How can media sales professionals master social selling techniques?

3 Research and connect with prospects

Social selling is not about spamming or pitching prospects, but rather finding and connecting with the right people who have a need, problem, or goal that you can help them with. To do so, you need to research your prospects first. Advanced search features, filters, and tools can help you find prospects who meet your target audience criteria. Following, liking, commenting on, and sharing their posts and content can show interest and build rapport. Personalized connection requests or messages that mention a common interest, mutual connection, or specific reason for reaching out are also useful. Finally, offering relevant information, insights, resources, or solutions that can help them with their challenges or goals is a great way to provide value.

4 Nurture and follow up with prospects

Social selling is a long-term process that requires consistent and meaningful communication with your prospects. To nurture and follow up, you need to provide value, build trust, and create urgency. Consider using a CRM system or a calendar to track and manage your interactions and follow-ups. Segmenting your prospects based on their level of interest, engagement, and readiness is also important. Additionally, you should use a mix of channels, formats, and messages to keep them engaged and interested. Ask open-ended questions, listen to their feedback, and address any objections or concerns. Providing social proof, case studies, testimonials, or referrals can demonstrate your credibility and results. Finally, use calls to action, incentives, or deadlines to prompt your prospects to take the next step.

5 Measure and improve your social selling performance

Social selling is not a one-time activity, but rather an ongoing practice that requires constant monitoring and improvement. It’s important to measure and analyze your performance to see what works and what doesn't, and to identify areas of improvement. To do this, use metrics and tools to track and evaluate your social selling activities, such as reach, impressions, clicks, shares, comments, likes, connections, leads, conversions, and revenue. Compare your performance with your goals, benchmarks, and best practices to understand your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Experiment with different strategies, tactics, and techniques to learn from successes and failures. Use feedback and recommendations to further improve your social selling performance.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?