Social selling means using social networks to connect with, understand, and nurture leads and prospects.
The goal is to establish your value and expertise. At the same time, you build meaningful relationships with potential customers. This makes you—and your brand—the natural point of contact when a prospect is ready to buy.
Traditional social selling
Originally, social selling was primarily (but not totally) a B2B practice. It involved finding ways for sales reps and teams to incorporate the exponential networking power of social tools into their existing sales process.
After all, sales has always been about building relationships. You need to establish rapport and credibility, then provide the right solution to the right prospect at the right time.
Social selling simply maximizes relationships and connections. For sales teams, this builds an expanded network of qualified prospects. Social listening also allows sales teams to identify new leads. Reps can then reach out with personalized, relevant, and helpful solutions.
It’s no surprise, then, that 78% of sales reps who incorporate social selling outsell their peers who are stuck in the world of cold calls and generic outreach.
What are the best networks for social selling?
The best networks for selling with social vary depending on your target audience, your approach, and your social selling goals.
Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are great platforms for interacting with customers. They’re casual virtual spaces where communication comes naturally. And consumers are already using them to find information about products and brands.
Simply speaking, these platforms are great for building relationships for inbound social selling.
X (formerly Twitter) is a particularly useful social network for social selling research.
And LinkedIn is a business-oriented platform. It’s ideal for B2B companies looking to identify and reach business decision-makers. Here, businesses can connect with potential customers directly to try and build a professional relationship:
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