan, remember who your target audience is and create content that speaks to them that aligns with your goals.

It is essential to take some time to develop a strategy since it's easy to get lost in the sea of social media and fail to accomplish anything without it.

Not Using Social Media To Its Full Potential

Social media is a powerful marketing tool, but many small businesses don't use it to its full potential. They might not take advantage of all the features available, or they might not use them to reach their target audience.

The fix: Make sure you're using all the features available on each social media platform. For example, on Facebook, you can use groups, events, and Messenger to reach more people. On Twitter, you can use hashtags and lists to organize your followers. And on Instagram, you can use Stories, Live Video, and IGTV to engage with your audience.

Take some time to learn about all the features of each social media platform and how you can use them to reach your target audience. Then, start using them to your advantage.

Not Promoting Your Social Media Content

Not promoting your content can be a big mistake, especially if you're a small business with limited resources. If you're not promoting your content, it's unlikely that anyone will see it.

The fix: Promote your content on social media and other channels. Use paid advertising, share it with influencers, and post it in relevant groups and forums.

Don't make the mistake of not promoting your content. Make sure you're doing everything you can to get it in front of as many people as possible.

Not Taking Advantage of Social Media Trends

Trends are everywhere and they're easy to pick up if you use social media in both a private and work setting. Taking advantage of a trend can make your post go viral, especially if it's curated to your audience. Ignoring trends will make you miss countless free promotion opportunities.

The fix: Use social media trends to your advantage. If you see a trend that's relevant to your business, jump on it and use it to promote your content. Not only will this help you reach more people, but it will also make your brand more visible and relevant.

If you're not sure where to start, check out some influencers in your industry and see what they're doing to get eyes on their posts. Use can also use free websites like Google Trends, TweetDeck, and BrandMentions to track trends.

Check out how Jay Vics incorporates trends and unique content on TikTok!

Ignoring Negative Feedback

It's inevitable that you'll receive some negative feedback at some point. And while it's not pleasant, it's important to take it in stride and use it as an opportunity to improve your business.

The fix: Don't ignore negative feedback. Respond to it in a constructive way and use it to make your business better. Negative feedback can be painful, but it's important to listen to it and use it to improve your business.

Bonus Tip: Remaining in Your Comfort Zone Can Kill Your Social Media Marketing Efforts

If you're not comfortable with change, you'll never be able to take advantage of new opportunities or reach your full potential.

The fix: Be open to change and willing to try new things. Social media is constantly changing, so you need to be too.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the most common mistakes small businesses make on social media. By avoiding these mistakes, you'll be well on your way to social media success.

Looking for other ways you can uniquely and effectively promote your business? We want to help. Reach out today to book your time on the Meet the Experts podcast. No one knows your business better than you, so get your name out there!

As a business owner, you want to do everything in your power to increase your conversion rates. After all, more conversions mean more money in your pocket. Not only that, but they also lead to more customers and an increase in brand awareness.

This article will discuss 14 ways to boost your conversion rates to generate more revenue for your business. These strategies are easy to apply and don’t require a lot of time or expertise. So let’s get to work!

1. Amplify Conversion With Attractive Visuals

When it comes to conversion rates, appearances matter. If your website looks outdated or lacks visuals, potential customers are likely to click away without taking any action.

To keep people engaged, make sure that your website is visually appealing and easy on the eyes. Use high-quality images and videos and pay attention to the overall design of your site.

If you want to take things a step further, consider using animation or interactive elements on your website. Just be careful not to go overboard.

2. Make Your CTA Clear and Concise

Your call-to-action (CTA) is one of the most important elements of your website. After all, it’s what tells visitors what you want them to do next. If your CTA is unclear or buried on your page, people are likely to move on without taking any action.

To increase conversions, make sure that your CTA is clear, concise, and easy to find. Use actionable language that tells visitors exactly what you want them to do, and make sure the button or link is visible and easy to click on. You might also want to consider using a CTA that stands out from the rest of your page – for example, by using a different color or making it larger.

3. Localized Content Increases Conversion Rates

If you want to appeal to a local audience, make sure your content is localized. This means including things like your city or state in your headlines, using images of local landmarks, and mentioning local events. You can also use geo-targeting to show different content to people in other locations.

By keeping your content local, you can make your website more relevant to the people visiting it. You may also have improved performance in local searches.

4. Increase Conversion With Testimonials

One of the most effective tools is to show prospects that other customers have had a good experience with your product or service. In fact, over 90% of customers read testimonials before making a purchase.

