PERSONAL BRANDING AND CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP

Avoiding the Sales Pitch on Social Media

When you interact on social networks, don’t be “sales-y.” Your job as a social seller is to build relationships by offering advice and expertise, not information about your company’s solutions and services. Building trust will pay off in the end. For example, if you notice a discussion on LinkedIn that’s relevant to your brand and industry, share your advice without any pitch or product mentions. Your participation demonstrates your interest in being connected, staying current, and making your mark where the newcomers to your industry will be.” 

To become a trusted advisor, salespeople should post about four times as much educational materials as product or company information. “Keep sending them educational materials, then drop in something on your company, and they will click on it,”

This is one of the most basic steps in getting started with social selling: to establish your professional brand on social networks. Here are some tips on how to optimize your online profile: 

Use a professional headshot

Your profile picture doesn’t mean stiff or formal; depending on your industry and preference, you might not even have to be wearing a suit. Avoid selfies or photos in which you’re clearly at a social event. Have a descriptive headline on your LinkedIn profile.

Your headline doesn’t have to be your job title

Your prospects might find “Customer-Centric B2B Software Sales Professional” or “Ethical Business Coach” more compelling than “Sales Executive.” Or “Life Coach”

Include a concise summary of your professional experience and work history

Your summary should explain what you’ve achieved for your company and customers—not what you’ve achieved for yourself.  

Use applications such as HootSuite or Buffer to schedule and post your updates.

This is a great way to stay consistently active on social media, even if you can’t do so in real-time. Consistent communication will increase your reputation as a reliable source of insight and information and put you in a great position to be seen as a trusted advisor. 

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