As more and more people go online to find information and talk to each other, businesses are using social media to connect with and influence both new and old customers.
Using online channels to find prospects and build relationships is what social selling is all about. It helps salespeople find leads and connect with the right people.
If you’re not already using social selling in your business, you’re missing out on a chance to grow your online network and try out new ways to sell.
How does social selling work?
Social selling is when a company or person uses social media networks to connect with prospects, build relationships, and get leads.
Social selling is used by many salespeople to help them meet their goals. The method helps people get into the sales funnel so you can give them the right information at the right time and get them to buy.
Social selling is a way to connect with people through social media. Another term often used in this context is “digital selling,” which is a broader form of sales that uses online technologies and sales tech. This includes stations like:
Websites (e-commerce) (e-commerce)
Data analysis, chatbots
Automation
Webinars or presentations given online
Sales intelligence
How do I become a social seller?
Social selling is a good idea because it’s easy to get started. Most likely, your business and sales staff are already using social media, so all you have to do is use those networks as a way to sell.
So, how do I begin selling on social media? Here are some simple steps:
Pick the one you want.
Not every social network is the same. What works for one business might not work for another, so look at how engaged your customers are and where they are. For example, if you run a business that sells to other businesses, LinkedIn may help you make connections, while Twitter can help you find people and follow them.
Make or update your profile.
It’s important how you look to the outside world, so make or update your profile to make it look professional and up-to-date. Check out our tips on how to make your LinkedIn profile better.
Make a target list
Make a list of the companies or people you want to connect with. It’s important to know who you’re going after.
Find out more.
According to LinkedIn’s sales report, 76 percent of top sellers say they “always” do research before reaching out to prospects. Only 47 percent of other sellers say the same (cited above). So, take your time and look into things.
Join a group on social media
There are a lot of social media groups, and many of them are specialised and could be good for your business. You can ask to join those groups or even start one that will help customers or clients.
Listen to social media.
Social listening will help you keep an eye on people or businesses online and find out more about them. You can keep track of conversations, see what customers are saying, and even keep up with what your competitors are doing.
Put up relevant content and stick to it.
Start by finding content that is useful and interesting to your audience. This doesn’t have to be from your company; it could be a news article, podcast, or webinar. It’s all about giving the right people what they want.
Identify social selling metrics
To keep an eye on how well your social media sales are doing, it’s important to set up metrics. This could be LinkedIn’s SSI (social selling index), the rate at which content is engaged with, or the rate at which messages are answered.
Is social selling a good way to make money?
Social sellers get good results. It’s true.
The sales strategy not only helps your business and sellers build relationships, but it also helps you bring in more money. Here are some numbers that show how well social selling works.
61 percent of companies that use social selling say it helps them make more money. – Sales for Life
In many industries, social selling or deals influenced by social selling make up more than half of a sales rep’s quota.
LinkedIn says that people who see brand and acquisition messages are six times more likely to convert.
Also, customers are active on social media. According to Sprout Social, 68 percent of customers have bought directly from social platforms. With the spread of social commerce and the growth of TikTok, this number is only likely to go up.
These steps will get you started as a social seller and help you find leads and keep in touch with prospects online.
How to Put a Social Selling Plan Into Action
A social selling strategy will help you figure out how to find customers and prospects, connect with them, and get them to buy from you.
It’s important that all of the salespeople in your company work toward the same goals and use the same approach and tone.
Here are some steps to plan and implement a social selling strategy, including tips for building a strong online presence and talking to potential customers on social media.
Set up your social media presence on the right sites.
Find out which social media sites your target audience uses, and make sure you have a presence on those sites. This will give you a place to meet potential customers and get to know them.
For instance, your audience might like pictures and use Instagram. Even though just posting a picture might get people to interact with you, you should know about the different types of Instagram videos you can use.
Regardless of which platform you choose, find out what your audience is doing and what your competitors are doing.
Optimize your social media profiles
Businesses need to improve their social media profiles just like any other social seller. A good profile should have the following:
Keywords that are relevant to your business
A professional picture for your profile and one for your cover
A short and clear bio
Relevant hashtags
A link to your website or page of interest
Contact details
Use an identifiable handle
Pin your best or most popular content to the top of your profile.
Make useful content. Make useful content that addresses the pain points of your target audience and gives them solutions to their problems.
You should find out what problems or problems your customers face by making a buyer persona and talking to customer service or your sales team. Put these at the top of your list and figure out how to answer them and add value to your content.
You can make the following types of content:
Blogs
White papers or original research
EbookssWebinarssPodcasts
Videos
Live video
Talk with possible customers
Use the search and discovery tools on social media to find potential customers and get in touch with them. You can also find and target prospects with social listening or intelligence. This will help you keep an eye on online conversations and digital behaviour, as well as keep up with trends, so you can stay up-to-date and make your communications more personal.
For example, on LinkedIn, all you have to do is type the name or company of the person or business you want to find. You can also look through a company’s profile to learn more about its employees’ education, jobs, and career paths.
Become a digital marketer on top of the world
Make friends and allies.
Once you’ve found potential customers, focus on building relationships with them by giving them something of value and being helpful. Tell them what you know and offer to help them solve their problems. Online social groups are another way to do this.
This can be done by sharing original research or a blog that talks about a problem they’re having. Or it could just be a call to get in touch. Content that is curated or from a third party can also be useful here.
An article from the New York Times that is about your industry or theirs could show that you know your stuff and are on your way to becoming a leader in your field.
Follow and measure your progress
Your social selling efforts can be tracked and measured by keeping an eye on your follower growth, engagement levels, and sales.
You can also track mentions of your brand and advertising campaigns to find out what kind of content is working. Use this information to make changes to your plan and make it better over time.
Keep in mind that the analytics for each social media platform are different, so learn about the ones you use most to make sure you can learn something from the data. Or, you could ask your marketing team to help.
Optimize your sales process
Use all of the information you get from social selling to improve your sales process. This will help you tailor your approach and increase the number of people who buy from you.
In this case, you need a CRM system because it will help you keep track of all the information about your prospects and the interactions you have with them. Make sure to use it regularly to get the most out of it. Here is a guide to the most popular CRM options.
You can also find ways to automate parts of social selling, like billing or getting a new customer set up.
Conclusion
Mastering social selling is important because it lets you connect with your customers and prospects on social media platforms and build strong relationships with them.
By being active and visible on social media, you can establish your brand as a trusted and knowledgeable source of information. This can help increase brand awareness and drive sales.
Social selling also lets you talk to potential customers face-to-face, learn about their needs and pain points, and come up with custom solutions. This can help build trust and loyalty among customers, which can lead to more sales and conversions.
Social selling can be a useful tool for businesses that want to grow and succeed in today’s highly competitive market by making good use of the power of social media.
