3 Bold Plays to Amp Up Your Social Media Conversion Rate

And 76% of consumers have bought a product that they discovered on social. Yet, when brands cut their marketing budgets, social is often the first to go.

The channel is not the issue. Marketing leaders and teams struggle to make that click-worthy connection on social. Teams that are able to do that find it challenging to create a direct path to purchase.

In this post, I'm going to show you 3 proven tactics that'll help you do both those things. Add them in your eCommerce marketing playbook and you'll understand why brands like Glossier, Banza, and Goli Nutrition swear by social.

Tap into shoppable posts to sell directly on social

I’ve seen many reels of products that caught my eye but I didn’t end up purchasing simply because I didn't see a way to do so from the video itself. I liked the post and moved on or maybe sent it to my partner so that she could buy it for me someday.

And that's the biggest fear of marketers, isn't it? Sales you lose due to tiny friction in the funnel here and there.

The trick? Keep the buying journey short and zappy. Have fewer steps, make it a good experience, and keep it stupidly simple for the consumer.

If I could tap on all those reels and product pics in my feed to go directly to checkout, I would've ended up buying half the time. Which is not half as bad, right?

TikTok shop, Pinterest Shopping, Facebook Shops, and Instagram Shopping let you do exactly that with shoppable posts.

Those little product tags on posts you see peppered across Facebook and Instagram take consumers directly to the brand’s shop inside the social media platform.

There you can check out more pics, price, and read a bit of the product spiel to get more info.

There’s 130 million folks tapping on these tags on Instagram alone. So If you’re not using shoppable posts, you’re falling behind.

Leota have got it down to an art, making the entire shopping experience a seamless stroll from product post to purchase.

They've got those shoppable product tags slapped right on. Click on the tags and you're practically in their store without the drag of leaving Instagram.

All the details you need are there, plus a little button nudging their followers to check it out on their website—shop in-app if I'm feeling lazy or hit up their site for the full show. They've got every angle covered, catering to the quick buyer and the browser.

But not every person engaging with the shoppable posts turns into a buyer. Most times, they just leave a like, maybe a comment, or share it in DMs with their friends and family if they really like it.

Now, most brands will not try to make something of this engagement and let it slide, getting satisfied with the vanitry metrics they collect. But for the savvy marketer, that's a big opportunity to nurture and convert.

When someone drops a "What’s the price?" or "Is this on sale?" comment on your post, you can use Scrollmark to auto-DM them with the answer and link to the product, along with a coupon to nudge the sale.

Just create an automated journey to trigger when a user comments specific keywords on your shoppable posts, like “price” or “sale”, and set the action to shooting a DM with a limited time coupon, trying to convert them immediately.

Hook up your Shopify store to your Scrollmark account or upload a CSV file of your product catalog. A few clicks and you're in business—Scrollmark will be armed with links, pics, and all the info your customers will need.

DMs you send with Scrollmark with rich product information will give your products their own stage and spotlight.

What about for stuff that needs a bit more explaining? Scrollmark's Mark AI steps up to the plate.

Feed it your knowledge base, set your brand's tone and voice, and watch as it breaks down things for the curious shopper, offering tailored advice, and squashing any second-guessing that stands between browsing and buying.

Turn followers into UGC storytellers for instant social proof

Let's talk about the raw, unfiltered power of user-generated content.

UGC creates a vibe of honesty, transparency, and realness that traditional tactics can't touch. It's the selfies, the unboxings, the honest-to-goodness reviews that make shoppers sit up and take notice.

Serving as social proof and a much-needed sense of authenticity, UGC is second to none for driving sales on social media platforms.

Flowbox’s got the receipts in their report, showing UGC dials up conversion rates by 5x.

And Fresh beauty totally gets it. Fresh ran a UGC sweepstakes contest and saw an overall revenue impact of $1.48 million.

The campaign was simple but effective: leave a review on your favorite product from the Rose collection and get a chance to win a $100 eGift card. ^‍

The contest cleverly encouraged customers not just to write about their love for Fresh products but to show it.

Many reviews came paired with a photo, turning words into a gallery of glowing faces and Fresh favorites in their natural habitat – the everyday lives of real customers.

Fresh took this goldmine of picture praise and turned it into a visual feast on their website and social channels. By showcasing real people with real results, they turned their customer base into a lineup of brand ambassadors.

But getting folks to jump on your UGC bandwagon isn’t a walk in the park, even when you dangle a shiny prize.

