Saturday, November 16, 2013

How to Sell on Facebook Using Images

Why Images?

According to Lab42, the number-one reason people like a Facebook page is to receive a discount or other promotion.
If you want to drive online sales for your business, images and graphics that feature discounts and promotions are an engaging way to give your Facebook fans what they want.
facebook like motivators
The biggest incentive for liking a page on Facebook is to receive discounts. Image source: Lab42

#1: Offer Promo Codes for Holiday Sales

Whether you offer a big Black Friday discount, a 10% Off discount or a Buy 2 Get 1 Free offer, consider creating an engaging graphic to promote your discount or sale.
Be sure to include a promotional code so you can track revenue from your campaign. When you post the image to your Facebook timeline, use a clear call to action in the copy of the post so your fans know exactly how to complete their purchase.
Here’s an example of a promotional graphic Diamond Candles put out for their Labor Day sale:
diamond candles sale graphic
Diamond Candles posted a holiday-specific offer on Facebook to boost sales.
Holidays like Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day and even Labor Day are a great time to promote sales and discounts to your Facebook community. And an appealing graphic draws attention to the promo code for your special holiday offer.

#2: Reward Fans Who Tell a Friend

Create a graphic that tells your fans you’ll unlock a special promo code IF your image receives a certain number of shares.
If you don’t have a very big fan base and/or you don’t receive a lot of engagement on your Facebook pagerequire fewer than 100 shares to unlock the code.Because only people who already engage with your page are likely to see your updates, you might want to kickstart engagement with a promoted post.
The good news is this type of promotion helps you increase organic engagementso you won’t have to pay to promote your next offer!
Rent the Runway used a Share to Unlock promotion that gave sharing fans early access to their Fourth of July sale.
share to unlock
Rent the Runway posted a Share To Unlock A Sale promotion on Facebook.
While they drive revenue for the company, one additional bonus of Share to Unlock promotions is that they increase engagement with fans and build brand awareness with friends of fans.

#3: Show Off Product Features

The saying, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it!” applies to Facebook marketing perfectly. Your Facebook page is a great place to show off the best features of your products!
Create a graphic to capture your fans’ attention and point out the features of your product that aren’t immediately visible.
Post the image and include a call to action with a direct link to the product in your online store to make purchases as easy as possible.
Fitness fashion brand Ellie used a graphic to point out some of the best features of their fitness tank, while encouraging fans to buy the top in the post message.
product features example
Ellie shows off product features in a Facebook graphic to increase customer interest.
In a brick-and-mortar location, your sales team can explain the best features of any product to potential customers, but online your images and graphics should do the talking—and selling!

#4: Give a Free Gift With Purchase

Offering a free gift with purchase may be one of the oldest promotions in the book, but it’s stuck around because it’s a very effective revenue-generating tactic.
Create an appealing graphic to offer a free gift that’s relevant to your target audience. For example, this free Greenies jar offer from PetSmart is popular because it’s promoted to people who already purchase Greenies products.
product features example
PetSmart shows off a Free Gift with Purchase promotion on Facebook.
If you have a large fan base, use custom audiences to make sure the right people see your offer.
The right photo and clear graphics can make your free gift offer stand out.

#5: Countdown to a Deadline

A Countdown promo keeps your fans hyper-engaged for an extended period of time.
Create a graphic that reveals, for example, a 24-hour sale on a different popular product from your ecommerce store each day for 10 days.
The smart marketers over at MarketingProfs used this tactic to boost sales from their ecommerce store in a countdown to their B2B Marketing Forum event.
ten day countdown
MarketingProfs uses an extended promotion to keep fans engaged over a specific period of time.
Excited fans will visit your Facebook page to find each day’s image and you’ll see a boost in revenue from Facebook for 10 days straight.
Cool graphics help keep fans interested in the countdown and contribute to its success.

#6: Promote a Limited-Time Offer

A fan saying, “Oh, I’ll do that tomorrow” is your worst enemy when it comes to Facebook promotions.
An image that promotes a limited-time offer helps create the sense of urgency needed to drive sales NOW.
limited time offer
Rent the Runway uses a Limited-Time Offer promo to drive sales.
The use of images when promoting Limited-Time Offers encourages your customers to take advantage of your promotions when they first see them.