Why you are more successful with social selling in B2B
Selling via social media becomes an integral part for customer acquisition
It is impossible to imagine business customer relations without personal selling. On the contrary, due to the anonymization of customer contacts, classic sales is experiencing a kind of “revival” at the moment. The only thing is that buying habits have become global and networking at the regulars’ table has lost its effect. With social selling, new contacts can be made in a targeted manner and a network of relationships can be built up efficiently – worldwide in all industries.
The tried-and-tested approaches in marketing are working less and less. With outbound activities, even in B2B communication, the goals can be achieved less and less, and the costs are running out of control. “Being found” is the new approach. You don’t find the customer, the customer finds you. For this to work, the company must establish itself as a topic leader in a niche. It does this by publishing attractive, useful content in the form of blog articles, white papers, e-books, etc., which accompanies and supports customers in their decision-making along the customer journey. This type of marketing is also called content marketing. Read more here:
What is Content Marketing?
9 Content Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
The more attractive content is available on the Internet, the more likely customers are to find it and thus find their way to the company. Experience shows that these so-called organic search results convert better than purchased ones, such as Google Adwords, and can therefore be classified as more qualitative. However, it should also be mentioned at this point that the production of high-quality content involves a certain amount of effort.
Index
Without visibility, content is of no use
If the brand is to be strengthened, it also needs a certain visibility. This is achieved through the distribution of the content. Another positive effect occurs when the content is spread virally. The basis for this is the company’s own community. We often encounter companies and their most important exponents that have no or only a very small community. Here, too, progress is naturally very slow if one is not active. Being active means constantly growing the community in order to achieve the distribution breadth that is necessary to be seen and thus also to be able to achieve topic leadership.
Social selling is a must for every salesperson
Social selling is the active method of ultimately establishing relationships outside of social networks. Remember that the successful relationships are person-to-person, not company-to-company. Experience shows that LinkedIn is one of the most active platforms in the B2B environment and this will help you move forward faster. The following 5 steps will get you there:
1. Optimize social media profile
The social media profile is the business card and should be up-to-date and complete. Make sure that you present a trustworthy and homogeneous image. An outdated and incomplete profile massively reduces reach and clout.
2. Define persona
It is important that you have the right people in your network. Therefore, analogous to the inbound marketing strategy, define the personas as precisely as possible. Narrow down geography, industry, function, skills, position, etc. and select them on LinkedIn.
3. No anonymous first contact
Personally approach the person you want to network with. You will see the networking rate is very high, usually over 70%. Once the networking has worked, briefly introduce yourself to the other person, who you are and what you have to offer. Short and to the point! Conclude the introduction with a question, e.g. Would you like to know specifically how we manage to reduce costs by up to 30% with this method?
4. Build relationship
The contact is now in your community, but there is no relationship yet. To build this, your contact needs to notice you every now and then. Like the person’s posts, acknowledge their skills, ask questions, or share posts from the contact in your Timeline. Build the relationship step by step.
5. Post interesting content
Now the fusion of social selling and content marketing comes into play. When you post interesting blog posts, you get noticed by your community. People are now liking and sharing your content. Thank them, be personable, and show your expertise.
Social selling is a very fast method and ideal for supporting a long-term content marketing or inbound marketing strategy. In the build-up phase of your own community, you will inevitably come across businesses that also have an urgent need, giving you immediate quick wins.
Article by Baschi Sale
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