With social media’s rise in popularity, leveraging platforms to build relationships and close deals is more important than ever. Mastering the art of social selling helps you stand out from the competition and achieve sales success. The foundation of effective social selling is taking the time to research who you want to connect with. Study their social media profiles to find common interests, see what content they engage with, and learn about their professional background. This will allow you to craft relevant messaging and content that resonates with prospects when you reach out.
Expand your network thoughtfully
Growing your LinkedIn network helps increase your visibility and range. But, simply connecting with anyone and everyone won’t necessarily translate to sales. Be strategic about sending connection requests. Target key decision makers, industry influencers, and prospects at companies you want to do business with. Personalize invitation messages to improve your chances of connecting. And leverage features like InMail when appropriate to boost response rates. Quality over quantity is key.
Share valuable insights
Posting and engaging with relevant content will organically grow your full evaluation of the social sale rep programand authority. Share articles, case studies, videos, blog posts, and other media that provide value for your target audience. Mix in a bit of thought leadership content as well, like tips, how-to’s, and list posts. This shows you know to impart beyond promoting your company. Just make sure anything you share aligns with your brand and messaging.
Listen and monitor mentions
Stay on top of prospects by monitoring social media listening tools for relevant mentions and keywords. You can gain invaluable insights into challenges prospects face or initiatives they have planned. This allows you to reach out at the right time with a helpful or congratulatory message to kickstart a conversation. Listening helps you identify opportunities and engage more meaningfully.
Just like with SEO, you want your social profiles to appear at the top of Google and LinkedIn search results. Make sure to include relevant keywords in your profile headline, job title, skills, experience, and about section. This will boost search visibility which drives more prospects to your profile. You further optimize visibility by claiming your LinkedIn Profile and integrating it with your website.
Leverage your team and company
The combined power of your sales team and the company’s social media presence can enhance your social selling success. Work with marketing to consistently post relevant content and run campaigns. Collaborate with colleagues to share, comment on, and like each other’s updates. This expands collective reach and authority. And proactively support team members by recommending connections, providing testimonials, and endorsing skills.
Track and measure results
You’ll want to track key social selling metrics like content engagement, inbound leads, and conversion rates. It allows you to identify what content and tactics perform best and make data-driven decisions on where to focus your efforts. LinkedIn Sales Navigator and social media analytics tools make it easy to pull reports. Consistently monitoring the numbers ensures your social selling strategy has the intended ROI.
While social selling is essential, prospects are also across email, websites, and events. Adopt an orchestrated outreach strategy across channels. Drive prospects from social media to your website and offers. Follow up with an email sequence. Invite them to a webinar. Send direct mail. This nurtures prospects across the entire sales funnel using various touchpoints based on their preferences for a more effective and less intrusive experience.
