Social media marketing has become an essential part of every modern company’s marketing plan (and if it’s not, it needs to be). The bottom line: If your customers are on social media, then you need to be, too.
Most entrepreneurs know they need to get in the social game, yet there are so many networks—and they evolve so rapidly—that it’s difficult to know where to focus your efforts. This is especially true for budget-strapped smaller businesses that can’t afford to give each one a test drive.
Keep in mind, you can use social media in a variety of ways. If you don’t wish to spend any money, you can simply share content—whether that’s text updates, photographs, or videos—for free, to an audience of followers. If budget allows, you can choose to use your social-media platform as an advertising vehicle, paying small amounts to boost or promote your content, or spending major dollars for full-scale campaigns.
Here is a quick set of considerations as you select the best social network(s) for your business:
Facebook is right for you . . .if you are building a community presence or want to reach as broad a network as possible. It is losing some traction among younger users but remains the most popular social media site by far. “Not only does it have the most users, it is the most frequently used, which demonstrates a high level of engagement,” says Michelle Manafy, editorial director of Digital Content Next, a trade association. Sheer popularity may not be your primary criteria, however. Given that the primary reason people are so engaged with Facebook is to connect with family and friends, it may not provide the most effective medium for your business message.
LinkedIn is right for you . . .if you are in B2B or in another industry or role in which you can provide useful insights to people thinking about their work, seeking to make business connections, or looking for their next job. “While LinkedIn is trying to broaden the scope of its information, most users are in work mode on LinkedIn so it is optimal for peer networking and industry-specific information,” Manafy says. The average LinkedIn user tends to have a higher income and education level than that of other networks, she adds.
Instagram is right for you . . .if you have a visual aspect to what you do, as it is primarily a photo- and video-sharing app. Instagram appeals to urbanites and younger consumers who are on-the-go, as posts to Instagram can only be made with a mobile device. Sentiment on Instagram also tends to be more positive than platforms such as YouTube, where snarky comments tend to be the norm, says Corbett Drummey, CEO of Popular Pays, a Chicago company that helps brands run social-media campaigns.
Twitter is right for you . . .if you want to reach both male and female customers, and especially “information junkies,” as the microblogging site lends itself to topic-based news or timely insights. As with Facebook, Twitter is more effective when it is a two-way platform in which you respond to and engage with followers.
Pinterest is right for you . . .if you are in a highly visual industry with customers who will naturally seek to express themselves through images. It’s the ideal medium for any company that wants to sell fashion, home products, or other things to women sitting at their computers, Drummey says.
Snapchat is right for you . . .if you are trying to target younger audiences or engage with millennials. That said, it tends to be more popular with well-known brands trying to stay relevant, as opposed to startups trying to win new customers, Drummey says. If you choose Snapchat, remember: Most of your content will disappear quickly, so you’ll need a lot of it. On the bright side, posts don’t need to be immaculately edited, so it’s a good platform if you want to share behind-the-scenes or “day-in-the-life” posts.
YouTube is right for you . . .if you or your business aims to share tutorials and DIY videos aimed at niche audiences. A warning: “It’s not great for sentiment,” Drummey says. “You-Tube comments are kind of like the gutter of the Internet sometimes.” But for new brands, or those struggling to stand out in crowded markets, viral videos can be the ultimate way to increase exposure and drive traffic.
Let’s talk data. The average person spends 118 minutes a day on social media sites like Facebook (which boasts more than 1.5 billion active users worldwide), Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, while 74 percent of consumers rely on social media to influence their buying decisions.
“Quite simply, if your brand isn’t using social media to the fullest extent possible, there’s a good chance you’re missing out on potential sales,” says Sujan Patel, co-founder of growth marketing agency Web Profits.
Marketing on social media doesn’t have to be scary—and you don’t have to do it all at once. You just have to start. Patel recommends keeping the following best practices in mind as you begin promotions on any social network. “Use them to improve brand recognition, build a loyal customer base, and drive more sales with social media,” he says.
Post meaningful content. Red Mango, a popular frozen yogurt chain, shares customer reviews, pictures, and product information on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. A typical photo posted mid-week on Facebook might depict a banana peanut butter smoothie, with the caption “Hump day fuel.” The chain uses social media to keep customers updated on menu changes and seasonal offerings, while also giving followers the opportunity to interact with the brand.
