Even more ways to sell on social media

Social media is an important part of your marketing strategy as an entrepreneur, but did you know it can also be used as a sales tool too, when leveraged correctly? Last month we shared a series of tips to help you generate more leads on LinkedIn. Today, we’re going to look at what else you can do to bring in more business as a direct result of your social media activity.

Here’s how to turn your standard social updates into powerful sales tools:

1.   Keep your customer persona front and centre

The sheer volume of social media users means it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to appeal to everyone with your social media updates. The problem with that approach is that you miss the chance to resonate deeply with your target audience.

Keep your customer persona front and centre when planning out your social media strategy and content calendar as this will help you identify those topics that your potential customers are most likely to respond to.

You’ll also want to focus on content which reflects your understanding of their problems, demonstrates how you can help with your solutions and share information which will be useful to them. Consider how you can showcase your knowledge with updates that specifically speak to your target demographic.

2.   Focus on appropriate social networks

With so many social networks out there, it’s not realistic to think that you can maintain a fruitful presence on all of them. The good news is, you don’t need to. You only need to focus on those networks that match your target demographic. If your research shows that your ideal customers don’t spend too much time on TikTok or Snapchat for example, there’s no sense in spending lots of time and money on those platforms.

As an entrepreneur, your time is valuable. To optimize that time and ensure you’re putting yourself in the best possible position to make sales, it makes sense to refine your focus and put your efforts into the most appropriate social networks.

3.   Invest in content

Content is the driving force of traffic, engagement and leads. Investing in good quality, helpful and informative content is a tried and trusted way to establish your authority and create a connection with your audience. Good content, which is timely and informative, will not only help to win likes and followers, it can increase your visibility, boost your profile as an expert in your field and directly convert social media users into sales leads.

Consistency is important when it comes to content so, create a calendar that maps out key updates and dates along with a schedule for when and how you’ll post to your social media channels. This helps to ensure that you don’t miss key opportunities and gives you a framework so that updates don’t fall by the wayside, leaving your accounts dormant for a long period.