Chances are you are already doing some social selling if you have a Facebook business page, Instagram business page, or professional Twitter page. So, what is social selling? It is the art of using social media to find, connect with, understand, and nurture sales prospects. In short, it is the modern way to connect with current and potential customers to develop meaningful relationships. The goal with social selling is to bring value to your customer by anticipating their needs rather than just spamming them with “buy now” posts. Below are some best practices to include with your social selling strategy.

1. Show Up. Be present and engaged with your customers online. And most importantly, be yourself. The point of social selling is to build relationships, and relationships cannot be built without both parties being present. In addition to you being present online, your customers also need to be able to find you! Make sure your profile is complete, images are the correct size, and the verbiage you use on other platforms and your website matches.

2. Provide Value. Participating in social media does not come with participation medals. Especially now, people are looking for value and help answering questions about basic life skills related to your products. Write posts and share important knowledge without sounding too salesy, and don’t forget to collaborate and share information from others too. A good rule of thumb to follow is the 80-20 rule with 80% of your posts being non-sales (think information, recipes, entertaining, and shared posts) and 20% of your posts being sales-related content, such as what markets you will be at, what you have available, and price lists.

3. Engage with Other Businesses. This is one of the best ways to get your content out in front of new audiences. When you engage and share valuable content from other businesses, your outreach is likely to be reciprocated, where other businesses share and like your content in return.

Social selling is something that many businesses shy away from because they have seen many big larger businesses sound “sales-pitchy” and come on too strong. It is a vital part of social media and a vital part of gaining new customers online, especially in a world where online communications are continuing to show more need for customers and businesses alike. If you’d like assistance in developing a social media strategy or a social selling strategy, give us a call at 859-550-3972 or via email at kcard@kcard.info.