Congratulations! Tons of people like your business on Facebook! Well…so what; how do you turn these likes into leads? And, how ultimately can you turn leads into paying customers? After all, as a business owner, this is the end goal isn’t it!?

If your ‘likes’ are merely hitting the button when you post blogs, articles or other pieces of content, but they aren’t moving beyond this step, you haven’t successfully engaged them. What you have is simply an acknowledgment or a pat on the back. These individuals aren’t moving down your sales funnel.

Including a Call to Action

Content posted within the social media environment must engage followers and include a call to action; essentially, your goal should be for each individual to take action. Taking action doesn’t always mean completing a sales transaction. It could mean taking another positive step down your sales process. To accomplish this, post content that builds confidence in your organization.

When creating content, consider that you are using it in exchange for information. Your goal is to better understand the needs of your prospect base. With detailed prospect information, you can release more targeted pieces of content that will result in customer acquisition. Within each post, include a call to action. Consider with each piece of content what your ideal outcome would be; how can you encourage the reader to take specific actions? Try a number of calls to action, track results, modify as needed and repeat. Narrowing in on which calls to action will be the most effective takes time; trial and error is required when creating posts and strategies that engage.

Leave a Trail of Breadcrumbs

Do your content posts keep your prospect base engaged with your organization? When developing your posting strategy, liken it to breadcrumbs. If you leave a trail of enticing bits of information, the prospect will be more likely to remain engaged with your organization.

Content posts should answer questions, provide solutions for problems, offer innovative insight, offer a sense humor, and work to establish your business leaders or your business as an industry expert. This is the essence of content marketing.

You can create posts on the fly in addition to building a bank of potential topics, quotes, pieces of information and external links. Your goal initially should be to get in front of your followers and fans several times per week, if not several times per day. Your goal should be to walk the fine line between marketing and spam. If you market effectively, you will create leads and convert those leads into sales. If you cross the line into the realm of spam, you will achieve the opposite result.

While gaining ‘likes’ certainly is nothing to boo about, it ultimately is not the end result you are seeking. Strive to develop a solid base of followers/fans/prospects, engage with them on an ongoing basis and work proactively to develop content that ultimately achieves sales conversions.