Chadrack
Selling on #social media demands tact and wisdom. Not just because no one likes to be sold to, but because #social media has an established culture of “no-selling allowed.”
It's unfortunate that because of this “red flag” on social media selling, many #business persons find it really difficult to make any good returns from their social media #marketing efforts. This account for the frustration that many have with social media because no business person wants to devote any time and effort to anything that will not bring any returns.
Now, selling on social media may be difficult but not impossible. It simply requires you finding some ways to make your social media connections to buy. In this article I want to present you with a simple 3-step-tactic which, if strategically followed will result in outstanding success.
The simple strategy is built on providing valuable, education-based web #content on your main site or #blog and then using social media to create awareness of this content. Once you are able to build a level of trust through your valuable content, selling to this engaged connections become much easier.
So, let's get on with the 3 proven Steps To Using Social Media For Selling
1. Create A Content Based Primary Site Or Blog
This is where many small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) are getting social media selling wrong. They simply concentrate their social media marketing efforts in creating and building a following around a social media profile.
But this is wrong. It will only frustrate you. Remember, pushing sales messages to your connections right on social media sites is seriously frowned at by many. In fact, this may lead to many cutting off their connections with you.
However, building your own blog or site, filled with informative and educative content, gives you a platform to showcase your expertise and to further strengthen your relationship with your social connections. Once they are motivated to click on your links and visit your blog or site, they will be more open to a deeper connection with you which will lead to building the trust that is necessary for converting both suspects and prospects into paying customers/clients.
So, if you do not have your own primary site or blog for your business, it’s time to get one. This will also give you a way to take control of your intellectual properties on social media since most of your generated content will be housed in your own site and not the social media site.
2. Create Content That Redirects To Your Primary Site Or Blog
So, you have thousands of followers on #twitter and thousand likes on #Facebook, right? But how many of these are truly connected to you as a business? Remember, social media is simply about socializing while your business is about creating customers to help you make a profit!
Your business getting involved with social media is not a social affair. That is simply a way to a means! Your goal is to turn your social activities into creating a profit for your business.
No matter how this may sound, it is the truth all the same!
So, as you socialize on the social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, #LinkedIn, Google plus, etc. intersperse your interactions with content that is aimed at funneling part of your social media friends to your primary site or blog. This is actually the basis for social media marketing in the first place.
No matter how much they rave about your offerings on the social media sites, the number of these friends and followers who would click on your links and visit your site is the true indication of how much you're engaged with them. It’s also an indication of how successful you can be with social media selling.
3. Capture Leads And Strengthen The Relationship
This is actually a step that will lead to other steps. But for the purpose of this article I want to present it as the final step. One thing that is sure is that pushing sales messages at your social media connections on their first visit to your site or blog may produce some sales, especially if they are already passionately engaged and sold on your offers. However, in most cases they will simply turn away and never come back again.
The best thing to do therefore, is to have in place a system to further build on the relationship. This is where capturing their contact details is important. Have something valuable to give away free. This could be your valuable content whereby you ask them to subscribe to your exclusive newsletter for future updates. You can also offer a free downloadable report that requires their providing their contact information.
A good lead capture system is an important aspect of your primary blog or site. If you don't have a way of capturing your visitors leads, you should get one right away. This will become one of your most valued online asset – a database of prospective clients and customers which could determine your success or otherwise.
BONUS TACTIC:
Provide More Education-Based Content While Promoting Your Products And Services
Ok, as stated above your site visitors may not buy on their first visit. Besides, today’s internet savvy buyers desire that you provide them with much information that will help them in making a buying decision. Capturing their contact information as stated in 3 gives you the opportunity to both make them come back again and also to ensure you provide that needed information that will help their buying decision.
This is where your business wisdom and expertise comes in. But unfortunately, many business persons get it wrong here. Your email list is not a platform to blast off marketing messages all the time. The purpose is to entertain, educate and then sell. Where every email you sent out is basically for promotion and selling, your list will be unresponsive and many will quickly unsubscribe.
Instead of sending only marketing messages, create a series that is aimed at educating and informing your prospects. This will warm them up to your products/services when you introduce them in your emails. Selling at this level is much easier as they have a certain level of trust in you and your product/service.
