The 4 Pillars of Social Selling
- Vivien Koh
- Sep 13, 2022
- 4 min read
๐๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ? ๐๐% ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฒ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐% ๐จ๐ ๐-๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ!
The adoption of social selling has been greatly influenced by the increase in social media usage, and a number of studies indicate that both B2B and B2C buyers now heavily rely on social media for research.
94% of B2B buyers undertake some level of social media research before making a business purchase, with 55% doing so for at least half of their transactions, according to Accenture's State of B2B Procurement Study. As for the B2C segments, nearly 60% of recently surveyed B2C companies report increased revenues and sales owing to their social media efforts.
Today, with approximately half of the world's population using social media, it is more crucial than ever to incorporate social media into a companyโs sales strategies, such as social selling.
๐ What is Social Selling?
Social selling occurs when salespeople search for and interact with new prospects on social media. Through open-ended enquiries, comments, and content sharing, salespeople utilise social media to provide value to prospects at every stage of the purchasing cycle, from awareness through consideration, to the point where the prospect is ready to make a purchase.
The new digital sales strategy involves leveraging social media networks to contact new prospects, educating them on how your business can potentially add value to them, and nurturing them through content. Connecting with potential clients online in both B2B and B2C industries have replaced outdated marketing strategies, as technology and communication techniques continue to progress and evolve. Cold calling, a traditional sales method that continues to be used, lacks the ease and individualised approach of social and digital selling, which customers increasingly value today.
Through the use of social networks, social selling allows brands to engage with and develop relationships with potential customers. As sellers increasingly use social media to communicate with buyers, brands may develop dependable connections, build their social authority, and eventually accomplish their sales objectives through social selling.
๐ A Breakdown of the 4 Social Selling Pillars
How can you be sure that your social selling strategy is effective? The key pillars of a successful social selling strategy are as follows:
1๏ธโฃ Build Your Professional Brand
In the digital age, before a prospect meets you in person, they would probably have encountered and experienced your brand online beforehand. Having a credible online brand is therefore of utmost importance. On your social media networks, make sure your brand is portrayed in a favourable and coherent manner. Create an engaging online profile that highlights your brandโs unique selling points, and summarises what you might be able to offer current and prospective clients.
2๏ธโฃ Grow Your Network
Make sure your brand is aiming for the correct demographic. Having a focused and targeted strategy for growing your network is important, as casting a wide net and garnering a low response rate would be wasting time and effort. To avoid this, create a list of important criteria for potential leads, and pay special attention to the characteristics of second-degree relationships or individuals who are connected to prospects you currently follow.
Under this pillar, it would also be useful to monitor the clickthrough rate of your content. If the results fall short of expectations, it could serve as an indication that you are targeting the wrong audience.
3๏ธโฃ Engage and Interact With Your Audience
Start by adding to the conversations that other users have started by developing a subject or adding a different perspective. You could also consider posting new original content to your social media platforms via online groups where your target audience is present, or through LinkedIn Publishing, a zero-cost blogging platform that connects with LinkedIn. Joining LinkedIn groups devoted to your industry is also another simple method you can use to stand out online.
4๏ธโฃ Informational Content Is King
Itโs important to come up with content consistently, and ensure that the content is informational and value-adding. Increase your brand presence on social networks by publishing your ideas and knowledge through content that your target audience would find relevant. Publishing value-adding content would help to build a credible reputation for your brand, help your audience understand your brand better, and keep your brand in their consideration. In time, content can become an avenue to generate leads, and in turn profits, for your business.
Regardless of whether your brand engages in B2B or B2C industries, itโs critical to remember that social selling should now be a key component of your business. Successful lead generation occurs when a social selling approach is combined with a strong social media presence. Undoubtedly, social media now plays a significant role in the marketing mix that generates tangible results for sales.
๐ Ready to Build Your Digital Sales Strategy?
With the transformation of the B2B Selling landscape over the last two years, VKT and SMU Academy have jointly launched the Executive Certificate in Strategic Digital Sales Leadership for Singapore Businesses programme. Up to 90% Skillsfuture subsidy can be made available for mid-career executives and SMEs.
Apply Now! The practical design of this programme will take you through the key elements of a Sales Leaderโs role & responsibility, sales culture, recruiting & hiring, adopting the right sales compensation, sales strategy, sales coaching, and effective sales pipeline management so you will gain the skill sets and tools required to build a high-impact sales team.
Sign up now! You can also contact us for a coffee chat to discover more on how to leverage our expertise to start your digital sales journey.
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