With all the changes being made by Facebook, among other social media platforms, you will have major problems if your following doesn’t interact with your posts organically. Without breaking up your sales content, your social followers will probably not stay interested in your posts. Facebook will prioritize other pages over yours, making your business less money. Using lifestyle content, whether you create it digitally or curate it yourself, will keep your leads and customers warm to your business on Facebook, and keep you seen.
Facebook is changing! Where do I start?
Lifestyle Content…What’s That?
Before we go into the details of how lifestyle content is beneficial, it is important we define the phrase.
Lifestyle content tells a story with images or ideas related to real, everyday actions and scenarios. It is not selling you on a product, it is selling you on a lifestyle, or type of living.
Traditional sales-based content will revolve around features and function, as well as information on the items or services you sell. Lifestyle content will revolve around building an idea in the minds of your prospective customers. It should build a story in the consumers mind to help them relate to you, your staff, and your business on a personal level. Many businesses discount the power of lifestyle posts, but that is a major mistake in today’s retail and sales markets.
Not only are businesses pushing their audience away with too many sales and service posts, now Facebook will recognize lack of engagement and actually hide your page. Yes, you read that right. Facebook’s new algorithm changes will prioritize business pages that have more engagement on organic posts to show on their News Feed. If your page doesn’t have good engagement rates, your followers wont even see your posts.
Real Content Earns Sales
Your leads and customers want to know they are more than just another sale. No one wants to feel like another number, not even consumers. Consumers seek information that will benefit them. You can be the one to provide that information. However, you first must gain their trust. Once trust is earned, you can make the sale more easily.
Traditional sales-based posts showcase your products and services, newly stocked items, discounts, and more. Due to the flood of sales content consumers are exposed to daily, there is only so much sales-type content you can push before people start to lose interest. Additionally, at some point, growth on social media will become stagnant. Your followers will lose interest in seeing the same repetitive sales posts. They may even unfollow you because of the frequency of these posts. This is where real life content comes into play.
Not only could they unfollow you, but Facebook will also replace your page with another more relevant page on your followers News Feed. When posting for engagement, you’re far more likely to be successful with non-sales or service related content. A happy image or funny joke to brighten someone’s day is really the way to go!
Facebook is changing! Where do I start?
Lifestyle Content That Will Give You More Engagement
Lifestyle content can be utilized across multiple digital mediums. It can be used in social media, blogging, and website content and branding. Pictures, videos, reviews, and shared information are all successful forms of lifestyle content. Using these to be more relatable to your target customer helps consumers put themselves in the shoes of your customers. Branding is also an important practice. It is aimed at improving customer relationships by making your business or product memorable and recognizable through your content.
Leads and customers feeling as if they know the “real” people behind your business builds trust. With proper branding and use of lifestyle content, your business will represent a positive experience to consumers. This makes them more likely to buy from you…not the other guy. It also keeps your page relevant to the Facebook algorithm, keeping your organic posts on your followers news feed.
Organically Posting on Social Media
A simple and free way to introduce lifestyle content into your social media marketing strategy is to create it yourself! Take pictures of happy clients post purchase or ask for pictures from your buyers using the product purchased in their everyday life. Content of your staff performing their job in your office or brick and mortar storefront also makes great lifestyle content. Consumers want to know their purchase process will be simple, easy, and enjoyable…not dread the experience. For some best practices in social media, click here!
Post these pictures and videos on your social media pages in between your usual sales and information posts to break up your content and get engagement. People following your social pages will be less likely to click the “unfollow” button if they see content, they find relevant. Since not every follower is looking to buy your product or service right now, lifestyle content is the perfect way to stay relevant with everyone!
In addition, if you don’t share organically on your social media pages, you will likely be removed from your followers news feed. Even if you pay for social media ads, your exposure will still be limited. When users are not interacting with your posts daily, the bots crawling social media will think your followers are not interested in your content. This is how your business gets removed from the viewers news feed and replaced by another company’s page.
Business Blogging
Creating a blog for your business is a beneficial way to start creating your own lifestyle content. By creating content yourself, you control the image of your company. This gives you a way to connect with your audience and give them useful information that will benefit them in their current or future ownership of your product. Your audience will see your company as a trusted source for information and education, building trust in what you say.
By not constantly selling your products or services to your audience, you are selling them on your reliability and relatability. Also, showing customers your business is operated by real people who understand their wants and needs sometimes goes further in making the sale than a discount. Most consumers that feel respected and understood are more likely to choose your business for their next purchase or service needs.
Branded Content
Lifestyle content shouldn’t be use sporadically. Showing consistency and dedication to the way consumers see your company brand is key to being believable. Using lifestyle-type branded content on your website shows dedication to your consumers view of your dealership, too.
Previous buyers want to know you are the same now as when they first purchased from you years ago. New buyers want to know you are the same now as when the person who referred them purchased from you. Show website visitors your company’s number one priority is buyer satisfaction year after year using your branded lifestyle content.
Use Buyer Emotions to Your Advantage
As a business, you are fully aware of all the awesome and benefits to owning or utilizing your products or services. You see happy customers enjoying your products day in and day out. Your potential customers don’t, so it’s your job to show them. Sell your future buyers on real life benefits of purchasing from your company, not just your current discount or featured sale. Show consumers that you understand their needs and are the trusted source to provide them exactly what they want and need in tour product or services through lifestyle content.
No matter your dealership size, using real-life content is a tried and true way to get you on an upward path! If you are still curious and want to learn more, reach out to one of our social media experts today and learn even more about how you can use social media to grow your brand and your bottom line!