Social selling has become an integral part of modern sales strategies. If you or your team are not utilizing digital tools and social selling techniques in your strategy then you are missing out.
Social selling techniques allow sales teams to leverage social media platforms to engage with prospects, build relationships, and drive sales.
But, if this is the first time you are hearing about social selling, let us bring you up to speed.
In a previous article, we described social selling as using social media platforms to foster relationships with prospective customers.
It is as simple as it sounds but, to succeed you need to have a plan and use methods that will increase your chances of success and lead you to selling.
So, here are six top social selling techniques your team should be using.
Contents
1. Establish a Strong Personal Brand
One of the first social selling tips your team needs to know about is the importance of establishing a strong personal brand.
A survey conducted by Brandfog revealed that 82% of buyers are likely to trust a company whose leadership team and CEO actively engage on social media.
It is time to encourage your sales team to optimize their social media profiles.
They can do this by including professional headshots, engaging headlines, and comprehensive descriptions of their expertise, skills, and achievements.
They should also share valuable content that aligns with their brand and resonates with their target audience.
This can include industry insights, tips, success stories, or thought-provoking questions.
By demonstrating their knowledge and expertise, they can build credibility and trust, making it more likely for prospects to engage with them.
Your customer needs to be assured that you know what you are talking about before buying from you.
If you are looking to onboard new members to your sales team, consider this as one of the things you look for in a salesperson.
This is one of the social selling techniques that starts you off on the right foot and sets you up for success.
2. Actively Listen and Engage
One of the most important social selling techniques that every salesperson should have is listening and engaging.
Social selling is not a one-way communication channel. Encourage your team to actively listen and engage with their target audience on social media platforms.
This involves monitoring relevant conversations, industry hashtags, and targeted keywords.
Through communication, let your customer reveal to you what problem they are facing, and using this information relay your product or services as a solution.
By paying attention to what prospects are saying, salespeople can identify pain points, challenges, and opportunities to provide valuable insights.
They should engage in discussions by asking questions, providing thoughtful responses, and offering helpful resources.
Actively listening and engaging allows your team to build rapport and establish themselves as trusted advisors.
Be keen not to interrupt your customer while they are sharing their insights or information especially if you want them to have a positive customer service experience from you and these social selling techniques to succeed.
Content is king as shared in our MSMEs masterclass with Caroline Mutoko.
Every business owner who is looking to employ some social selling techniques in their sales strategy needs to know that content is an integral part.
While listing out 22 reasons for social selling, a LinkedIn article shares that 92% of customers are willing to engage with sales representatives who have positioned themselves as an industry thought leaders.
This credibility is often attained by posting on social media. Content sharing is a crucial aspect of social selling.
Encourage your team to curate and share high-quality content that educates, informs, and entertains their target audience.
They can share articles, blog posts, infographics, videos, or any other content format that is relevant to their industry and resonates with their prospects.
Additionally, they should leverage the content created by your marketing team, ensuring that it aligns with the interests and needs of their target audience.
If you don’t have this, consider hiring a professional content creation team to help you come up with content that aligns with your brand.
By consistently sharing valuable content, they position themselves as thought leaders, stay top-of-mind with prospects, and nurture relationships over time and making this one of the important social selling techniques.
4. Take Advantage of Social Listening Tools
Social media listening tools can provide valuable insights into customer preferences, pain points, and industry trends.
Encourage your team to leverage these tools to track conversations, track relevant keywords, and stay informed about what is happening in their industry.
They can identify discussions where potential buyers are seeking recommendations, asking questions, or expressing frustrations.
Armed with these insights, your team can tailor their sales approach and engage in more meaningful conversations.
For example, if they notice a recurring pain point among prospects, they can proactively provide a solution or offer guidance.
This is one of the social selling techniques that can help you avoid crises that might occur with the nature of social media.
When a customer is not happy with a service or a product, they can easily reach out to you to offer a solution.
At the same time, if you are not paying attention and don’t reply, they might share their frustrations on a public platform which will affect how other customers interact with you.
Sprout Social shared a statistic that reported 76% of customers expect a reply within 24 hours when they make an inquiry or complain via social media.
It is within your best interest to constantly be on the lookout for what customers are sharing and avoid trouble so it doesn’t affect your other social selling techniques.
5. Create Relationships with Influencers
We have shared time and time again about the growth and impact of influencer marketing. It can also be impactful in social selling.
But how you ask? This is one of the social selling techniques that if well exploited can lead to great results.
Sales representatives can start by identifying influential individuals, organizations, or industry experts who have a significant following and credibility in your industry.
Then they can follow, engage, and build relationships with these influencers. They can comment on their posts, share their content, and take part in discussions where influencers are involved.
By doing so, they can expand their reach, enhance their credibility by association, and gain access to new opportunities or potential customers.
A report on LinkedIn showed that 37% of consumers trust social media influencers over brands when deciding on whether to buy a product or not.
To add to this, Millennials and Generation Z are seen to be two times more likely to trust an influencer compared to Boomers.
Collaborating with influencers on content or events can also boost visibility and credibility for your team. Make this one of the priority social selling techniques.
6. Use Video Live Streaming
While discussing why a live streaming strategy is important in marketing, Vimeo Livestream shared a statistic that stated that 80% of customers prefer watching a live video from a brand rather than reading a blog post.
Video content has become increasingly popular in social media marketing and is effective as one of the great social selling techniques.
Encourage your team to create and share videos that showcase product demonstrations, customer testimonials, or informative tutorials.
Videos provide a more engaging and visual way to communicate with prospects, enabling your team to showcase the value of your products or services.
Additionally, live streaming platforms like Facebook Live, LinkedIn Live, or YouTube Live can be leveraged to host live Q&A sessions, webinars, or virtual events.
This allows your team to interact with prospects in real time, addressing their questions, concerns, and objections directly.
To conclude, it is important to remember that these social selling techniques is about building relationships, providing value, and nurturing prospects over time.
Encourage your team to adopt these techniques, adapt to the needs of their target audience, and consistently refine their approach based on insights and feedback.
If you are looking for an agency like Twiva to help you in adapting these social selling techniques, reach out to us.
Penned by Lydia Mwende
Lydia is the Social Media & Community Manager at Twiva. She enjoys reading, writing, and watching films.