The ultimate guide to converting social media followers into website traffic

Some 96% of small businesses in the US use social media, but the global click-through rate is only 0.98%. Interestingly, 44% of users prefer to learn about new products and services through short-form video content, and 91% of businesses are using videos as a marketing tool. 

Another study also found that 78% of shoppers research social media before making a purchase. The total spend on social media advertising is also projected to reach $276.7 billion in 2025.

We can keep giving you statistics until our fingers are blistered, but the evidence seems to suggest that, despite the number of people on social media, the amount businesses are spending on it, and consumers' social media habits, the click-through rate is still a mere 0.98%. That means for any social media ad, fewer than one customer clicks through to a website.

We think the issue lies with the social media followers and how businesses interact with them.

Read on for our ultimate guide to converting social media followers into website traffic.

How to get social media followers

You need followers before you can convert them. But not all followers are created equal. Ten engaged followers who care about what you do are better than 1,000 bots. SQ Magazine states that the average startup and small business has 3,467 followers. That's relatively low. Bigger and well-known brands obviously have more, and natural business growth and exposure will bring in more followers.

But not all of them will convert to the website traffic you need. So, how do you get the good ones?

• Post consistently: According to HubSpot, brands that post daily generate twice as much engagement as those posting once a week.
• Share value, not fluff: Teach, entertain, and inspire your followers. You need to create content that makes people pause.
• Use the right hashtags and trending audio:Not in a spammy way. In a 'people can actually find you' way. TikTok and Instagram have a trending section to help you discover what people are viewing and engaging with.
• Talk to your followers: Reply to comments, answer questions, and jump in on conversations. We're seeing brands do this a lot on TikTok.

Converting followers into paying website traffic

Clearly, the statistics are showing businesses are failing at this.

They grow a decent following, but the followers stay on-platform. That's fine if you're a TikTok shop. Not fine if you're trying to run a business.

The bridge is your link in bio. Most platforms only allow you to include one clickable link, but a link in bio tool puts multiple links into the one available link space. You can include your website, other social media pages like YouTube, link promotions, etc. Hopp by Wix is the best Linktree alternative. With Hopp, you can sell directly on your link in bio, but you can also direct the link somewhere that matters.

One clear CTA works best:

• “Shop now.”
• “Book your free call.”
• “Download the guide.”
• "Search...in my link bio"

Look on TikTok and Instagram now, and you'll notice most businesses and influencers have this feature in their bio.

Anything more than three choices is noise. You want followers clicking through, not getting lost in options.

You can add pre-rolls to monetize your traffic with smart promotions. They're assigned to any URL you share, so that when someone clicks, they'll see your pre-roll first. Again, brands do this often with TikTok and Instagram, but you'll also see it on YouTube. It's an excellent way of quickly showing your social media traffic what they want to see and turning them into website traffic. Bluesky, Lemon, and Instagram Threads are growing avenues to also explore.

What your social media followers want from your website

Followers who click through want something specific. And if your website doesn't deliver, they bounce.

Here's what the data says:

• 85% of consumers research online before making a purchase (Salesforce).
• 53% of mobile users will leave if a site takes longer than three seconds to load (Google).
• 88% of online shoppers say they won't return after a bad user experience (Amazon Web Services).

So what does that mean in practice?

1. Speed is essential: Test your site on your phone. If it crawls, you can fix it by optimizing images and videos, using caching, and minifying code.
2. Clarity is essential: If people click from a TikTok ad about personalized chopping boards, they shouldn't land on your homepage with 50 product categories. They should see chopping boards.
3. Trust is essential: reviews, testimonials, and easy returns. They really help convert followers to website traffic.

Followers want consistency. If your Instagram is stylish and professional but your site looks like it was made in 2009, they won't trust your brand.

Social media shopping is growing

Sometimes you don't even need to push followers to your website. Social commerce is becoming massive, with a projected growth rate of 31% annually. Now, with TikTok Shop exploding out of control, it's said there are 64 million social commerce buyers annually.

• TikTok Shop sales grew by 34.2% year-over-year increase (Influencer Marketing Hub).
• Instagram now has more than 130 million users tapping shopping posts every month (Meta). Side note, this is why the link in bio feature would work so well.
• Pinterest drives 450 million monthly active users directly to purchase pages (Statista).

That doesn’t mean you abandon your website. Social media shops work best as complements. They capture impulse buys. But long-term loyalty and brand-building still happen on your own website.

Should you buy social media followers?

Short answer: no. Long answer: absolutely not.

It's tempting. You see "10,000 followers for $49.99" and think it's a shortcut. But fake followers don't buy products. They don't engage. They just make your metrics look good for five minutes.

Worse, the algorithms aren't stupid. Instagram and TikTok prioritize engagement. If half your followers are bots, your engagement rate never increases, and your real posts get buried in the reels people actually want to see.

The only thing you're buying is a credibility problem.

The common social media mistakes businesses make

Even in 2025, businesses are still tripping over the same hurdles:

• Overposting promotions
• Ignoring DMs
• Inconsistent branding
• No clear funnel

Ignoring DMs is a massive issue brands have. Customers are increasingly turning to social media for research and queries, and because social media is usually so fast, they expect companies to respond faster. We're not saying to hire a social media manager who responds to your DMs, but a once-a-day check helps reputation.

We might contradict ourselves here with what we just said, but the biggest mistake is actually treating social media as a side job. You should be active, responding, following trends, and constantly guiding traffic to your website. Neglecting the constant guidance is how you lose people to doomscrolling.

FAQs

What can I do if I'm not getting any new social media followers?

If you're not getting any new followers, we'd recommend reviewing your publishing schedule, collaborating with influencers, or being more direct with your call to action for your link in bio.

What can I do if people aren't interacting with my posts?

We'd recommend following what's trending right now rather than only posting to your story or timeline. Make TikToks, Instagram Reels, and YouTube shorts.

How can I track engagement with my social media content?

There are some excellent social media-specific platform analytics tools. Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have them built in, but you can also use Google Analytics if your posts are directing traffic to your website.