You gotta catch 'em in those magic moments when they’re already close to your brand, like when they hit follow, share your stuff, or give you a shoutout.

Someone gives you a mention on social? You can use Scrollmark's journeys to slide into their DMs with a thank you and an invite to share their story, their snaps, their piece of the brand love.

Already running a UGC contest? Send the lowdown straight in the inboxes of new followers – contest details, how to join, the works - and encourage them to participate.

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You can also use Scrollmark automatically reward users who create UGC on any social platform too.

When a user tags you with your branded hashtag, Scrollmark can send them a thank you message and a discount code or an exclusive offer. It can help nudge more of that UGC goodness while making the connection between your brand and the user stronger.

By segmenting users based on conditions like follower count, verification status, or past interactions, you can also personalize your approach to UGC creation.

These conditionals will help you spot the influencers in your crowd, the ones with the followers and the clout, and hit them with personalized messages, special perks. And get them spreading the good word, creating top-tier UGC that's got the power to turn heads and open wallets.

Team up with content creators for killer collabs

Back in the day, a celebrity could just wink at a product, and it'd fly off the shelves.

But now the game's changed. The girl next door with her skincare tips or the guy who can make any tie look like a million bucks can drive bigsales at lower costs.

Real people, real influence, not just celebs with their manicured Instagram feeds.

And people really do pay attention to creators, listening close to their recommendations and reviews. 78% of TikTok users purchased a product after seeing it featured in TikTok creator content.

Maple Hill, an organic dairy brand, got the memo.

They dove into TikTok, the wild child of social platforms, and partnered with 125 content creators within a 10-mile radius of 5 of their stores.

Maple Hill needed a way for their brand to stand out on the busy grocery shelves and make use of the enthusiasm of the local consumers with personalized content.

The strategy? Tap into those creators who speak the language of the everyday, who dance in their bedrooms and make it look like the hottest club in town.

The creators filmed different types of product-focused videos like fun transition videos and vlog-style content.

And they saw 172% increase in in-store sales.

Finding the right content creators is kind of like dating. You want it to feel natural, not forced.

You can set up a journey in Scrollmark to trigger when someone reposts your content. That's your first hint they're into what you're putting out there.

Add a listener to see if they come back for seconds, thirds, even fourths.

If they're sharing your stuff four times, well, that's not just a fluke. That's someone tuning into your brand's vibe.

Check if they've got the numbers, the followers, to make some real noise.

If they're sharing your stuff like it's their job, and they've got the followers to match, you can have Scrollmark slide into their DMs with an offer to join the big leagues with a message like this:

Hey there! We're really grateful for the spotlight you've been providing our products by sharing our content.

We took a peek at your profile and it seems like you're the perfect candidate for a creator campaign we're lauching next month.

Would you like to learn more about it and get paid as you make some fun content for our brand?

8 times out of 10 they'll be delighted to be a part of your program.

But what about users who really do like your brand and amplify it but don't have a big following?

No problem. If they're passionate but not exactly influencers, you still got a play. Hit them up with an invite to your insider program, you can also get them to later create some UGC:

Hey there! We're really grateful for the spotlight you've been providing our brand by sharing our content.

We took a peek at your profile and it seems like you're the perfect candidate for our insider program.

Would you like to learn more about it and the special offers, monthly goodies, and early previews of our products that come with it?

Heed this advice: Don't snooze on brand advocates!

They can create valuable social proof, influencing others' buying decisions, and help in sustaining customer loyalty and retention through their genuine recommendations and feedback.

They're building trust and driving those sales for major as well as up-and-coming brands on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. If you ignore them and your competition doesn't, you'll be playing catch up for a loooong time.

Final thoughts

I hope you try out these tactics and let me know the results.

I want to leave you with some basics that keep the conversions rolling as you use these growth hacks:

• Talk back, like, share. Social media's a two-way street. Got a comment? Please reply to it or send a DM. You won't believe how many brands don't do this and leave money on the table by not capitalizing on fleeting interactions.
• Whether it's a post, a pic, or a video, make it sharp. Quality matters. One more way to say this is: don't use AI content if it feels and looks like AI content. Everyone can tell and it really leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
• Keep an eye on what's working and what's not. Data's your compass. Using 3 months to run a tactic and get data should be enough time to help you understand whether it's working for your brand or not.

Got any comments or questions? Don’t hesitate to ping me on Twitter.

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