In a business environment that’s less focused on hard-selling and has instead turned to soft relationship-building, it’s no surprise that social media has claimed its place at the forefront of sales tools.
Figuring out how to use social media to drive business, however, isn’t always as easy as it seems. To nail it, you’ve got to have the right approach.
What is social selling?
Social selling is both art and science. It’s an approach based around using social networks to locate potential customers and build genuine, meaningful relationships with them by offering them content that they’re interested in.
Experts have predicted that 85% of company-audience interactions will take place online by 2020, so if you’re not marking your territory in the social space, you’re really missing a trick.
5 tips to help you become a social selling pro
These 5 tips will help you to master the art of social selling and get ahead of the curve with business development.
1) Only use suitable networks
Sure, LinkedIn is a great network, but if you’re trying to sell scented hand soaps, you’re probably not going to generate much of a buzz. The same goes for real estate – if you don’t use the right networks, you’re not going to garner as much attention as you should.
Invest some time in finding out where your customers spend theirs and target those networks.
2) Don’t use a pseudonym
If you want your audience to trust you (trust us, you do), then use your real name. As a real estate professional, putting a fake name against your profile doesn’t give your audience much of a guarantee that you’re worth anything.
Project a professional and sincere image by using your real name and try to keep it the same across all of your channels.
3) Fill that profile out to completion
Understandably, social networks will look kindly on profiles that are completely filled out. If yours is still lacking information, you’re really not doing yourself any favours.
When setting up a social profile, be sure to fill out all available fields. You’ve got a short space to show yourself off, so make the most of it.
4) Look like a professional
First impressions are formed just as quickly online as they are in the real world. As a result, you need to make sure that your photos display how you look when you interact with customers face-to-face.
This will make sure that you’re easy to recognise from your profile, even when your audience are only seeing a thumbnail image.
5) Share the right info about yourself
Although they differ in character limits, all social networks have a profile section where you can share a bit about who you are with your followers or connections.
To make the most of this section, take some time to brainstorm the words that best describe the service you offer. Remember – the first 155 characters will be visible in search engine results, so get the important bits in first.