How to Use Content to Build Relationships on Social Media

Social media needs to be a part of every firm's sales and marketing strategy today. But the likes of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn aren't just platforms for getting your name out there and engaging with existing customers. These sites are being recognized as excellent selling platforms in their own right.

Indeed, 89% of top performing salespeople report that social networking platforms are important in closing deals and are part of their sales strategy. So how can you utilize these services to build relationships and attract the interest of potential buyers?

The benefits of social selling

Social selling involves the use of these platforms for every stage of the customer journey, for attracting their initial attention and building interest through to nurturing relationships and qualifying leads. While the final sale may still be done through traditional channels, it’s on these platforms where the bulk of the groundwork is done.

For many sales professionals, social selling offers a much more up-to-date - and less intrusive - alternative to methods such as cold calling. It also has a number of advantages; for instance, it can reduce the amount of research time needed to find a good prospect, as much of the relevant information will be easily visible. On top of that, it allows sales teams to keep in contact with a higher number of leads.

Why relationships matter

To be successful with social selling, it's important to first understand that it isn't about sending unsolicited messages or filling your feed with marketing messages. It's about crafting relationships and ensuring that when your prospects are looking for a company to do business with, you are the first that comes to mind.

In order to do this well, you'll need to have the right content. Whether this is blog posts offering your opinion on key issues in your sector, posing direct challenges and questions to your followers or deeper dives into a specific topic, content is vital in building trust and educating your audience.

Share your expertise

Social selling gives your sales team the opportunity to demonstrate they know what they're talking about, and to reassure potential customers they're the leaders in their field. This means sharing insightful, relevant insights and ensuring you're offering your own voice rather than just repeating what others are saying.

It's not just about your own posts either. Make sure you interact directly with what your targeted leads are talking about by sharing and commenting on their posts. Starting and engaging with conversations in a natural way on your prospect's own pages is a great way to get yourself noticed.

Keep it personable

The biggest mistake many sales pros make when they're creating content for social media is making it too promotional. People don't go on social media to hear about how great your company is or be subjected to content that's basically an ad.

A good social media presence for a salesperson should barely mention the product at all. By maintaining a friendly tone of voice and focusing on addressing your prospects' problems instead of always looking to push people into a decision, you can build trust.

Choose the right type of content to engage your audience

Having the right content type is also essential, and this needs to be tailored to both the audience and the platform. For example, lengthy, multi-part Twitter threads may well turn off more people than they attract. A single headline stat displayed as part of a bright, attention-grabbing graphic, on the other hand, is much more likely to be shared and get you noticed.

For B2B sales pros, LinkedIn is a great place for more in-depth thought leadership content, where you can not only share the content itself, but follow up with comments and further discussion about how you can help potential customers.