Marketing takeaway
Social media marketing and social media selling must be strategically infused if you want to successfully sell on social media. Positioning yourself as a leader and authority in your target market through your web content is very important. It is therefore imperative that if you're not very good at creating web content or you're simply lack the time to create a constant flow of content to update your social media accounts or your personal blog or site, you should hire a professional web content writer to do this for you. Never overlook your own primary blog or site. You success or otherwise actually depend on them.
I'll appreciate it if you will help promote this post by sharing it with your friends and social connections. Your friends and social connections will love you for sharing with them! 🙂
Hello Chadrack,
Thanks for your entry. I really likes your social science of selling. Now promote it very hard to wind.. 🙂
@Romy,
Thanks for coming around to check out my entry. The promotion is already on! Let’s see how it comes out 🙂
Hi Chadrack,
nice tips. I agree with you that it is very important to turn social activities into real business. But it’s not so easy…
Thanks for sharing.
BR, Chris
@Chris,
Hmm, “but it’s not so easy!” Yes, I agree that it is not easy. But the truth is that nothing great comes easy. What we need is to keep at it and put in all our best. Seeking to know the basics and working to put them to work is really the key to succeed with all of these. Or don’t you think so?
Hi Chadrack,
Awesome entry my friend, All the best for you.
@Ehsan,
Oh thanks. Must say your entry is really a great post too and seeing I’m entering late I’ll just have to do some extra work! 🙂
Btw. thanks for bringing this to my notice!
@Chadrack, Yeah, The Blogger who running the contest is a writer, so I thought to write something related to writing:P
@Ehsan,
Good thinking! I just had to enter this post when I saw that he changed the rules to include posting on any topic you are familiar with. What matters really is how much promotion you put into it.
Hi Chadrack,
Using social media platforms as a tool to interact with our “following” is how we should be doing it, by being engaging and focusing them back to our websites.
Only when our Twitter, Facebook or whatever followers interact with us back on our websites then we know were doing something right.
@Simmeon,
You are very right Simmeon. Being able to lead your social media connections to engage with you on your personal site is what really shows that they are interested in you. If all you are doing is socializing with them “out in the street” without them caring to check out how your “home” looks like, it means they are not ready to take the relationship to a deeper level!
Content marketing is definitely where it’s at. Even if you started having some success with social media profiles and didn’t have your own website or blog, you would still end up reaching a point where you max out what is possible via social networks alone. You need that main hub where you have complete control and can really build your business. Plus there’s the SEO benefit.
@Melanie,
Hmm, I love that line about max out at a certain stage! There is no better option than to have your main hub where you can do what you really want to do. Of course, you know also that these social media sites could decide to pull the carpet from under your feet any thing if they think you are going outside their boundary!
I do hope someone is really listening! 🙂
Hey Chadrack,
Great post for this entry and I wish you the best with that.
So my turn to say sorry I’ve been so MIA. I’ve just been so busy lately but that’s a good thing accept I don’t make it by very often.
This is a great post and wonderful topic. Of course I’m pretty prejudice when it comes to blogging but I mainly use mine for that purpose. Building relationships and I’ll tell you another way to make that happen that most people just don’t do. Ask for their phone number and call them up. It’s not about selling remember, it’s about building those relationships. Trust me, they will really appreciate it.
I totally agree with your marketing takeaway. Put yourself out there as an authority figure and watch your relationships start to grow.
Thank for this post and have a wonderful weekend.
~Adrienne
@Adrienne,
The ask for a telephone number is a nice touch. I’m sure on your blog it works well, but on some blogs this might be a turn off and reduce the amount of opt-ins.
Need to test obviously.
@Adrienne,
Hmm, what an interesting addition here! I must say it’s only a few that are really using the phone to build business relationships instead of selling. And just considering it I can see so much potential in it especially in the area of putting a personal touch to the whole thing. Instead of just dealing with your prospects as some figure out there, you can relate on a more personal level thereby making the relationship more concrete.
And on the use of blogs, I can see your point. Of course, many who are just coming into the blogging arena have the wrong notion that making money blogging is about setting up a blog and running it solely as a business. This worked some years ago when blogging was in its infancy. You could build and blog and hope to earn money from ads and promoting affiliate products. But these days, doing that means you will have to compete with some of these big names in the game. Unfortunately, I was going in that direction until of recent.
