Social media is an ingrained part of all facets of society, including how we do business. If you are not leveraging social media to enhance your sales process, you could be missing out on a lot of potential sales. Your customers are on social media, and you should be too. 

Social selling is a common strategy used by many organizations to reach prospects in a new way. It’s not about direct sales or using traditional tactics. It’s more about taking a passive approach and using social media to support and supplement traditional sales methods. 

Below, our sales recruiters will talk about what social selling is, why you should be doing it, and offer you some effective ways to use social media as a sales tool:

What is social selling? Why is it important?

Social selling is an excellent sales tool that is executed using social media. Hootsuite offers a good definition of social selling:

“Social selling is the practice of using a brand’s social media channels to connect with prospects, develop a connection with them and engage with potential leads”. The tactic can help businesses reach their sales targets.

“Think of social selling as modern relationship-building. Actively connecting with potential customers on social media can help you be the first brand a prospect considers when they’re ready to make a purchase. And it can replace outdated relationship-building and sales techniques like cold calling!”

There are many advantages to integrating social media into your sales strategy. They include:

• It’s another way for you to connect with your customers and prospects.
• You can build relationships with people over time.
• Your competitors are already using it, so you need to do it to capture some of the market share.
• You can learn a lot about your prospects’ purchase habits, interests, and needs.

5 ways to use social media as a sales tool

There are many different ways you can use social media as a sales tool. Here are a few of the most effective strategies:

1. Funnel customers to targeted landing pages

You can use your social media channels and profiles to send your customers to specific landing pages on your website based on their needs. You can share links to different landing pages and help your customers know where to go to buy specific products. 

2. Build your brand and have greater visibility

The more visible you are on social media, the more exposure your customers will have to your brand. This will help you build more trust with people. When people trust you and interact with you on social media, they will be more likely to buy from you. 

3. Connect with prospects

Social media is another source for you to connect with prospects. Your customers are on social media, so you should be there as well. If you are not using social media to look for leads, you are missing out on a big part of your customer base. 

4. Nurture leads

Social media is not only good for finding leads, it’s a great place to nurture these leads. You can reach out to customers to check in on them, see if you can offer assistance, and perform many traditional sales tasks in a less formal environment. 

5. Add value 

Adding value to potential customers is an important part of sales. You want to be a resource and a trusted advisor for them. Social media allows you to do this. Create posts that address your customers’ pain points. Share important information that is relevant to your customers. Think of other ways you can add value to customers.

When you add social media to your sales tool kit, you expand your possibilities. If you are not already using social selling and social media tools to enhance your sales process, now is the time to get started. 

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SalesForce Search is a sales recruitment agency that specializes in hiring sales rockstars. Hiring top salespeople is tough. Only 55% meet their quota. Our proactive approach recruits talented salespeople before they hit the market. As North America’s leading sales headhunter we recruit salespeople in every sector of the economy including, software, manufacturing, financial services and medical devices. To find your next sales rockstar, start your search here.