You can do this by using testimonials from satisfied customers on your website. Make sure to include the customer’s name, location, and photo if possible.

5. Offer Live Customer Support

In today’s world, people expect to get quick assistance when they need it. If you want to increase conversions, offer live customer support on your website through a chat window or by providing a phone number. According to Zendesk, 85% of surveyed customers are satisfied with live chat support, and 91% with phone support.

By offering live customer support, you can answer any questions that potential customers have and make them feel confident doing business with you.

6. Utilize Email Campaigns to Boost Conversion

If you have a list of email addresses from past customers, let them know about any promotions or sales that you’re currently running. This is a great way to increase conversions because it allows you to reach out to people already interested in what you have to offer.

To make things even easier, you can set up an automated email campaign that will send out messages to your list on a regular basis.

7. Simplicity Increases Conversion

A customer has a problem and needs a solution to their problem – That is sales simplified. When it comes to conversion rates, simplicity is key. If your website or products/services are too complicated, people will likely give up and go elsewhere. So make sure your customer can easily navigate your website to find the information they are searching for.

Use straightforward language and avoid using too much technical jargon.

8. Use A/B Testing

A/B testing is a hands-on tactic for increasing conversions by testing different versions of your website or product. You can conduct A/B testing by creating two versions of your site and then seeing which one performs better.

Additionally, you could use A/B testing to test different elements of your website, such as your CTA or your pricing page. By testing different versions, you can find the best combination for your business.

9. Optimize a Mobile-Friendly Site

Now, millions of people use their mobile devices to access the internet. Therefore, if you want to increase conversions, make sure that your website is optimized for mobile.

This means safeguarding that your site is responsive and easy to use on a mobile device. You should also consider using a mobile-specific CTA, such as a click-to-call button.

10. Avoid Slow Load Times

Slow load times can be a major issue when it comes to conversion rates. If your website takes too long to load, people are likely to give up and go elsewhere.

Make your website well-designed and optimized for speed to avoid slow load times. If possible, utilize a content delivery network (CDN) to improve your site’s load time.

11. Use Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free tool designed to track your website’s traffic and conversion rates. By setting up Google Analytics, you can see how people find your site and what they’re doing once they get there.

You can use this information to improve your website and increase conversions. If you’re not already using Google Analytics, now is the time to start.

12. Improve Your Content

One of the best methods for attracting customers and conversions is to improve your content. This means creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content that will appeal to your target audience.

To improve your content, start by doing keyword research to find the right keywords to target. Then, create content that is interesting and relevant to your audience. Finally, promote your content through social media and other channels.

13. Use Social Proof

Social proof is an influential tool that can be used to increase conversions. This refers to the idea that people are more likely to do something if they see that others are doing it as well.

You can use social media or good reviews to create a buzz around your product or service.

14. Offer an Incentive

People are more likely to convert if given an incentive. This could be a discount, a free trial, or something of value to your target customer.

Incentives are a great way to increase conversions, and the incentive should be relevant to your product or service. Otherwise, you could end up losing money.

Conclusion

These are just some of the tools and methods you can use to boost your conversion rates. By implementing these strategies, you can generate more revenue for your business while also providing a better experience for your customers.

If you’re unsure where to begin, start small and go down the list as you see results. Remember, your goal is to increase conversions, not just traffic.

Are you looking for more great ways to market to your business? We want to help! Connect with us today to feature your business and your name on the Meet the Experts podcast. Let us help you get your name out there in a unique and beneficial way!

Word of mouth, networking, and similar marketing efforts can bring in a lot of revenue. To establish and maintain a successful business, you must be consistently finding and nurturing new leads. Where do you begin? Start small – by refining your lead generation funnel.

This may sound overwhelming. As a business without a massive marketing department, you may not have the time and manpower to develop complex systems of advertising and marketing campaigns.

The Lead Generation Funnel

A lead generation funnel provides direction and purpose for your marketing. To bring in more leads and close more sales. It’s called a funnel because the first stage captures the attention of a broad audience, and this marketing becomes more refined and detailed in the following stages. Here are the four main stages of a lead generation funnel.

Stage One: Awareness

Consider a new prospect who has never heard of your company or your solution before. They may not even know they need you. In this awareness stage, you are focused on introducing your company and guiding the prospect to understand what you do and why they should trust you.

