When salespeople utilize social media to locate and engage with new prospects, this is known as social selling. Salespeople utilize social media to add value to prospects by answering open-ended inquiries, replying to comments, and sharing material at all stages of the buying process, from awareness to consideration to purchase.
8 Ways to get started with Social Selling
- Choose the most relevant social network
- Follow the right Twitter users
- Create a wish list of companies and follow them
- Get instant notifications when prospects join LinkedIn
- Join and participate in LinkedIn Groups
- Connect with potential customers on LinkedIn
- Contribute to existing conversations about your brands
- Provide value by sharing relevant content
What are the best networks for Social Selling?
In a nutshell, it depends.
Your choice should be based on your target demographic and social marketing strategy.
Interacting with customers on Twitter and Instagram is a breeze. They provide tools for responding to client inquiries, as well as informal virtual environments in which conversation occurs spontaneously. Simply put, they’re fantastic for fostering relationships.
4 reasons your business should care about social selling
- Social selling is effective.
According to internal LinkedIn Sales Solutions data:
Brands with a high social selling index generate 45 percent more sales possibilities than those with a low social selling index.
Businesses that prioritize social selling have a 51 percent higher chance of meeting sales targets.
Firms who use social selling outsell businesses that do not use social media by 78 percent.
- Social selling aids in the development of genuine relationships by your sales team.
According to a recent Forbes article, “87 percent of commercial event professionals have canceled events and 66 percent have postponed events due to the epidemic.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, networking and relationship-building have gone online, and now is the ideal time to prioritize social selling.
Social selling allows you to engage with new potential clients on social media, where they are already active and participating in discussions. Your sales people can go one step further by using social listening technologies to identify leads who are already talking about your company, your rivals, or your industry.
- Your consumers (and prospects) are already using social media to make purchases.
In the last six months of 2020, 25% of 18-34-year-olds in the United States made a purchase on social media. In the same span, almost a third of those aged 18 to 34 in India, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand made a purchase via social media.
- Your top competitors are already selling on social media.
Using social selling to stay competitive is a must. Other businesses are active on social media, communicating with potential clients on well-known platforms. “An estimated 25% of e-commerce firms globally planned to sell their items on social media in 2020,” according to Statista data.
Conclusion
Without a question, social selling will assist you in increasing your sales.
The best results from social selling come when you make it your primary goal to provide value to prospects and build relationships. These 8 social selling tips will help you find and connect with prospects on LinkedIn and Twitter, the platforms where decision makers can be found, but the best results come when you make it your primary goal to provide value to prospects and build relationships.
Social selling is not a one-time activity and should be utilized in conjunction with other sales prospecting methods. While getting started can be tough, especially if you’re new to social media, the rewards far exceed the difficulties.
One thing is certain: social media is used for business by prospects, customers, and competitors alike. Accept it and see your sales increase, or disregard it and risk being left behind.
Teaching Social Media 