Keep your branding consistent. Making the effort to keep your messages uniform can help you cultivate a loyal customer following. Multiple representations can get confusing. If the branding and image you’re cultivating is too different across platforms, customers may question whether it’s coming from the same company.
Use hashtags appropriately. Don’t go overboard, and don’t try to get too clever. For example, Domino’s Pizza started the campaign #letsdolunch to advertise a sale in their UK-based restaurants. The simplicity of the hashtag made it easy for people to remember and allowed the campaign to catch on with the general public.
Don’t overload your profiles with sales messages. Nobody wants to feel like they’re more prospect than brand loyalist. Watch your engagement data to target prime posting times and avoid oversharing.
“There has never been a business that succeeded without sales.”
MARK CUBAN, serial entrepreneur, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and shark on ABC’s Shark Tank
The purpose of any business is to bring in customers. For a newbie owner, that can be harder than it sounds if you don’t have any sales experience.
Most entrepreneurs start a company because they’re excited about a product or a service, not because they’re excellent salespeople. In fact, many have never worked in sales. The good news is that you can learn (and even enjoy) the art of selling, with a bit of practice. At its most basic level, selling is simply explaining to someone the logic and benefits of buying your product or service.
Keep in mind, sales skills can be used for far more than landing customers. You can use sales skills to win financing, bring on partners, hire key employees, or line up distribution deals.
Jeff Haden, an Inc.com columnist, asked about twenty business owners and CEOs to name the one skill they feel contributes the most to their success. What did every one of them say? “Sales skills,” he says. “They all felt success is almost impossible—in any field—without solid sales skills.”
But learning to embrace salesmanship can be tricky for people. Not only does the word “sales” conjure up slick and unsavory techniques, but it can also trigger a fear of rejection.
“If you represent a product, you probably use it yourself and believe in it with all your heart,” says Marla Tabaka, a small-business advisor. “And those of you who are inventors have poured blood, sweat, and tears into developing your products, not to mention tons of money.” For service providers, the thought of rejection is especially daunting because your personal knowledge and talent are literally your stocks in trade. “All of these scenarios make it only natural to embrace your business as an extension of your very being,” she says. “Hearing no can feel like a very personal rejection.”
We asked experts for their best tips on how to get outside your comfort zone and learn to sell with success:
Face it, you’re a salesperson. Just like everyone else. “So many people resist the fact that they are salespeople,” says Connie Kadansky, a sales coach at Sales Call Reluctance with twenty years of experience. “They’ve had experience with salespeople who were less than professional.” If you think about it, she says, a salesperson is someone who solves problems for a profit. Look at it that way, and just about everyone you know is in sales.
Believe in your own value. You have value as an individual, and the product or service you’re selling creates great value as well when matched with the right customer. “When people are convinced of their value, they’re unstoppable,” Kadansky says. “If someone on the other end is discourteous or not receptive, it doesn’t faze them.” (If you don’t believe what you’re selling has real value, you should be selling something else.)
Know your material cold. “Whatever you’re selling, you have to know that product or service up and down, inside and out,” says Ravin Gandhi, co-founder of GMM Nonstick Coatings, a supplier to the housewares industry. Anticipate questions in advance, and determine ahead of time what your clients’ wants or needs are. Kadansky suggests preparing a script, focused on the client, not on you. “‘Many companies similar to yours count on me to . . .’ fill in the blank,” she says.
Remember, it’s all about relationship building. Keep that in mind before a cold call, says Tabaka, when fear of rejection can be particularly high. “Sometimes we put the pressure on by thinking that our cold calls should result in sales,” she says. Instead, remember that a goal is simply to make contact. You might come up with a plan to contact prospects at a later date, when they may be in need of your service or product. If someone isn’t initially interested, it doesn’t mean “that they don’t like you or your product,” she says. “It simply means that it’s not right for them at this time.”
Be a good listener. Don’t try to push. “A great way to build a rapport with your clients is to just listen to what they say,” Gandhi says. “Most of the time your clients will actually tell you what they want and all you have to do is deliver.” All too often, entrepreneurs get so wrapped up in what they can offer that they forget to listen to what their prospective customers need. “Every opportunity with a new prospect should be centered on their needs, what they do, whom they sell to, and any personal or business goals they are currently focused on,” says Inc.com columnist Barry Farber, a sales strategist.
