With the rapid growth of adoption of social media in the B2B space, social selling is definitely the latest trend to be buzzing in the marketplace. Social selling using LinkedIn is seen as a positive growth area considering the constant reminder we inevitably get that the LinkedIn demographic is predominantly professional with an average salary northwards of $120k.
“Social selling has the power to help establish a positive reputation, unearth hard-to-find information, and make important contacts in a scalable way,” LinkedIn vice president of sales Mike Derezin told Entrepreneur. “In today’s digital and data driven age, online is how perceptions are shaped, so for anyone working in sales today, it’s a real miss to not make it core to their strategy.”
LinkedIn synergises B2B social selling via corporate branding, and now even more than ever via personal branding. And this is all done with the backdrop of a ‘professional’ social media network. Serious business people will also be more inclined to spend time on LinkedIn as a result, as in stark contrast to say Facebook.
Through social selling, particularly on LinkedIn, lead generation becomes a much easier task. Particularly with LinkedIn’s 347 million membership and its new social selling tool , the Sales Navigator.
The infographic below from LinkedIn shows the clear strategy required to optimise your social selling or lead generation on this platform.
Essentially, the social selling process involves:
1. Preparation ( including profile optimisation )
2. Prospecting
3. Making first contact
4. Building relationships
5. Taking the relationship to the next level
Enjoy the infographic !
If you would like to discuss how LinkedIn marketing can help your business grow online, please contact Hymie on +61 414 329674 or hymie@webmentum.com.