Using Social Media to Drive Sales | Agency Sales Magazine

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Without the opportunity to maintain in-person relationships with clients or prospects, businesses have realized that it is now more vital than ever to have a strong online presence. An online presence can help to build credibility, and in turn, generate leads.

People are willing to engage with brands and companies they know on social media if they are getting meaningful social interaction and a sense of community out of it.

To help you and your business use social media to build a community around your brand or product, we’ve compiled a list of “do’s and don’ts” to guide you when using social media tools.

LinkedIn

What to look for:

Things you have in common — people, interests, college/university.
Trends in career tracks — what job did people have before this one.

Do:

Build a strategic network.
Put your best foot forward.
Send customized invitations and connection request responses.
Use the LinkedIn app to quickly send connection requests to those you meet at networking events.
Leverage the law of weak ties.
Comment on posts and conversations.
Publish insights, curated content, and original content.
Send connection requests to those who like or comment on your content.

Don’t:

Add them to a mailing list or try to sell them.

Twitter

What to look for:

Industry experts to follow so you can share information, insights, and curate content.
Prospects you have something in common with.

Do:

Retweet content you find relevant.
Follow those with a large following so when you like, comment, or retweet, their followers might decide to follow you too.
Invite relevant followers to connect with you on LinkedIn.
User the originator’s Twitter handle when you tweet out their content.
Use a link shortener like Bit.ly to make more room for content and analyze clicks on the links you share.

Don’t:

Use too many hash tags.

Facebook

What to look for:

The things you have in common with prospects and people you both know.

Do:

Share photos and information on the things you like to do.

Don’t:

Try to sell.

Now that you have your do’s and don’ts of using social media, it is important to know that becoming an effective social seller means knowing best practices, and the right strategies when interacting and using social media for sales purposes. Remember what you do on social media represents your digital brand and will paint a picture of you and your expertise to clients and prospects. Take note of our “Eight Rules of Social Media Conduct” on the next page to become a pro in no time.

The Eight Rules of Social Media Conduct

A unique header image says something about you. Custom and professional header images can be created at little or no cost using Canva.com.
Make sure it’s business-oriented and does not look like you cropped a group photo.
Keywords in your summary increase the likelihood that your profile will be found when people search for similar people on LinkedIn.
Use a short impactful headline.
Proactively connect with those whose content resonates with you and non-competitors with the same title.
Nothing says to readers “I don’t pay attention to details” more than spelling mistakes in your content.
Be strategic as well as opportunistic. Send connection requests to those who like and comment on your content and those in your ideal contact profile.
Ask what you can do to be the first person they call when they decide it’s time to switch suppliers.

About the Canadian Professional Sales Association

As the advocate for excellence in sales, the CPSA (www.cpsa.com) invests resources in programming, curriculum development, and professional designations to help individuals and companies become more successful through more effective sales. We connect employers with employees, business with academia, and the private sector with government to advance the sales profession and improve Canadian competitiveness.

The CPSA’s 20,000+ members benefit from learning resources, community building events, and exclusive cost-savings benefits.

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].