Written by: Shelby Andrews, Marketing Manager, Atlas Communications

As digital media continues to pave the way for marketing, millions of businesses around the world have turned to social media as a core advertising tool. If you are among these millions of businesses, give yourself a pat on the back! Social media is the most cost-effective marketing tool when it comes to return on investment (ROI).

While many businesses are using social marketing, few know how to tell whether their ads are performing well or not. To answer this question, it’s crucial that you understand what a conversion is, what conversion rate you should be aiming for in your advertising efforts, and which digital platforms drive the highest rates.

What’s a Conversion?

A conversion is any act a person takes on your website. Depending on your business, a conversion could be an online registration, making a purchase or “checking out,” or adding an item to their shopping cart. Essentially, it is any action on your website that your company considers a lead.

What Conversion Rate Should I be Aiming For?

Conversion rates will differ from company to company, but generally, a successful conversion rate for social media is anywhere between 2-5%. This means that 2-5% of the people clicking on your social media advertisements are going to the website and performing the desired action, whatever that may be.

Which Platforms Drive the Highest Conversion Rates?

If you’re looking to drive conversion rates, Google Adwords and Facebook Advertising are the top two channels you should be using. While Google Adwords has a slightly higher conversion rate, the overall ROI is much greater from Facebook Advertising.

To us, this makes perfect sense! If your customer is looking up your product or service on a search engine like Google, they’re probably prepared to make a purchase. The problem is, they don’t just see you – they see all your competitors listed there as well, hence the premium you pay for the competition.

On Facebook, the way you reach your target market is different. They’re not looking for you – you’re looking for them. So, if your targeting was successful and your ad finds its way into the newsfeed of potential customers, they’re more likely to purchase because you reached them before they saw your competition listed right next to you.

How Can I Increase My Conversion Rates?

Last year, Atlas Communications worked with a local property management company who were looking to generate leads among prospective tenants looking to rent residential apartments. The results were incredible!

For the year of 2016, 72% of their web traffic came from social media. Through social media, this company attained 3,156 leads, which averages out to be 263 leads a month! Google on the other hand averaged at only 22 leads a month. Overall, the company saw a conversion rate of 16%!

That’s way more then the expected 2-5%.

So how did we do it? There are many different things you can do— from setting up the ad itself, to making important changes that will make your website more conducive to conversions. The best part is – it doesn’t have to cost more than what you’re already spending; it’s about making what you’re already spending, go further.

About Atlas Communications:
Atlas Communications is a Toronto digital media marketing company specializing in social media branding, lead-generation, and results-driven campaigns for companies of all sizes. 
Contact our agency today for all of your social media marketing needs!

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