What is Social Selling in 2024?

In the past, discovering the perfect audience and connections was tough. But now, with social media, it is easy to connect with potential buyers. According to studies,

💡 78.6% of people who use social media for sales do better than those who don’t.

💡 Sales reps with over 5,000 LinkedIn contacts reach their sales goals 98% of the time, compared to just 52% for those with fewer than 250 connections.

💡 Social media influences 92% of B2B buying decisions.

With a massive user base exceeding 4.95 billion, social media has become more relevant than ever for businesses to sell product or service. So, in this blog, we are going to tell you What is Social selling, social selling best practices and benefits of social selling.

What is Social Selling?

Social Selling is a lead generation method that uses social media platforms to connect and build relationships with potential customers.

Unlike traditional sales methods, which often involve making cold calls and direct pitches, social selling focuses on using social media platforms to understand and interact with potential customers in a more personal and authentic way.

Platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook play crucial roles in social selling strategies. Businesses can use these platforms to recognize and connect with potential leads, engage in industry discussions, and showcase their products or services. 

By understanding the preferences and behaviors of their target audience, businesses can tailor their approach to provide personalized and valuable interactions.

The key to successful social selling lies in authenticity and a customer-centric mindset. Building meaningful relationships on social media can lead to increased brand loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and ultimately, more sales. 

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, social selling remains a dynamic and effective strategy for businesses looking to connect with their audience more humanly and engagingly.

Social selling vs. traditional selling

💡 Social selling occurs on social media platforms, while traditional selling typically involves in-person interactions or cold calls. 

💡 In social selling, the focus is on directly reaching out to product users or decision-makers, avoiding going through a gatekeeper first. 

💡 Traditional sales methods often need engaging with a gatekeeper before reaching the person responsible for making financial decisions. 

💡 Social selling uses warm introductions and personalized conversations to connect with specific prospects, while traditional sales tactics rely on generic scripts and broad outreach strategies.

Social Selling Index (SSI)

The Social Selling Index (SSI) is a measure used to assess the effectiveness of a brand’s social selling efforts. LinkedIn introduced the Social Selling Index in 2014.

It includes four key components that contribute to a score, updated daily:

Establishing a Professional Brand: This involves maintaining a well-managed LinkedIn profile that presents a professional image to your network.

Finding the Right People: Identifying and connecting with the appropriate individuals on the platform who are relevant to your business goals.

Sharing Relevant Content: Engaging your network by sharing content that sparks conversation and is pertinent to your industry or niche.

Building and Strengthening Relationships: Actively nurturing and cultivating relationships with your connections to foster trust and credibility.

To access your LinkedIn SSI score, login to your account and visit your Social Selling Index dashboard. Consider your score as a starting point for enhancing your social selling performance.

Social Selling Best Practices:

1.Optimize social media platforms.

When people first come across your social media account, the initial thing they do is often go straight to your profile. That’s why having a professional and complete profile is essential. 

Here are some tips to optimize your social profiles for effective social selling strategy,

✅Use high-quality profile images to make a positive 1st impression.

✅Write a clear & brief bio/ about section to explain what you do and what you offer. Mention your expertise and unique selling propositions.

✅Add all the necessary information about your business.

✅Add a link to your website or relevant landing page in your bio. That helps your target audience to learn more about your products or services.

✅Add social proof like client feedback, reviews, awards & certifications to build trust and confidence.

✅Regularly post helpful and engaging content related to your industry or niche. 

✅Actively engage with your target audience by responding to comments, messages, and inquiries. 

You can find many tips on how to optimize your social media profiles on our Blog page: Visit our Blog page.

2.Set up social listening alerts

Social listening alerts are notifications that inform businesses about relevant discussions, mentions, or movements related to their brand, products, or industry on social media platforms. Social listening tools like Google Alerts generate these alerts.

Setting up social selling alerts is essential for several reasons:

✅Social selling alerts help businesses respond quickly when people talk about their products or express their needs on social media.

✅By keeping an eye on specific words or discussions related to their industry, businesses can reach out to potential customers before they even ask for help. 

✅These alerts also help businesses build relationships by staying informed about what their customers say and tailoring their interactions accordingly.

✅They can also provide insights into competitors and market trends, helping businesses stay competitive. 

✅Additionally, alerts assist in identifying popular topics in their industry, ensuring that the content they share is relevant and timely for their target audience.

3.Share quality content on your social media platforms

Sharing content is a way to improve your credibility in the eyes of your audience. When you share original content related to your industry, you contribute valuable insights or information that showcase your expertise.

It can include creating and posting your articles, blog posts, or updates that show your knowledge. 

By consistently sharing such content, you set yourself as a credible and knowledgeable figure within your industry. It helps to build trust with your audience and positions you as a go-to source for relevant and reliable information.

4.Be active in the comment section

Being active in comments and replies means joining conversations on social media. 

