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Rock any Sales Job with Social Media

By JP George According to Forbes, social media platforms provide plenty of opportunities to promote sales and maintain business relationships. As explained below, social media will start conversations that generate new leads.
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By JP George

According to Forbes, social media platforms provide plenty of opportunities to promote sales and maintain business relationships. As explained below, social media will start conversations that generate new leads.

Build Public Relationships

Consumers prefer to buy from companies that they like and trust. The first step of any sales job begins with establishing a genuine bond and positive relationship. Social media platforms allow salespeople to quickly connect with consumers in various ways. For example, content needs to be engaging, sharable and informative. Social media empowers salespeople to become trustworthy experts within their field through sharing value added content that positively impacts consumer's lives.

Social media is also useful to create goodwill through encouraging charitable initiatives and community beneficial programs. For example, a clothing sales department can highlight the importance of winter clothing for the needy by donating a percentage of sales to a local shelter. In order for social media sales campaigns to be successful, be sure to implement innovative and meaningful employee recognition ideas.

Humanize the Company

The best social media posts will share personal stories, not personal information. Social media empowers companies to share their own stories while encouraging readers to share their own ideas. For example, a company started by a local entrepreneur can strategically share the story of their success with a sales promotion that celebrates their upcoming milestone. Consumer generated content is also an excellent way to strengthen online communities while raising brand awareness.

For instance, companies that sell camping and outdoor products can host an online campaign to collect inspiring stories of the great outdoors. This indirect marketing strategy will create free content and increase consumer engagement. Bear in mind that while stories need to be relatable to the target demographic group, they also need to have universal appeal to the general public.

Build Strategic LinkedIn Connections

Every social media platform comes with its own advantages and drawbacks. LinkedIn is one of the best sites to connect with potential clients and account representatives. When networking on LinkedIn, try to have an intermediary make the introduction on your behalf to the prospective client. This is less invasive and promotional, but also more personable. A direct alternative is to simply view the target LinkedIn profile, which will generate a page visit alert on the potential client's home page.

Follow up with a friendly email or phone call which references something positive about the client's profile. Also consider conducting in-depth research by canvassing profiles for shared interests, accomplishments and backgrounds. Look for similarities related to colleges, hometowns and mutual friends that could start a genuine conversation.

Carefully Participate in Twitter Conversations

To be successful on Twitter, one must keep up with discussions and carefully respond to relevant posts in real time. Avoid publishing tweets based on abstract opinions or quirky thoughts. This will be fun and interesting to some, but uninteresting and unprofessional to others. Instead, have conversations about real world issues and regularly re-tweet sharable content.

A good rule of thumb is that every personal every tweet that is shared needs to be followed by two to three tweets from authoritative sources, such as those that link to good quotes, trending articles and interesting statistics. During major holiday sales, be sure to use unique and memorable hashtags because thousands of other companies will be doing the same thing. This is an excellent opportunity to hint at upcoming flash sales, so readers will continually check the feed for updates.

Lastly, be sure to carefully review and audit your social media account appearance. Sales people's LinkedIn appearance should reflect their professionalism and satisfactory career.

JP George grew up in a small town in Washington. After receiving a Master's degree in Public Relations, JP has worked in a variety of positions, from agencies to corporations all across the globe. Experience has made JP an expert in topics relating to leadership, talent management, and organizational business.




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