You may not be aware of it, but there’s a chance that your business may have already engaged in the process of social selling. This is especially true if you are managing a social media page like Twitter or LinkedIn or actively engaging with the community of Reddit or Quora. To some, it is simply engaging with the community of social media platforms. Sharing content, answering queries, responding to comments, etc., are ways to engage with them. It is a way to nurture the prospect to transform them into a high-value lead.
What is Social Selling?
Before we start dissecting the techniques and strategies used in this process, we need to understand the definition of what is social selling. It is a must for the marketers and salespeople to have a complete understanding of this term. Unfortunately, not everyone is using this to its full potential. Thus, failing to experience its full benefits. Social selling is a marketing and sales strategy that happens in the social media channel. However, you probably think it is just another term for SMM or social media marketing.
It is not surprising that most businesses will use social media as a part of their marketing and sales strategy due to its undeniable popularity. It is now one of the ideal places to promote your business. Nowadays, some people will find it weird if someone they know doesn’t have social media account. Apart from Instagram and Twitter, LinkedIn is also another perfect platform for the social selling process. Several professionals who work in online marketing and the eCommerce industry want to be present here.
Social Selling is commonly used for B2B, but there is also an increasing presence on B2C. To do this, you will need to be proactive with your lead generation and engage with them in a meaningful way. For instance, if someone over Facebook asked for the best bookkeeping or accounting software, a company will need to respond to them immediately. Otherwise, they will lose that golden time. Instead of just focusing on the mentions of your brand, this is about understanding the pain points of your target market and offering them the most practical solution.
What Are Some of the Challenges Involved in Social Selling?
Learning how to do social selling is so important to the sales and marketing team of the company. However, this won’t be easy. Remember that most social media users will have a short attention span, and you will have to fight against so many distractions and noises happening online. After being exposed to countless advertisements online, most of us have been desensitized. If you choose LinkedIn as your chosen platform, it gives you an advantage since people expect to see ads.
Most of the time, people will mistake this process for social media marketing. However, there are differences between the two. Social media marketing targets a broader group. It is like casting your net wide. You aim to cultivate a one-on-one relationship with your customer with social selling. If you don’t want to interact with your audience, it will be difficult for you to create social sales. Many sales representatives and marketers will have to develop a long-term relationship with their potential buyers during this process. You will have to maintain an authentic conversation and engage with your prospects while pitching your sales, which is not simple.
As mentioned above, most social media users will be resistant to sales. They will also easily identify a fake interest immediately. Therefore, you will need to remain as genuine as possible. When you want to know what is social selling, you need to understand that it is about working towards a meaningful relationship. It is not sending spam messages to your connections. Think of ways your business can change the life of your target audience and be subtle in your promotion. It is about solving their pain points and not selling.
How Will Your Social Selling Affect Your Sales?
Of course, before you implement this process, you want to know if it really works. Based on the different numbers released by various studies, it does. By cultivating an authentic relationship with your prospects, there’s a better chance to collect them as leads and convert them into paying customers. They will most possibly choose you over their competitors. The strategy will require skills and commitment, but the reward will be massive. For B2B, you will have to target the decision-makers. These people like to feel that they are valued. If they are offered two similar solutions, they will mostly choose the company that gives them a more authentic experience.
How to Do Social Selling in Different Platforms?
Perhaps the most popular program for the social selling process would be LinkedIn. However, there is still no rule that you cannot implement this in your other social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Let us look at some of the most popular channels nowadays.
Implementing your social selling method on Facebook may not be as efficient as Twitter or LinkedIn, since people will only interact with their closest connection and some will choose to keep their profiles private. Unless you have a strong connection and know many people, it may not be easy to complete sales. Nonetheless, it is still a powerful platform to monitor pages and brands. You should also use social listening and monitoring tools to respond immediately to people who might be looking for your product.
It will be easier to perform your social selling process on Twitter since most of the conversation is public. It is also easier to stay on top of your sales and marketing strategy with social listening tools. When using a tool, you will have to specify your target keywords, and it will start monitoring the platform for any mentions. Use keywords that could be relevant to your brand. Do not be restricted to the name of your business or product. Once you receive an alert, engage with them immediately. Otherwise, you are giving your competitors the opportunity to reach out to them. Once you master this method, you will generate a sizable number of leads.
