There is no denying that social media has changed the way that businesses interact today. Many businesses have not caught up with the demands of the new business world, and have allowed social media use to slip by - but not using social media efficiently and effectively can almost certainly cost a business heavily, especially in the B2B world. Here are five social selling secrets for LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social sharing sites that will increase business-to-business sales productivity for a company forever.
To those whose businesses "grew up" without sites like LinkedIn, it can seem silly to focus on social selling. To a new generation of consumers, however, LinkedIn is an integral part of business. A failure to be present in these locations makes a business appear dated and out of the loop, so to speak. Merely being present in these virtual spaces isn't enough - a business needs to invest time in a media strategy that includes things like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
The best social selling strategies are almost always unique. Companies that can create a unique voice via LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter attract more customers because they have established a unique selling strategy. Business-to-business sales are no different in this sense - businesses respond well to strong, unique voices on social sites. Become a thought leader and expert in your field. Promote what you know best via articles and across all social media platforms. Connect on LinkedIn and use it to engage your customers and prospects - and to generate leads and sales. Publish articles on other industry sites (Medium and Pulse) and partner websites. Join appropriate groups and be a part of their conversation.
Technology has provided new ways to reach customers, and businesses in the B2B world need to use these social selling secrets to target customers and potential customers using technology and visual sales tactics. The tactics for selling to businesses remain the same in a lot of ways, but they are transferred to a new technological medium. It is important to take advantage of the unique aspects of these services. Use images on your social media posts (LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) and blog articles when possible to get more visibility and clicks. Posts with images and videos tend to get noticed and clicked on more than text content only.
If a business doesn't know if its strategy for LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter is working, then it may as well not be working: all of these services provide targeting services and most also provide paid promotional options. Utilize these promotional options, and apply analytic techniques to determine B2B sales productivity.
Using analytics was already covered, but the most important thing to do for business-to-business social selling is constant assessment and reassessment of the media strategy developed. Some parts of the strategy are bound to be successful, while others may be less so; without a heavy reliance on analytics and reassessment, a company will never know whether its social sharing strategy is effective, ineffective, or only partially effective.
If you don’t have someone on your team that you can assign these social selling projects, you may want to consider brining in an outside expert to help get you started.
Contact us for a free consultation on using social selling to increase your productivity and B2B sales.