How to conduct social selling on LinkedIn and other social media platforms?

The presence of brands on social media is a common phenomenon and one of the most important elements of marketing strategy. More and more brands realize that having a few corporate accounts on the most popular platforms is not enough, so they start looking for creative solutions. Social selling comes to the rescue, helping to build trust and relationships between the brand and consumers. Find out how to use social selling to grow your business.

Social selling - what is it?

Contrary to appearances, social selling is not about selling on social media. It is definitely something more. Specifically, social selling is the process of building relationships with current and potential customers of a brand, which leads to increased sales. Sales are therefore a result, not a direct element of social selling. The whole process is about not engaging in aggressive sales, because consumers like to buy, but they don't like to be sold to.

Where to start?

First and foremost, you need to understand the expectations of your target audience. Therefore, create an ideal customer profile, representing the demographic characteristics, as well as the behaviors and interests of your potential customers. Think about what your brand's audience needs, what knowledge they are looking for, and how you can help them. This will make acquiring new customers much easier and faster. Once you know the characteristics of the customer and their psychological profile, you can use this knowledge to conduct more effective marketing activities.

How to effectively use social selling in your sales strategy?

If you want to effectively engage in social selling, you must first remember about systematic actions. Another important aspect is, of course, valuable content, i.e., the content you publish on social media. As mentioned earlier, it should meet the needs of your potential audience. Also, remember about building relationships through interaction. Don't be afraid to engage in discussions on forums or groups, because through thoughtful communication in such places, you can present yourself as an expert in your industry. Of course, a very important element of the whole process is also continuous analysis and improvement of social selling activities.

What is the Social Selling Index on LinkedIn?

Social selling is mainly associated with LinkedIn, as this platform provides an opportunity to create a brand as a specialist in its field. LinkedIn is not only intended for B2B professionals, it also works well in the B2C model, as evidenced by the statistics: salespeople actively using LinkedIn have a 51% higher chance of achieving sales goals*.

Every LinkedIn user can check their Social Selling Index, which is an indicator of sales potential on this social networking site. The SSI result is influenced by 4 elements:

• building a professional image
• acquiring the right contacts
• engagement
• building relationships on LinkedIn

Creating a professional image (personal brand) starts with completing information on LinkedIn. Make sure your profile is as interesting to potential recipients as possible. Also, remember to publish interesting content that not only attracts attention but also presents you as a specialist in your field. Appropriate and diverse materials will make your profile consistent, as your publications will serve as confirmation of the skills listed on your profile.

Don't forget about building business networks. It's not about creating the largest network, but about acquiring the right contacts. To do this, you can use LinkedIn's advanced tool - Sales Navigator. When establishing a connection, remember to personalize. And no, I don't mean adding the person's name to the invitation message. Real personalization involves analyzing the profile of the person you want to contact. When you know what interests the person, what they have recently published, what groups they belong to, you will find common elements and easily write a short message explaining why you are inviting this person to your network. If you rely on mass sending of this message, you will certainly not achieve the expected results.

Another important element that affects your results is, of course, engagement. Therefore, participate in discussions, share interesting articles and posts from people in your network. Get involved in thematic groups and contact their members. If someone reacts to your publication, you can start a public discussion or send a private message. This is a very good way to build relationships on LinkedIn and gain the trust of decision-makers.

Marketing and sales in social media

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are also places where you can successfully engage in social selling. Focus primarily on thoughtful actions of your company and concentrate on posting interesting content. Recently, video marketing in the form of live streams on Facebook or stories on Instagram has been gaining popularity. In social media, in addition to posts showing products or services, it is worth sharing behind-the-scenes moments of your brand. If you are building a personal brand, posting lifestyle entries is a desired action. However, remember to maintain a balance between private life and life on social media.

Social selling - summary

Social selling activities have a positive impact on building trust in the brand and the shopping experience of customers. Therefore, make sure to have a presence on these social platforms where your audience, including potential customers, is present. It is good practice to have a profile on LinkedIn and build the position of an expert by all specialists in the company, as this way each of them can expand the audience of the brand with additional individuals.

Do you see the potential that social selling brings? Start implementing good practices today and enjoy the further success of your company.

Sources:

* https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/social-selling/the-social-selling-index-ssi