UGC (User-Generated Content) on Instagram will not be ideal for initiating your strategy. Learning how to do social selling on Instagram will not be as easy as it appears. Nonetheless, this can still be a possible source of your leads. When using this, understand that this is heavily based on visuals, and the comments are often restricted. However, you should be ready to lay a solid ground for your sales and marketing strategy with consistent efforts.
Once you learn what is social selling, you will understand that the best platform to use would be LinkedIn. This channel uses various tools to help you execute your strategies, such as Social Sales Navigator and Social Selling Index. These are all helpful in monitoring your campaigns on LinkedIn. Several executives will be using LinkedIn for B2B lead generation and social marketing. Several LinkedIn marketing techniques are already out there. Nonetheless, there are simple things to keep in mind. Start by being authentic when interacting with your audience. Keep engaging in relevant conversations. You should also keep up with all the latest trends.
How Do You Start Your Social Selling in LinkedIn?
Suppose you are using LinkedIn to start your social selling process. In that case, you should at least have a complete profile. Based on the reports, at least 89% of B2B marketers will rely on this platform for lead generation. 62% of them claimed that it would generate twice the number of leads. Here are ways how you can implement your strategy on LinkedIn.
Be Credible
Your profile must be spotless to ensure that your target audience will see you as someone trustworthy. Therefore, you should put your heart when inputting the information on the fields. If you have a close relationship with your connections, you can ask them for recommendations, testimonials, and endorsements. Add these to your profile, and others will see you as someone trustworthy. You want to make sure that your profile will highlight your expertise and specialization. Tell them how you or your company could help your previous customers. Adding information from credible sources can also give you that professional look.
Extending Your Network
The search feature of LinkedIn can be a potent tool to help you extend your network. Look for your mutual connections; they can be your next high-valued leads. You should not disregard LinkedIn Groups. You can find groups that could be relevant to your industry. Your prospects and partners can be found on this platform.
We’ve already mentioned how LinkedIn Sales Navigator can help you with your social selling. Aside from helping you look for the right leads, it is also useful in personalizing your approach to them. It also presents you with an in-depth analysis that will help you better understand the performance of your campaign.
Why Should You Use This?
If you are still not convinced that social selling is the next best strategy for your business, we will give you some of the best reasons here.
It Works
The internal data released by LinkedIn Sales Solution will give you a glimpse that this method is indeed effective in boosting your lead generation and sales. Businesses and decision-makers have reported a 45% increase in their sales opportunities compared to those with a lower index. Companies prioritizing this strategy are 51% more likely to attain their sales quota. Around 78% of the companies using this strategy managed to outsell their competitors who do not use social selling.
It Builds Relationship and Encourages Loyalty
An article on Forbes showed that several markets had been affected by the pandemic. 87% of the corporate events have been canceled, and around 66% were postponed. The process of relationship building and networking is now in the digital world. It is now the perfect time to take advantage of the benefits offered by the social selling process. This strategy allows you to connect with fresh leads. With this, you are helping your sales team to dive deeper and have a more comprehensive understanding of your leads, who may already be talking about your business. It means that you will be reaching out to people who may already be interested in your company. Be sure that you will initiate an authentic conversation with these people. Remember that authenticity builds loyalty and trust.
Customers Are Inclined to Social Buying
Based on the 2020 study, around 25% of Americans 18-34 years old have completed sales through social media. In similar reports, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and India have also experienced 1/3 of the population ages 18-34 make online purchases. Thinking about the number of people utilizing social media, the potential to create sales will be considerable. There are around 4.2 billion people active on various social media platforms. There were an additional 490 million users in 2020 alone; that was a 13.2% increase compared to the previous year. It is also important to note that most social media users utilize brand research. These people are ready to buy.
Your Rivals Are Using Social Selling
Social selling helps you keep your business competitive. Other companies are already actively using their social media platforms to connect with potential customers. In 2020, about 25% of eCommerce sold their goods through social media profiles. Around 200 million users on Instagram have visited a profile once per day. Moreover, 81% of them research services and products through this platform. 18.3% of the US population made a purchase through Facebook. On YouTube, 70% of the users are buying brand products. With this number, it is highly possible that your competitors are already using this.
Marketing and sales have always been about building customer relationships, which makes the social selling process a powerful tool. This method leverages social media platforms that expand the business network and create a loyal and long-term relationship.
