Brick and mortar stores are on the decline, the vast majority of people in many countries now prefer to shop from the comfort of their own home, over the Internet. One medium of online sales that many small businesses haven’t explored to its fullest is social media. There are many marketing benefits to using social media, and almost all lead to sales.
Using social media to advertise or sell products and services, commonly called ‘social selling’, should be an integral part of your marketing and sales promotions. Here are five reasons why your sales force should be social.
- Cost effective. Of the main marketing and sales pipelines, social media is by-far the most cost effective way to connect with people and build a solid marketing funnel.
- Level playing field. The best thing about social media is that there’s no size requirement. One man companies can benefit in exactly the same way as multinational corporations. With a well crafted and executed plan, you could see your company achieve Internet fame and increased revenue as a result.
- Less investment of time. Marketing and sales is a full time job, and using a website or other technical mediums requires the time of other departments as well. With social media, sales people can run campaigns themselves thereby reducing the demands on other departments.
- Highly trackable. Social networks like Facebook and Google+ have built in analytics making it easy to track nearly anything related to social media sales. If a mistake is made changes can be made quickly and results will show instantly.
- Drives loyalty and brand presence. With successful social media interactions, customers will often be more loyal as they feel a connection with the brand and will be less willing to change to buy from other companies. Social media also gives customers a chance to truly let you know how they feel, and other customers can see this. Visible comments are one of the most effective ways to build brand identity.
Using social media to conduct social selling is a great way for small businesses to not only grow their business but also market their brand. If you’re not using social media in your company, or would like to know more about how social media can help your business grow, please contact us.
