The e-commerce market has become saturated with merchants, with 64 per cent of consumers choosing to shop online. As a result, it’s critical to establish a good first impression on potential buyers that come across your business online. We propose using social selling to set yourself out from the competition and improve consumer impact.
The new paradigm has pushed “putting customers first” to whole new levels — thanks to the capacity to personally engage them via digital social platforms, much as past ads centred upon making them feel unique.
We’ll look at what social selling is, how it works, and the techniques you can use to benefit from its significant impacts in this post.
What is Social Selling?
Social selling is a sales approach that entails cultivating customer relationships. To communicate with customers, social sellers employ a variety of methods, including social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Engagement is the key to a successful SS campaign.
In the past, sales were organised around conversion and income, but that has lately changed. Salespeople that use social media sites have 45 percent more selling chances and 51 percent more success meeting monthly quotas.
ALSO READ: 7 Social Media Marketing Strategies That Will Boost Your Business
Benefits of Social Selling
Traditional marketing tactics have disadvantages as compared to using a social sales approach.
The following are five advantages of social selling:
More Leads and Sales: It may seem self-evident, but social selling has shown to be quite effective in increasing sales. In fact, social-media-savvy professionals outsell non-social salespeople by 78 percent.
Increased Customer Retention: Customer Retention: Brand loyalty is built on familiarity, and nothing encourages familiarity more than customer involvement. Interacting with customers on a daily basis is a wonderful way to create trust.
Better Brand Recognition: Awareness is the initial step in any sales funnel, and nothing boosts brand recognition more than engagement. Customers who like, share, and comment on your social media posts increase your visibility on that network. Aside from social algorithms and ranking, this is essentially a digital equivalent of “word of mouth” marketing.
Humanizing Your Brand: Putting a face to a name makes it easier to remember. Why not brands? It’s true for people, so why not for brands? Customer interaction gives you and your products a human face. It improves your consumer’s perception of you by making you more likable and relatable.
Built-in Reputation Management: Nearly 95% of all online customers read customer reviews before making a purchase. You probably already have a lot of real-life users if you’re implementing a social selling strategy that includes consumer engagement.
Customer comments and shared postings provide potential prospects with the information they seek. Without the need for third-party representation, your brand’s reputation is promoted and maintained.
Learning to Sell Online: 10 Tips for Better Social Selling
1) Show Them Who You Are: Video is the most efficient approach to reach out to customers. Customers may feel valued, hear and see you, and interact in real time through live video streams. You can see who’s logged in and for how long on some live services, such as Facebook Live Video. Your video’s viewers can like, share, and comment on it, and you can answer them in real-time.
Videos are beneficial because they humanize the digital experience. It’s the closest many online shoppers will come to strolling into an e-commerce store and being greeted by a customer service representative.
2) Learn as You Go: Many marketers make the error of worrying too much about their lack of experience and thereby delaying the process. Making blunders in this area of sales can actually help a campaign. Error is human, and organizations that appear to be more human appeal to today’s consumers.
Just make sure you handle mistakes gracefully. Because social selling is all about the consumer, be honest and public with your apologies if you make a mistake. You might be amazed at how quickly your regular consumers rally to your defence
3) Social sellers work better in groups: Taking on social selling requires a multitude of moving parts, just as launching a new marketing campaign does. It is beneficial to have more than one person in charge of the various channels and platforms.
Expand your audience by enlisting the support of industry influencers who already have a following and can help you expand yours.
4) Know Your Audience: It’s easier to socialize if you know who you’re talking to. Research and metrics reports will reveal who is most interested in your brand and who you should be reaching out to on social media. Of course, you should respond to any possible lead or consumer that contacts you, but especially those who fit your demographic.
5) Build-up Credibility: Preparation Customers want to be able to trust a brand. They want to be able to ask inquiries and receive responses. They want to be seen as a leader in that field. It’s as simple as increasing your credibility to establish yourself as an authority. This entails cultivating relationships in order to increase trust.
It’s easier to establish trust by becoming social online through e-mail, blog comments, and social media. Show your followers that you’re an expert in your field, and they’ll be more likely to purchase your product or service.
6) Make Yourself Noticeable: Don’t allow your brand to get lost in the shuffle. Create visually appealing posts to ensure a visual connection with customers as they swipe by. Visual relevance is influenced by a variety of factors, including the photo you select and the length of a title. The most recognisable Facebook titles, for example, are only four words long.
It’s difficult, but not impossible, to keep your titles short and sweet while yet being descriptive and relevant. Develop a successful style approach and set yourself apart from other social salespeople by taking your time.
7) Present Your Best Face: Social selling is similar to the real estate market in that it needs some schmoozing and a beautiful headshot. Your profile photo says a lot about who you are and what you stand for on social media, and it says a lot about who you are and what you stand for. Choose a photo that is clear, high-definition, and relevant to your brand.
The way consumers perceive your profile could mean the difference between a view and a purchase. Thirty-three percent of internet shoppers will contact a local business via social media before making a phone call.
8) Read Back: One of the best parts of leaving a comment on a social media platform is that you can go back and read it whenever you want. Having these comments on hand to look through later gives you insight into what your consumers like and what you should alter.
CRM software can also be used to collect and report comments that include references of your brand or keyword. This will come in handy when planning future campaigns.
9) Maintain a Constant Network: Social selling is more than just posting on social media; it’s about participating whenever and wherever you can. Blogs, polls, social media comments, shout-outs in live video feeds, and more are all examples of this. The more time you spend cultivating relationships with your leads, the more likely they will become customers.
Even if each comment and share receives no reaction, it adds another mention of your brand to the mix. Your product or service becomes more visible to others online the more it is linked, tagged, or referenced.
Keep in mind that Google and other search engines like new information. Your web presence will become more current as your brand is mentioned more.
10) Make the Most of Industry-Related Training: The last and most significant social selling advice is to remember that you are not alone. Industry experts with years of social selling experience are standing by to assist you.
Get Started as a Social Seller
With the e-commerce sector growing increasingly competitive, it’s critical to demonstrate to customers what makes your business unique. The best method to do this is to build relationships with future leads and current customers.
To become closer to your customers and increase traffic, conversions, and ROI, try social selling.