Social selling is the process of developing relationships as part of the sales process, typically through social networks where brands use their own social media channels to connect with prospects, develop a connection, and engage with potential leads.
It’s a relatively new but powerful approach to selling, and it enables sales professionals to target their prospects with laser precision and establish strong, thorough connections. Although not exclusive to it, social selling is dominated by social media, and as a sales technique, it leads to better lead generation, better sales prospecting, and eliminates the need for outdated methods such as cold calling.
Social selling can be broken down into these steps:
You can think of social selling in the same way as many modern relationships are built; actively connecting with potential customers (i.e., friends) on social media and posting content that engages these people. Although in social selling, this content is targeted ads rather than posting photos of your food.
No. Both do use social platforms, but social selling is about building 1:1 relationships and engaging directly with prospects. But social media marketing focuses on getting content in front of a broader audience. You can think of social selling as a personal conversation and social media marketing as a public announcement.