Foregoing medical marketing services or social media engagement during the holidays is a big mistake – after all, Facebook is arguably the most effective platform for reaching a connected group of people. Additionally, springing for paid advertising or a promoted post can have an even stronger effect by allowing you to reach thousands of people who may not have had the chance to see your original post. We often find that users like and share ads, which increases your reach and exposure even more.
Here’s how you can maximize Facebook shares to finish the year strong.
Appeal to Your Users
Digital sharing is all about relationships. To achieve a high number of shares, you must appeal to your leads’ motivation to connect with each other.
Trust is the basis of sharing on every networking platform. Other factors that determine the likelihood of shares are the simplicity of the information, whether or not it appeals to consumers’ sense of humor, and whether or not it relays a sense of urgency. Let’s say you’re making a post with the goal of increasing 4th quarter sales before the end of the year:
“Contact us to learn about our special 4th quarter sales offer!”
This wording doesn’t do much to draw viewers’ attention. Instead, try explaining what the offer is, and implementing a time limit to create a sense of urgency:
For B2B sales: “Get a head start on 2015 Q1 sales. Enjoy 20-30% off our software packages from now through December 31st! Contact us now to get a free quote.”
For a medical practice: “Get a healthy start to 2015 – come in for a checkup now! We have open appointment slots in December.“
It also helps to hint at why your offer is so valuable for them (e.g. a discounted software package will help them boost sales in January.)
Track and Measure Success
A hugely important step that many new social media users forego is to check how effective your strategy was. Medical practices and B2B companies can use tools like Facebook Insights and Universal Analytics to track their audience’s interests and engagement with their page. This data can give important insight into how your audience defines itself on social media and what will motivate your leads to share your Facebook posts.
As sales pick up this holiday season, remember that Facebook is a direct link to both consumers and a company’s leading decision-makers – take advantage of it.
