09 Jan
Social selling is a concept that has gained traction in the last few years – following on the explosion of social media over the past decade. Although it is often thought of in relation to social media, the concept of social selling has been around forever.
Social selling is about making connections between customer and brand.
It can also mean a connection between a product and a customer; especially if you are a B2C business. For B2B, the former is usually more appropriate. Crucially; social selling isn’t hard selling. It is about creating trust and good connections.
If you manage to make positive connection between yourself, your brand and/or your products to your audience (ie. your prospective buyers), you have taken an important step towards achieving a sale. And not necessarily within your immediate group of prospects; a valuable aspect of good social selling is its potential to spread by word-of-mouth.
Humans rely on each other for advice and support, also when it comes to which brands to buy, which services to use or which restaurants to go to. People with whom we have good connections are those we trust to help us in making our own decisions. Likewise, if we are happy with a product or a brand, we often recommend it to our network.
There are two aspects to successful social selling.
1.Brand promotion. Having a social presence is important – it is expected by the majority of consumers, who want to be able to find you. It allows for a dynamic and personal relationship with them; it opens up a platform for questions and feedback to which you can respond to easily.
2. Product promotion. Being on social is a fantastic way to put your products or services in front of the consumer. Are you a restaurant? Post daily specials and mouthwatering pictures of the food you serve. A book shop? Post reviews or staff picks of the week, and let your customers contribute, too. Do you offer some sort of service? Posting before/after or testimonials can be a very powerful tool. Consumers listen to other consumers – leverage this fact.
It really comes down to one thing – being sociable. Whether you’re one-man band, a big company or a really cool brand, interacting and reaching out to your audience is vital. And equally important is it to let your customers, or prospective customers, interact with you. Make sure you always respond to comments or questions, mentions, feedback – good and bad alike.
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