Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Social selling is the process of crafting online relationships and nurturing potential customers on various social platforms to aid in directing individuals down the sales funnel. A large key in achieving this goal is through social selling. Social selling or listening is performed best on social media platforms such as Twitter, where users can monitor conversations and chiming in when necessary. Not to be confused with social media marketing, the following three tips are sure to place you ahead of the competition and on top of the your customer service values.
1. It’s all in the Profile
The first step in achieving social selling success is to make sure your profile is clear and easy to read. Your social media platform will be the page that everyone goes to if promoted accurately on your brand’s website. Tweets and posts should be informational, yet compelling and quick to the point. Upon viewing interesting content, users will be more driven to ask questions and reach out. Perhaps animate employees with job titles such as “Social Media Rockstar” or “Graphic Design Guru” to break the ice and grab more attention from your audience. Keep your photos clean-cut and clear. They don’t have to be taken by a professional photographer. Just make sure you’re able to acquire the Hi-Res version of photos, so that it uploads well and doesn’t appear too severely pixelated.
Pro Tip: Upload a photo of you and your employees to your social media platforms. Why, you might ponder? Just think, would you purchase an item from a company whose only photo is their logo? Probably not. Connect with your audience by showing them who you really are. 
2. Tailor your Message for each Contact
You need to know your target audience. Don’t just create a one-size-fits-all message for those in your channel. Researching interests and similarities between customers will show you’ve done your homework and that alone may be an attention grabber enough. As a customer in the B2B realm, it’s always very reassuring to know that there are real people on each side of the spectrum. It pays to know your Buyer Personas so you can target exactly who you should be addressing, in various categories such as demographics, personal characteristics, the need for a solution and even communication. HubSpot provides a free template for colorfully determining your approximate buyer persona profile, ultimately benefiting you in the long-run.
3. Let Content do its Job
Share, comment, Like & repeat 100 times. Those three options will allow you to increase your online footprint. Analyzing your breadcrumb trail can allow you to size up the feedback you’re receiving from your followers and essentially, help you determine who that “follower” is, as well.
What is good content?
Good content can be anything. It is best painted by good angles, accurate timing, consistent distribution and creative writing tactics. In your instance, this could be a lengthy, detailed case study with lovely photos, videos and interviews with your customer depicting the problem and solution at hand. Through case studies, you can assist in educating potential new customers on the services which you provide. A blog page embedded into your website or social page is also a key feature for providing quality content. Integrate key players on your team to join in on the discussion of industry trends and happenings in your channel. Whether that be by video, podcast or written out post, there is a need for thus-related content to be shared.
Through all of these steps, you can achieve a quality sales relationship with potential customers on social media. Your social listening skills will only get better over time and after weeks of practicing consistency. It’s only smart that ISVs and VARs begin adopting social selling techniques, because the digital age is now and it’s swiftly evolving. With more than 330 million monthly active users on Twitter, the time is now begin polling prospective followers and placing feelers out about your branded product to see where the crowd stands and even generate some customer feedback as well. Tweet on!