When you leave thoughtful comments at the right time, it’s like introducing yourself to potential customers. Your comments add to the discussion and make the post more visible to others, thanks to the algorithm.

So, by engaging in comments, you’re making a friendly entrance and creating chances to connect and build relationships with new prospects.

5.Find communities and join them.

You can discover various online groups where people share common interests or topics, whether on social media or other platforms. These groups are perfect for social selling because they revolve around discussions and offering support to each other. 

Engaging in these communities allows you to connect with potential customers, participate in conversations, and build relationships – essential aspects of successful social selling.

What are the best social selling tools?

1.LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a powerful tool for social selling, and it’s no surprise that LinkedIn, a professional networking platform, provides one of the best solutions. 

What might catch you off guard is just how vast and powerful the features of LinkedIn Sales Navigator are. It goes beyond the basic LinkedIn functionalities, offering advanced tools to elevate the social selling experience. 

With features tailored for sales professionals, it delivers targeted insights, lead suggestions, and advanced search capabilities, making it a standout tool for those engaged in social selling on the LinkedIn platform.

One of the standout features of Sales Navigator is the Relationship Explorer. This tool helps you identify individuals who can help you build connections within an organization, such as those who share mutual connections with you. 

2. Hootsuite Inbox

Hootsuite Inbox is a helpful tool that gathers all your private and public messages in one place, making it valuable for social sellers who use chat-based strategies. 

It stops you from missing important conversations and comments. You can use it to check, organize, and reply to messages on different social platforms, ensuring quick responses to everyone you connect with. 

You can filter and find specific discussions even when you have a lot of messages. You can work with your team by assigning messages as tasks, ensuring the right person handles each question.

3. Instagram Shopping

Your customers are using Instagram, so why not connect with them through Instagram Shopping? This feature enables you to display and sell your products directly on Instagram. 

You can tag or link your products in posts and stories, making it easy for your audience to discover and buy items with just a few taps. Instagram Shopping closes the gap between being inspired by a product and buying it. 

Your followers can check out product details, explore related items, and make purchases without leaving the Instagram app.

4.TikTok Shopping

Similar to Instagram Shopping, TikTok Shop combines commerce directly into the social platform. 

By using captivating short-form videos on TikTok, you can create persuasive and interactive content to highlight your products, capturing the attention of your target audience. 

Users can discover, share, and buy products directly within the TikTok app. Additionally, through TikTok Shop, you can collaborate with creators using the Affiliate Marketplace, a marketing channel that connects creators with sellers on the platform.

Benefits of Social Selling

Social selling, or selling on social media, has several benefits for businesses.

More people notice you: It helps more people see and recognize your brand because you’re active on social media.

Builds Trust: By talking to people and sharing information, you become more trusted, and people are more likely to purchase from you.

Talk to the Right People: You can connect with specific people who are likely to be interested in what you sell, making your interactions more targeted.

Learn in real-time: You get to know what people are interested in and what’s happening right now, helping you adapt and respond quickly.

Better relationships: Building relationships with customers makes them feel more connected to your brand, increasing the chance they’ll buy from you again.

Find new customers easily: Social media provides tools to find and connect with new potential customers, making it easier to grow your business.

Cost-effective marketing: It’s a cheaper way to promote your products compared to traditional advertising methods.

Stay ahead of competition: By being active and understanding what your customers want, you can stay ahead of your competition.

See what works: Social media platforms give you data on how well your efforts are doing, helping you understand what’s effective and what needs improvement.

Adapt to How People Buy: Many people look for information online before buying. Social selling helps you be where your customers are when they’re deciding to make a purchase.

Which social selling platforms are best?

The effectiveness of social selling relies on your target audience and the nature of your products or services. However, two platforms often favored for social selling are LinkedIn and Twitter.

LinkedIn is particularly well-suited for B2B social selling due to its professional focus and large user base surpassing 1 billion. Its search tools and specialized features like LinkedIn Sales Navigator make it easy to expand your professional network and prioritize prospects.

Twitter, on the other hand, excels in facilitating public discussions, making it an ideal space to show your brand’s expertise. Using hashtags and creating lists are effective strategies for identifying and engaging with relevant groups in your industry.

While Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram are popular social platforms, they present different challenges for social selling. 

Facebook’s privacy controls may limit engagement, but groups can be utilized. TikTok, being more visual, requires a focus on entertaining videos for brand awareness. 

Instagram’s visual nature makes organic conversations challenging, but posting helpful content and engaging with followers of complementary brands can yield benefits. It’s essential to adapt your social selling approach to each platform’s unique features and audience behaviors.

In conclusion, social selling offers businesses a powerful way to connect with customers and drive sales. By leveraging social media platforms effectively, businesses can engage with their target audience, build relationships, and ultimately, boost their bottom line. 

With the right strategies and tools, social selling can be a valuable addition to any sales and marketing approach, helping businesses thrive in today’s digital landscape.

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