The reasons why salespeople can't do without social media

Sales executives and social media marketing managers are no longer seated on opposite sides of the strategy table. Sales leaders are beginning to use social media for sales seriously in an effort to close more deals.

The landscape of B2B sales is evolving. In case you haven't heard already, B2B sales are going to be dominated by relationship-building and social media engagement. 92% of B2B buyers are willing to interact on social media platforms with salespeople who are referred to as thought leaders, according to statistics.

The days of sales teams considering social media to be a nice-to-have tool for marketing are long gone. And now is the moment to pay attention if you still are.

Using social media to its full potential can be the difference between your sales staff meeting and surpassing its quotas.

You have undoubtedly already noticed a change in B2B buyer behavior. It has become difficult for sales teams to establish lasting relationships with prospects as a result of buyers turning away from talks with sales professionals, cold calls turning into spam, and attempts to connect during prospecting. We also know that emails sent to prospects are rarely viewed, thus your audience will hardly see your message.

The most effective approach to capture their interest is to locate them on social media, an online platform. Sales teams may interact with B2B buyers online by leveraging social media platforms, as 75% of them utilize them to investigate solutions. LinkedIn is the primary platform for professionals, naturally. To be exact, 56% of sales representatives utilize social media to locate new clients. It's imperative to switch from paper business cards to a social media profile that is optimized; networking has moved online, and your staff should follow suit. You'll probably ask to connect on LinkedIn and follow up with a prospective client there even after you've participated in an industry event and struck up a conversation with them.

Top applications of social media for sales teams

The following are the top three scenarios in which social media can be used to boost sales:

Direct communication with purchasers

Sales teams can communicate directly with their target audience by using social media channels. In contrast to a cold email, leaving a comment, reposting, or liking a potential customer's post makes a big impression. This customized communication that adds personality to your profile is ultimately preferable to a cold email. According to statistics, the average response rate for cold emails is only 8.5%, and only 24% of sales emails are opened.

Real-time direct communication with prospects is made possible by social media. Engaging directly with potential clients using platforms like LinkedIn, conversations, and commenting can help you forge stronger bonds and earn their trust in ways that traditional marketing strategies are unable to. You can actively participate in an online conversation with a potential client and assist them in overcoming obstacles if you observe them expressing their thoughts on a trending topic in your sector. By doing this, you will become a member of their audience and present your business before deciding to make a hard sell.

Social media marketing

Social selling is a sales approach that centers on using personal social networks to develop trust and meaningful relationships with potential clients. Salespeople that engage in social selling provide instructional materials to establish themselves as thought leaders in their sector. However, it's crucial to give your audience something of value rather than just posting something you want them to view.

Utilizing social intent information to direct potential customers down the funnel

Even if the term "social intent data" is relatively new, you should nonetheless take action with it. Social intent data holds the key to accelerating the lengthy B2B sales cycles and making these purchasing procedures more efficient.

Information obtained from social media sites that suggests a user's possible interest or desire to buy is referred to as social intent data. Their interactions—likes, shares, and comments—collect this data, which can offer insightful information on the preferences and behavior of customers.

The knowledge you need to turn more leads into customers can be found in social media analytics when handled wisely.

Understanding the subjects that interest your leads or prospects can help you facilitate deeper discussions that speak to the demands of your customers. It's a less scary way to figure out what your customer wants to hear without having to read their mind. In this manner, you can direct them toward completing a transaction and down the funnel.

By employing insights from social media interactions to precisely target high-value accounts, sales teams may also use social intent data to improve ABM (Account-Based Marketing) and ABX (Account-Based Experience) strategies.

This information helps create customized communications that are timely and relevant, catered to the unique requirements and interests of every customer. Additionally, it can assist your team in promptly addressing prospective clients' concerns, increasing engagement and conversion rates.

Through ongoing analysis of social intent data, your team may enhance performance and establish more robust and fruitful relationships with key accounts by fine-tuning their tactics. In addition to optimizing resource allocation, this strategic use of social intent data improves customer experience overall, cultivates customer loyalty, and increases sales conversions.

Your sales team has a tonne of opportunity thanks to social media to hit and surpass their quotas. It is no longer negotiable to exclude social selling from your sales plan, whether it is through online engagement with your target audience, social selling to establish your persona as a thought leader in the field, or social intent data to gain a true insight of your buyer's requirements and goals.