3 Ways To Maximize Conversions

On this blog, we have covered a multitude of topics, from the return on investment that can come from well-executed paid search campaigns to how Adwords, Bing ads and Yahoo Gemini can impact branding efforts. In this particular post, I’m bringing together two very important pieces of your marketing puzzle – paid search and social media – to reflect on how these can actually work together to produce maximum ROI and keep your brand top of mind. Though you may think of these platforms as very different – for one, paid search is highly measurable, and social media is more of a gray area – together they make a powerful team that drives conversions.

Synergy is Key

As you might expect, some level of synergy between your paid search campaign and your social strategy is necessary.  After all, their goal is the same – to bring customers into your conversion funnel, and to continue to push them further and further until they make a purchase. Then it becomes about keeping them in the loyalty loop, keeping them aware of your services and offerings, and hopefully driving further conversions down the line. Paid search and social media can both help you achieve these goals – especially when they work together.

3 Ways to Bring Social Media and Paid Search Together

According to Pew Internet Project, 74% of online adults are using social media. A majority is on Facebook (71%), followed not so closely by those on Twitter (23%). This makes a case for marketing via social media alone; add to that the fact that billions of searches take place on search engines every month, you end up with a way to reach a large customer base in two places at once. Where paid search capitalizes on the intent of searchers, social media capitalizes on interaction and ultimately loyalty.

So, without further ado, here are 3 ways to make sure your paid search campaigns and your social media efforts come together seamlessly and effectively:

1. Use language and content on both that is both unique to each platform but also similar to each other.

Seems like a contradiction? It is, and it isn’t. Your tone on social media is going to be naturally more whimsical, less formal, less salesy; your tone on paid search is short, to the point, and targeted to an action. However, that being said, the overall meaning of what you’re saying should line up. If you are an e-commerce company running a sale, advertise both on paid search and on social media, and keep the transition from one to the other seamless. After all, your customer may be doing research, and will likely encounter both, which is why you should keep things both interesting and consistent.

A recent article with data from Kenshoo found that users will often go from search, to social, back to search and then social again to make their ultimate purchase (the order differs, but the bouncing back and forth remains the same). Keeping users engaged as they ping pong back and forth is key. Search can often initiate a customer’s awareness about the brand, and social can reinforce it (often it’s the other way around as well). Either way, both platforms both matter, and they matter even more when used together.

1. If you’re running a paid search campaign, try to always be running a paid social campaign as well.

Throw in a little bit of display retargeting as well. Though you’ll want to be careful with your budget, you want to consistently be available at every touchpoint to both remind and convert customers as they transition from search to social and back again.

1. Use the reaction you get on social media to fuel your paid search campaign.

Social media offers you a unique opportunity to listen, interact and pin down what your audience really cares about. This can inform your keyword strategy going forward, and open the door to new opportunities you may not have thought of at first!

There’s plenty more I could say on the subject but these are some of the top things to keep in mind when trying to maximize your conversions on social and paid search.

Have another tip? Give me a shout on Twitter!