Check out this video from Jay at HowTo.agency discussing the awareness stage!

Stage Two: Engage

As the prospect considers making a purchase or is at least attracted to your business, they progress into the engagement stage. In this stage, you are building more rapport and your messaging becomes more focused on selling your solution to the prospect.

Stage Three: Subscribe

To develop a successful lead generation funnel, keep the funnel full of fresh leads. You can do this by developing a great free offer in exchange for a prospect’s contact information. You then can use this information in future marketing. This is how you keep your lead funnel full.

Stage Four: Convert

A prospect who gets to this stage is ready to buy from you. In this stage, your goal is to make their purchase as easy as possible and upsell where you can. Remember prospects are busy. Also, don’t assume they understand your process. Keep it simple and lead them to the sale.

Stage Five: Follow-up

Your visitor's journey does not end once they have transitioned from a prospect to a customer. It is crucial to provide post-purchase support to your customer in order to earn referrals and positive reviews. These lead to more sales, which is why it is important to begin the onboarding process as soon as possible to ensure that your customer feels like a priority to avoid buyer's remorse.

Create an Irresistible Offer

A great offer begins with an irresistible hook. Identify the problem your clients want to solve. Consider what they may ask Google or research in their search to solve their problem. Then, use that search to create a valuable free download. Here are a few examples:

• Free Guides and eBooks such as “A Fathers Guide to Winning Custody” or “5 Essential Tips to Building Your Own Vegetable Garden at Home”
• Pre-recorded video training like “The Top 5 Beginner Mistakes in Investing”
• Whitepapers such as “Should You Invest in a Reverse Osmosis Water System?”

Create an Awesome Landing Page

So you have a great hook, something your audience finds valuable. Now, it is time for you to create your landing page to generating opt-ins. This landing page should be visually attractive, easy to read, and entice your leads to enter their information in exchange for your free gift.

Avoid making your landing page cheesy and cliche. Replace overused calls to action (CTAs) like “Subscribe” or “Join” with more inviting phrases like “Get the free ebook” or “Send me the deals.” The sole purpose of this landing page is to get people to download that free offer. Follow up with a beautiful thank you page after the exchange to keep building the relationship.

Drive Traffic to Your Landing Page

Once you have your offer and landing page ready, it’s time to get as many eyes as you can on that page. Organically, you can use your social media to address the problems your followers have and send them to the link in your bio as the solution.

To generate even more leads, use targeted paid advertising to lead people to your landing page. For example, Google ads can target people asking the question your offer answers. Or, Facebook advertising can target users who fit your ideal customer. The more targeted people who visit your landing page, the more leads enter your funnel, and the more sales you can close.

Establish Your Marketing Campaign to Nurture Leads

This is how you create an ever-flowing lead generation funnel. If you stop here, you have a collection of leads at the top of a funnel but no movement down the funnel. You have only leads. Leads are not sales. Leads are only the beginning. From here, you need to nurture these leads in your email marketing campaign.

Nurturing your leads requires you to deepen your relationship with them step by step. Refer to the previously covered lead generation funnel stages. The leads in your funnel now are already within the awareness stage.

To carry leads through the engagement stage with your email marketing, build rapport with them. On average it takes 7 “touches” before someone will commit to a purchase. Continue to demonstrate your expertise with emails that compliment your lead magnet like “How to Choose the Right Mattress.” or “Your Perfect Workout Awaits!”

The conversion stage seals the deal. Promote a special offer through your email sequence or social media. If you’ve done the previous stages right, you have a great chance of gaining a new customer and potential referral machine.

Test and Tweak

It can be challenging to know which campaign will be most effective. Everything from your headlines, copy, calls to action, and design all play a role in how well your campaign converts. To optimize results, you can run A/B tests to gage which design or hook works better and customize your campaigns to match how far along your lead is in the funnel.

The longer someone has been in your funnel, and the more they have clicked on your emails, the warmer they are, meaning they are closer to making a purchase. To seal the deal, target these warmer leads with conversion-heavy content. You should constantly test and refine your strategy.

Establish a Successful Lead Generation Strategy Today

Want help developing a strategy that fits the unique needs of your business and helps you increase your revenue with a steady flow of new leads? Connect with us today to learn more about creating your very own custom lead generation funnel for your business and start seeing results within days!

Are you looking for even more creative ways to market your business? We want to help!

Click here to learn more about how you can get your name out there with Jay Vics on the Meet the Experts podcast!