Don’t forget to follow up. Write an email or letter to your sales prospect immediately following your first promising meeting, summarizing what was discussed, highlighting the benefits of what you can provide, and listing the actions to follow (which could be the next time you plan to speak). Not only does this demonstrate that you listened, it will be a good reference point down the road, when your prospect inevitably needs a nudge. “If thirty days goes by and nothing happens, you can follow up” by referring to the initial letter, Gandhi says.
Learn to be persistent. “Salespeople hear the word no all the time,” Haden says. “Over time you’ll start to see no as a challenge, not a rejection. And you’ll figure out what to do next.” Try to remove the emotion by seeing your phone calls and meetings as statistics, Tabaka says. If you make twenty-five phone calls, odds are good that you will find one person who will want to learn more. “It’s like working up to a hundred sit-ups instead of staying at twenty,” she says. “Get those numbers up there; love the no because it only means that you are getting closer to the yes.”
Still worried about your sales skills? “If you’re a would-be entrepreneur, set aside your business plan and work in sales for a year or two,” Haden recommends. If you’re struggling to keep your business afloat, consider a part-time sales job to bring in extra income and gain some much-needed sales experience. One reason you might be struggling is because of poor sales skills.
“Go learn how to sell,” Haden says. “It’s the best investment you will ever make.”
David Finkel, a business author and Inc.com columnist, says he often gets this question at business conferences: “Which five sales techniques would you use more than any others?”
His answer is below. The list spells out favorite approaches that he has used for over twenty years while selling products and services to consumer and business-to-business clients, from short sales cycles of less than twenty-four hours to long sales cycles of twenty-four months. “They flat out work,” he says.
1.Magnify the pain and make the cost real, present, and unbearable. How do you do this? By asking questions and helping your prospect articulate the real cost of their status quo. Here are some questions that will help.
“Tell me about your current situation . . .”
“What’s not working right now . . . ?”
“Tell me more . . .”
“What is the real impact . . . ?”
“What happens if you don’t deal with this and find a solution?”
“And what is that going to cost you?”
“Why is it you’re finally dealing with this now? I mean, what sparked that need to fix the situation now versus just living with it for another year?”
2.Create scarcity and tap into the fear of loss. Nothing prompts action like the competitive urge. It is hard-wired deep into your prospect’s brain. How can you appropriately inject competition into the conversation with your prospect?
“Mike, you shared that it is important that you get delivery and installation by the first of next month. If that is the case I just need to bring up that I would need to get the PO ASAP because we’re entering into a busy season and our installation team is booked heavy.”
Or . . .
“Sharon, we can only work with one client in this area because of the standard non-compete we sign with any client. From your perspective, why is it you think we should pick your company to partner with in Tampa?”
3.Preempt your top two sales objections. What objections do you hear over and over again? Rather than let the objections come up and then overcoming them with brute force, preempt them. Address and dissolve them before they are articulated by your prospect. This could be through the use of a selling story, a better frame for the sale, or some other scripted mechanism.
4.Save a key sales objection to the end, and use that as a lever to close the sale. It can often be a powerful sales closing technique to “close on the objection.” Here is what it might sound like:
Prospect: “But we need the cost to be under $4,000 per unit.”
You: “So I’m hearing that you need the unit cost to be under $4,000. May I ask why this is so important for you?”
Prospect: “Because otherwise we’ll be over our budget since we need twelve units.”
You: “Got it. Assuming we could get you that pricing, and I’m not sure we can, but assuming we could, is there anything else that would stop you from moving forward with the purchase? Or no, if you got that pricing you’d definitely move forward with this?”
Notice what you’re doing is fleshing out any other objections before you work to solve that final one, and making it clear that they have bought contingent on solving that last objection.
“When you know you have a key objection, sometimes it can make strategic sales sense to leave it until the end and use that objection to create the emotion and movement to close the deal,” Finkel says.
5.Help prospects sell themselves. This technique is also called Aikido selling, after the Japanese martial art, and the concept is that you “blend energies” with your prospect. In other words, you don’t sell in the sense that you need to convince or talk somebody into anything. “The best salesperson helps her prospect close himself,” Finkel says. “You do this through asking great questions that build customer motivation, and restating and reframing your prospect’s responses to help them sell themselves.”