Social media presents a huge opportunity for businesses to connect with customers and drive sales. With billions of active users across platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the audiences are there. You just need the right social media marketing strategies to convert them into customers. 

Here are 5 hacks you can implement now to boost your social media engagement and sales:

1: Partner with Relevant Influencers

Influencer marketing should be a key part of your social media strategy. Research shows influencer marketing generates up to 11X the ROI versus traditional digital marketing methods. 

The key is partnering with influencers who are relevant to your niche and audience. Look for influencers with engaged followers in the 10K to 100K range. Micro-influencers may have smaller audiences, but they often have very high engagement and conversion rates.

Here are some tips for working with influencers effectively:

– Research thoroughly to find good fits. Look at follower demographics and engagement metrics.

– Provide free products to incentivize reviews and sponsored posts. Don’t ask for outright posts about your product.

– Encourage influencers to be authentic and transparent. They shouldn’t outright tell followers to buy.

– Negotiate usage rights for influencer content. Be able to repurpose their photos, videos, etc. 

– Track sales and engagement from influencer content using UTMs and affiliate codes. Measure which influencers drive the most value.

A successful influencer partnership can pay off big time. One sponsored Instagram post from an influencer can bring in hundreds or even thousands in revenue.

2: Host Social Media Contests and Giveaways  

Contests and giveaways are an extremely effective social media marketing tactic for a few reasons:

– They increase follower count and engagement as users are asked to like, share or comment to participate.

– They allow you to collect user-generated content like photos and videos featuring your brand.

– They build brand awareness and goodwill by providing prizes and rewards to followers.

To run successful contests on social media:

– Keep prize relevant to target audience – give away your products, gift cards or items your followers would enjoy.

– Promote clearly using images, text and videos – state exact steps to enter and when the deadline is.

– Post frequently about the contest to keep it top of mind. 

– Make entering as low-friction as possible – don’t require too many complex steps.

– Choose a winner fairly and at random. Be transparent about how winners are chosen.

– Require participants to follow you to enter. This helps increase followers.

– Run contests regularly – monthly or quarterly. Don’t have too long gaps in between.

The boost you get in engagement, followers and brand awareness from contests can directly translate into higher conversions and sales.

3: Use UTM Campaign Tracking

UTM campaign tracking allows you to create unique tracking URLs that identify your social media channels as the traffic source. This helps accurately measure conversions driven specifically by your social media efforts.

Some tips to implement UTM tracking for social media:

– Create campaign names like “Facebook”, “Instagram”, “Twitter”, “YouTube” etc. so you know which platform is working best.

– Use the “source” parameter to track individual social media accounts like “Facebook-MainAccount” or “IG-ShopAccount”.

– Set the “medium” as “social”.

– Use campaign tracking URLs in your social media bios, posts, ads and engagement comments.

– Use link click analytics to see which posts get the most clicks. Double down on that type of content. 

– Look at your sales funnel and purchase conversion paths to see which social channels contribute the most revenue.

With UTMs, you get hard numbers on sales directly generated by social media. This helps you calculate your ROI and justify spending more on platforms bringing in business.

4: Live Stream to Boost Engagement

Live video streaming is social media’s most engaging content format right now. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram have invested heavily in their live streaming capabilities.

But simply going live spontaneously may not help much. You need a strategy to get results: 

– Stream product launches and releases – give followers a first look at new products.

– Give demonstrations and tutorials – showcase how your product is used.

– Announce giveaways and contests – drive excitement by gifting prizes live. 

– Take Q&As – build relationships by answering follower questions in real-time.

– Stream from events – give insider access to conferences or behind-the-scenes happenings.

– Go behind the scenes – show your office, team members, workflow etc. 

– Collaborate with employees or influencers – have them guest star on your live streams.

The casual, raw nature of live video builds stronger connections with your audience. This fosters customer loyalty and trust which improves conversion rates.  

5: Optimize Social Media Posts

Optimizing your social media posts for maximum visibility and engagement is just as important as creating content consistently.

Here are some optimization tips and hacks:

– Analyze when your followers are most active online and schedule posts accordingly – late afternoon or early evening for B2C; mornings for B2B.

– Use relevant hashtags and tag other handles to increase discoverability – but don’t overdo it.

– Ensure visuals are high-quality and eye-catching – use on-brand filters.

– Write compelling captions – ask questions, invite comments, provide value.  

– Include a strong CTA to view product pages, sign up for webinars etc.

– Use tools likeBuffer or Hootsuite to schedule posts in advance and analyze performance.

– Test using emojis, tagging users’ handles, running contests etc. to compare engagement.

– Promote your best performing posts periodically – re-share evergreen content.

– Reply to all comments and questions – build community.

Optimizing the customer experience from initial post view to final click-through is crucial for social media traction. Keep testing and tracking different approaches to maximize results.

Conclusion

Implementing hacks like influencer collaborations, contests, UTM tracking, live streaming, and post optimization can significantly ramp up your social media marketing results. But consistency and quality content are key. 

The goal with these hacks is not just vanity metrics like more followers and likes. It’s about nurturing genuine customer relationships that materialize into sales. As you scale social media marketing, always keep the user experience front and center.