Being present on social networks is not enough – you need to create an audience and generate traffic.
Whether it communicates on its official website, on a blog, on social networks, or through podcasts or videos, a company must always make sure to offer quality information likely to interest as many visitors as possible. The goal is to increase the chances that this information will be picked up by various platforms, specialised sites and even by the media in order to generate traffic. The more relevant and transparent the information provided, the more it will be liked and reshared, and the more it can strengthen the credibility of the brand or the company with its audience.
Put yourself in the consumer’s shoes
A good way to generate traffic is to put yourself in the shoes of Internet users in order to help them make their choice, by offering them as much information about the product or service they are after. The following points enhance the information available on the company’s various online platforms:
- Offer solutions. Internet users are not only looking for recommendations to make a choice of acquisition, but also solutions to problems. A good way to know what the public is concerned about is to enter keywords on search engines such as "problem", "how" or "why", followed by a term related to your field of interest.
- Adapt to your audience. The company must use statistical tools to determine where its visitors come from so as to best meet their expectations.
- Talk about money. The price of products is essential information for any potential consumer. The company must disclose the cost of its services or products, even if it is an estimate.
- Take advantage of current events. Current events can be a great opportunity to increase your traffic. The company must be aware of what is happening in the world and in its industry to write or share information.
- Translate the information. If the products or services are intended for an audience (customers or potential partners) outside the company’s language region, the information must be translated into the different languages.
- Stand out from the competition. A company can’t just copy its competitors. It has to try to anticipate the market by offering unique and original information. The company can also vary the formats while avoiding too pedagogical or top-down styles.
Element of surprise
Companies can also harness the element of surprise that might go viral. While there is no absolute formula for creating a buzz, a few basic principles do apply.
- Generate emotion. Information that triggers emotions in its receivers is most likely to be widely rebroadcast.
- Involve the public. Whether through contests, interactive videos, or other means, it’s important to engage the users in the company's marketing.
- Be responsive and consistent. Suppose the goal is to generate buzz. In that case, the company must use all its online tools, such as creating a launch video on YouTube and Instagram, a Facebook event, tweeting the operation on X, etc.
- Preserve the mystery. The company can generate public and media curiosity by announcing a date when it will issue a surprise message, via an equivocal press release, a countdown, etc. However, the surprise must measure up to the attention generated.
When you start your online business, you should not expect amazing results immediately. But if traffic or sales have still not increased after a few months, you need to ascertain the reasons for this failure. Some examples of common mistakes:
- An overly aggressive sales strategy. Consumers hate feeling that they are being pushed to make a purchase. This principle is even truer on the internet.
- An unintelligible sales strategy. The online marketing strategy is aimed solely at increasing the reputation of your company and therefore its sales.
- Communication aimed at the wrong target. Perhaps the company has not correctly identified its target market or the social networks where it is to be found. See Targeting your customers and Social networks.
- Anonymous and impersonal communication. The internet and social networks are there to facilitate human contact. A company must avoid automated, indifferent or impersonal responses. Social networks favor connection between companies and individuals. It is therefore better to communicate in a friendly and informal way with your audience while remaining professional.
- Disparate and ineffective communication. In an excess of enthusiasm, the company may have signed up on as many platforms as possible. Monitoring all of them is difficult, if not impossible. Some accounts are no longer updated, the blog is sporadically updated, etc. Communication appears to be blurred and inconsistent. You have to focus only on sites relevant to the company and its market, where you will actually have the means to invest.
- Opaque or untruthful communication. Users of the internet and social networks are looking for transparent and truthful information. Communication which is untruthful or overlooks actual problems is the best way of antagonizing users and generating negative comments.
- Inadequate responsiveness. The key for the internet and social networks is responsiveness. Companies need to take an interest in what is being said about it, whether good or bad. You have to implement a monitoring strategy to evaluate the impact of its image on social networks and on the internet and react accordingly, as quickly as possible.
Communicating on social networks requires accepting to become a topic of conversation and thus being open to inevitable criticism. This requires transparency and humility on the part of the company, which must prove that it is listening to its customers and the concerns of the public in general. The best way to gauge your online reputation is to set up a monitoring system to take the measure of what is being said online and be able to react as quickly as possible. Tools such as Google Alerts or Yahoo Alerts allow you to search using keywords including the name of the company, its products or services, or its most prominent employees.