Now, I see a blog as a part of the social media game. Your own place where you can have some form of control over your relationship building efforts. The blog should be a part of your over all business promotion plan. With this understanding, I now devote more of my time to other aspects of my business than I do with the blog because I’ve realized that throwing more of my time at the blog is depriving me of other things that needed to be done.
I appreciate your coming around and for this wonderful comment. Remain blessed!
Hi Chadrack,
Good luck with the contest. This post is an excellent entry!
The steps you’ve shared for social media selling make sense. I am struggling with the third step. As a somewhat new blogger, I’ve had trouble building a list. Any suggestions on how to do that?
@Jamella Biegel,
It’s a pleasure to see that the post resonate with you and thanks for the good words.
On building a list, I’ll suggest that, as new blogger, the first thing you should really determine is what you want to target. What type of product/service are your eying to promote to your list? Are you thinking of providing a service or product along the way or you’re simply thinking of promoting affiliate products?
It’s when you have decided on this that you can now think of what you will give away to build a list and what type of people to target with your list.
Now, I’m supposing that you must have thought about these things before you started your blog. And if that is so, then I’ll suggest that you go through your published posts, select a few that you can repackage to produce a special report. I’m suggesting this because it is the easiest way to get your free offer ready now!
Once your free offer is ready, signup with any of the email service providers like Aweber or MailChimp and then put up the subscription box on your blog. Of course, building a list and nurturing the list is a volume of its own but if you use these tips you could be up and running in under 3 days. Remember, you should rewrite the articles to reflect your purpose in the report.
Sorry that I can’t really go too deep into details. But if you need more explanations, feel free to contact me.
Thanks for the comment.
Nice article and thank your valuable information and I wish you luck
@thiqar,
And thanks for the comment. Btw. Did you help promote the article? Simple tweet or a share with your linkedin network will be appreciated or don’t you think so?:)
Sup Chadrack,
Your article is very great. It helps me a lot as a newbie in social media. Thank you for sharing.
@Matt,
The pleasure is mine. And I’ll truly appreciate it if you will help promote the article. If you find it so helpful why not share it with your social networks? Any way, just asking.
Hi Chadrack,
When using social media as part of your marketing strategy – one should remember that social media is mostly ment to direct a targeted person to a selling page or through a sales funnel. It is not meant to overly promote yourself or product. Using pull marketing is a lot better method of marketing on social channels than using push-marketing. Pulling a user in by engagement or promoting content is far more attractive than receiving a spammy or automated-looking social feed. Be unique and be social – this is two of the most important aspects of marketing on a social channel.
@Anton Koekemoer,
Good insight there Anton. It’s unfortunate that very few businesses really understand this. Most of the marketing I see on social media are really unprofessional. That is why most will readily complain that social media marketing is a sham. But they don’t know that they are doing it wrongly. Without building the right relationships, selling on social media will produce nothing but frustration.
Thanks for this very insightful comment.
Thank you for the informative data. All tips are really important and I think, they can’t be used with out each other, only the full set will help in promotion and then selling!
Chadrack, keep up a good job!
@Emily Williams,
It’s a pleasure to know that the post resonate with you. Are you using social media for selling? Can you share your experience with us?
You have explained in a good way, Chadrack. In this post you are getting good appreciation and you deserve for this. Social media is growing and one should think in this way to get more benefit from it.
@bj,
it’s a pleasure to know that the post resonate with you. Thanks for the comment.
HI Chadrack…
I like your scientific steps theory….
All the three steps you have mentioned are valid and practical…..
@sandeep kumar,
Thanks. It’s a pleasure to hear that.
wow this steps are really very informative for me in social media i really enjoy this content thanks for this post.
Social media has always been important in promoting ones website. plus all the steps you mentioned are very informative. we should all be benefiting from your post
@RC Helicopter for beginner,
Glad to hear that. I do hope you are implementing these strategies right now!
No doubt! Every described step quite important for online selling,It became more happening if users got offers on your every product.
Am i right ???
It is annoying to see some companies spit out a ton of sales pitches through social media. There are those that think they know how to use social media for marketing and those that actually do know. Providing useful content through your blog than sharing that useful content through social media is the best way to create engagement on social media, but drive traffic to your website.
@Ryan,
I agree with you Ryan. But as you know not everyone is on the social media sites with the same purpose. Of course, with more companies turning to social media for customers these things will continue to happen. But we do hope that they do it the right way.
Thanks for the visit and comment. Appreciate!