How Social Media Turns Online Engagement into Real-World Foot Traffic

Social media has been created to bring people together, but not just that, it’s a source to connect people with their interests and desires and beyond clothing and tangible goods, but also physical experiences and so much more. 

Having social media platforms is important for the vast majority of companies and individuals in the modern day, as it has become heavily relied upon to drive users, engagement and sales. Social media marketing is one of the most powerful ways of getting your business seen by more people, as you can reach a global audience with users coming in from different backgrounds.

This can be a great way to broaden your horizon and create a business that goes beyond your home country. We will explore more of this throughout this article, so continue reading to learn more.

How Social Media Can Turn Into Footfall Traffic

Practical Examples

We’ve all seen it happen before, where one viral video on a social media platform can turn everyone’s attention to one place and encourage people to visit. We have also seen it happy to do any kind of business, whether local and small or huge national businesses.

An interesting example is a Binley Mega Chippy. They created a catchy theme tune for their videos and soon went viral for it. Within days, they had queues out the door every single day with people who aren’t even local to the area just to say they’ve eaten at the viral chippy shop.

This is a niche example of what engaging and interesting content can do for a small business. This increased their footfall and sales like nothing else they have tried, and it has been said to completely transform their business.

Creating Urgency

Whether it’s showcasing to users that you have things such as a temporary pop-up, an in-store discount or an event that is over a weekend. This sense of urgency and fear of missing out encourages more people to change and direct their plans towards your store. Many physical businesses do this, whether it’s a shopping centre in Leeds creating urgency for users to visit over the Christmas period for a Santa Grotto or a well-known branded pop-up handing out gifts. 

Online videos, whether organic or promoted reels, are a great way to drive physical traffic to your business.

Events

Stores often throw events to encourage not only footfall but also online engagement and activity. So this could be anything from celebrating an anniversary of the store to a collaboration or just an annual event for people within the industry to mingle. 

Regardless of the event type, it encourages people from all walks of life to head towards your store, whether it’s free or paid. When there is something to do, there will always be people interested in attending. Events are a great way to get people involved, but also your company is going to be talked about.

This could include regular organic posts on social media leading up to the event, all the while sharing content of the event itself. If it’s your first event, you could do a sponsored post to show this to new users but also encourage more people to follow the account.

Relatable Reels

Reels are a huge part of social media (Instagram and Facebook), which means posting them regularly is imperative. Reels have a much higher chance of reaching a larger audience than a standard static post would. This could include tours, relatable ‘funny’ content and inventive content that encourages engagement. 

The more engagement a post gets, the more social media platforms will share this with others.

Click and Collect

One of the easiest ways to encourage footfall is through click-and-collect services. This is a way to encourage savings on postage, but also a chance to have customers come in, shop around some more and increase their order value, which is so important.

Influencers

This is how many companies tend to promote their business, and it’s beyond e-commerce goods, but in fact, services such as bars, restaurants, and so forth encourage influencers to join them for a free meal as long as they post about it on their social media. This is a great win-win, but it is also a highly successful method of marketing to encourage more customers to your front door.

Before picking any influencer, consider your audience and who they are more likely to engage with and follow. You can always ask for this information from the influencers themselves, as they should know who their audience is.

Seamless Online-to-Offline Integration

Ensuring a cohesive experience from social media to the physical store is vital. This includes having up-to-date business information on platforms like Google Business Profile, clear calls-to-action (CTAs) in social posts (e.g., “Get Directions” or “Book Now”), and mobile-optimised websites that make finding store details easy.

You want to make it as easy as possible for the user; therefore, ensuring that this information is updated and accurate is just one way you can do this. Answering any questions and enquiries through these online platforms all fall into play with this.

Building Relationships and Social Proof

Actively engaging with followers by responding to comments and messages, sharing customer testimonials, and showcasing a brand’s personality helps build trust and a loyal community. This personal connection makes followers more inclined to visit the physical location and become brand advocates.

Featured Image Courtesy : Pixabay