Social selling involves using social media channels to engage your target audience. As social media has become more integral in marketing, social selling has become critical to sales prospecting success.
The following is an overview of some of the most important benefits to salespeople who use social selling strategies for sales prospecting.
Access to a Large Audience
There are currently 2.46 million estimated social media users in the world, and the number is projected to grow to 3.02 million by 2021. Thus, social media channels are among the top platforms to connect with a large and diverse audience.
Establishing a brand and personal presence is a primary goal of social selling. Your profile and contributions live in a space with a large community. Your presence, combined with timely content posting and interaction, helps you attract leads and grow your business.
Distribution System for Content
If your business engages in content marketing, it should naturally engage in social selling. Social media content is an integral part of a complete content system. It offers platforms for you to share more concise insights and tips for your prospects.
Additionally, your social channels provide effective distribution platforms to share your site and blog content. You can post brief insights that highlight credibility and expertise, and then drive traffic to your content with links.
More Traffic and Conversions
Any business activity that increases your lead generation efficiency is worth considering. And social media exceeds conventional approaches in both traffic generation and lead conversions. If you have more than 1,000 followers on Twitter, one study suggests you are likely to generate more than 800 new website visits each month from social media.
Social media leads also convert at a 13% higher clip than leads sourced through other channels. This optimized efficiency stems from the level of trust and engagement gained through connecting with users on these channels.
Reps Perform Better
Social selling is fueled by consistent use by individual sales reps. The good news is that data is on your side as you try to persuade your team members to use social media channels.
Of top-performing sales reps, 90 percent regularly utilize social media. Reps that use social media help their teams reach quotas 64 percent of the time. In contrast, those that don’t use social selling only reach team quotas 49 percent of the time. Individual quota achievement is significantly higher with social media as well.
Other channels are useful for social selling, but LinkedIn is especially valuable. As much as 80 percent of the leads generated by B2B companies are sourced through LinkedIn.
Conclusion
The benefits of social selling to attract sales leads are clear. With patience and discipline, you establish a strong digital presence and connect with a lot of potential prospects. However, like other strategies, social selling begins with a solid understanding of your audience.
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