How your brand can be a social media selling success

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With new developments in tech and increased accessibility, more and more companies are using social media platforms as a way to roll out digital marketing campaigns. Spending on social media promotion increased by 12% in 2020 and was worth over $41.5 billion. These numbers will continue to grow as more and more businesses embrace social media selling and advertising.

Social selling has become a lucrative trend, with 78% of salespersons outselling those who are not yet leveraging social media. This new approach allows businesses to engage with potential leads and to build meaningful connections.

Why social media is the key to social selling

One of the biggest reasons that social media has become an essential marketing tool is the fact that many of these platforms have a wide user base. Millions of people may be able to see a business’ content if they use the right strategies. Businesses can also boost their content as ads to ensure that more people within their target demographic are seeing them.

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Companies can also choose not to pay the platforms to reach a wider audience. As long as they understand the algorithm and their audience, they can create a successful social media selling campaign organically. This approach requires some trial and error, but it’s worth it!

Lastly, social media platforms give you real actionable data from engagements and interactions with your content. With traditional marketing, it’s harder to tell whether or not consumers are even paying attention to your content or ads. Social media platforms, like TikTok, on the other hand, give businesses engagement statistics and analytics. Businesses can use analytics to plan content, know when the best times are to post, or trends to film. These social selling examples are just a few reasons why social media is one of the most popular choices for advertising today.

How brands can optimize their social media selling platforms

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Have a dedicated digital marketing team

In today’s business landscape, Project: People emphasizes how traditional marketing may not cut it anymore. One of the first things businesses can do to optimize their social selling practices is by creating a digital marketing team. Outside of actual work experience, you can also look at your potential hires’ own social media and content background.

The good news for employers is that there is a wider pool of talent to choose from due to the rise of programs, access to online degrees. An online marketing degree can be just as valid as a traditional degree, with the main focus of the syllabus now centered around:

• data analytics
• user experience optimization
• social media engagement strategies and more

Having a dedicated digital marketing team with these skills to make marketing videos and this will allow your business to optimize its social media selling platform effectively and efficiently.

Learn the algorithms

This will normally dictate what post each user sees and which posts get buried underneath the rest. Understanding the algorithms of the different social media platforms will help you increase your online brand and story visibility. A factor that may affect the visibility of your post is the kind of content you are uploading.

This is why it is also important to have posts that are relevant and engaging to the audience you are targeting. Each platform will have its own set of algorithms, however, a few key similarities they have in common is that the more a user interacts with an account, the more likely they are to continue to be recommended content by that user.

This is seen in TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. It is also important to stay on top of any algorithm changes each platform makes because they are updated frequently. This will give you the time and opportunity to also better your social media strategies and tactics. Failure to do so can put you behind and lead to fewer engagements.

By understanding algorithms, your social media accounts become a great social selling example and will reach a wider audience.

Build a community with your audience

One other way companies can maximize their social selling across the main social media platforms is by creating a community for their consumers. The practice is all about making organic 1 to 1 connections with the members of your audience.

This can help turn their social accounts into a viable sales channel. There are different ways companies can build a community. For example, within the beauty industry, Rare Beauty pledged its proceeds to a foundation that provides mental health services to communities, creating a group of loyal beauty enthusiasts and mental health advocates.

Providing your audience a chance to connect with your company’s values and ethos can help create brand advocates and fans for life. Building a community with your audience will create better connections between consumers and the company which is ultimately the main goal of social selling your products or services to them.

Social selling is a new practice that businesses should engage in to create better consumer loyalty. These are just a few ways they can utilize their social media platforms to do this.

Article exclusively written for Blanka Brand

Author: Ruth Jane