The usage of social media has significantly changed how businesses and brands operate in recent years. From customer service to advertising and direct sales to customers on those platforms, there has been a lot to learn and many adjustments to do.
Social media management, Social Selling, and social media advertising are just a few examples of terms that use the word “social” as a descriptor. While it may be tempting to group these disciplines under one general term, each one operates in a very different manner, has its own best practises, and produces different results.
Defined Social Selling
Using social media to identify your customers, engage with them, comprehend their wants, and persuade them to buy from you, social selling is an essential tool for keeping your brand at the top of your customers’ minds.
Your prospects want to feel that they matter to you, and social selling techniques give you the tools to develop individualised interactions with your audience and make them feel valued. Social selling techniques are used for growing brand awareness and developing relationships on a more personal level.
How Important Is Social Selling?
A sizable potential market is being lost by brands without an internet presence. In the period from December 2016 to January 2017, more than one in five people worldwide made an online purchase. The secret to success is getting your brand name known and exposing potential clients to your business.
More than 70% of their panel used social selling tools (including LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter), and 90% of the individuals in the group who were considered to be the “top salespeople” of their respective businesses used these tools as part of their sales strategy, according to a 2016 survey conducted by MarketCube (on behalf of LinkedIn) with 1017 US sales or business professionals.
An estimated one in every three minutes spent online was spent on social media in 2016, with an average daily engagement of nearly two hours. 97% of worldwide internet adults aged 16 to 64 used or visited a social media site at least once per month (1hr 58 minutes)
Companies that are not seen interacting with their customers will quickly disappear from the public’s mind. However, while publicity stunts and one-time events may create a certain “buzz,” this buzz will quickly disappear as soon as a new hot issue is discovered. Having a social selling strategy enables your business to respond to current events in the most effective way for your industry. It also allows potential customers to see that you are socially active and aware, which encourages them to engage with you instead of forcing a “artificial” engagement that could backfire and drive your target audience away.
A solid strategy must be in place, and social selling is one way to foster and grow engagement rates, build brand awareness, and advance a favourable company reputation.
Essentially, social selling may be divided into four key strategies: developing a strong brand, forming connections, interacting with your clients, and concentrating on your prospects.
91% of retail brands used two or more social media platforms in 2016, giving them access to the 2.3 billion active users during that year.
Why Is Social Selling Necessary?
Having a social media presence increases brand recognition, enables you to develop partnerships with customers and other businesses, and guarantees that your customer service is operating at peak efficiency.
Numerous tools are available that let you optimise your social media strategy and then capture a quantifiable data stream for analysis (e.g., Hootsuite or Google Analytics). It may take some time to find the right mix of content, strategy, and channel exposure; first, you must fully comprehend who your target audience is and what they want from you. Next, you must determine which social media platforms they use the most (there is no point in directing your advertising at a channel that your target audience doesn’t use).
Once your customer profile has been developed, optimised, and engagement has started, you can employ social selling strategies to increase brand recognition and trust, resulting in new leads and even new purchases.
You will be able to identify the components of your approach that are effective, ineffective, might require improvement, and should be expanded upon using the data offered by the analytical sites.
