How To Sell on Social Media | Social Media Executive

I was delighted to welcome Karl Morris, a super positive and energetic business growth coach, to my latest livestream to discuss how to sell without turning people off. Keep reading to hear his top tips on how to sell on social media.

All of Karl’s clients have one main goal, and that is to grow their business. To grow, they may have several elements in their growth strategy, but social media MUST be one of them.

Social media is an amazingly effective way to get messages out to people, and to turn potential prospects into customers. But I completely understand why some people are hesitant about selling, and constantly asking themselves, ‘what should I be posting on social media?’ If this sounds like you, try Karl’s suggestions and gain more confidence!

The audience and the message

One of Karl’s pieces of advice before embarking a strategy to sell on on social media, is to consider the audience and the message. Exactly ‘who’ do you want to read your posts, and ‘what’ is it you want to say.

Everyone who reads your posts is a ‘suspect’; you can suspect that you can do business with them.

To Sell or not to Sell on Social Media

Do people want to be sold to on social media? Probably not.

It’s fair to say that most of us have experienced ‘being sold to’ on social media. It can feel like an intrusion, someone or a company trying to draw us into something. It can feel uncomfortable.

Things have changed. Back in the 1990s it was common to see a ‘call to action’ attached to every single piece of marketing. We no longer live in that world, thanks to social media we live in a world where we want to know more about a brand, a person, a product or a service before we put our hands in our pockets and part with our money.

Three things that you MUST consider

Here are three questions Karl wants you to think about when you’re planning your social media marketing content:

Do you come across as approachable?
Only when you come across as friendly and approachable will others feel comfortable about getting in touch with you.
Do you come across as professional?
Your profile and your headshot will go a long way to give the right impression, but check the content of your posts and the comments you leave on other posts. And what type of content do you share? Is it professional and relevant to you?
Is it clear that you are low risk to connect with?
What this means is, are you genuine and not the type of person that will send a salesy direct message the second a LinkedIn connection request is accepted. And not that person who leaves negative comments or attacks you when you may have a slightly differing opinion. We’ve all seen them – and highly likely stayed clear of them!

What’s In It For Me?

It’s good practice to always think like the reader when deciding what to write in a post. You can guarantee that the reader will only stop to read a post if they believe that there is something in it for them. Will it add value, will it solve a problem they have, will it entertain them, will it inspire them – whatever it does, the content should give the reader something they want.

Remember, you are a subject matter expert in your field – share your knowledge and provide useful information. Knowledge is power after all.

If you need content inspiration check out this blog Top Tips for Social Media Content in 2020

Create curiosity for when you want to sell

This is one of the greatest social media tips: write your social media posts to get people to be curious about who and what you are. People thrive when they are curious, it drives them to find out more. This is exactly what you want your potential customers to be doing.

And once your potential customer has discovered that 1) you’re approachable, 2) you’re professional and 3) not going to bombard them with private messages or emails, they will feel confident to get in touch with you.

This is when you start the process of building a relationship by thanking them for reaching out, discussing their needs and sending them more information – the stuff you don’t share to everyone though your social media platforms.

Know. Like. Trust. Sell!

When you get to know someone, you’ll know if you like them or not. And if you do like them, the likelihood is, you’ll trust them.

Know you. Create social media posts that tell the reader about you.
Like you. Be helpful and put value into the posts to satisfy the ‘what’s in it for me’ craving. Remain positive and supportive in both your own posts and in the comments that you make.
Trust you. Provide tips and share knowledge to demonstrate that you are an expert in your field.

People are more likely to get in contact with you when you tick all three of these boxes.

Touch points

Did you know that it can take up to 27 touch points before a customer makes that call to action – whether that’s to contact you or make a purchase from you. With this in mind, you need to be posting regularly to keep your name and your brand at the front of their mind.

Test and measure

It’s crucial that you continually test and measure the success of your posts. You need to know what is working well, and just as importantly, you need to know what doesn’t work well.

If it’s working well keep doing it, if it’s not, then stop.

Have a look at your own data: check the likes, the interactions, the views, etc. – and if you’re not sure how to, please do get in touch.

Do your posts with images outperform those with text only? If so, which pictures work best – with people or without.
Do your videos encourage people to comment more?
Do you achieve good reach during the commute hours, on a Sunday night or on the school run?
Do your posts where you provide top tips achieve the most likes?
Do your Facebook posts do better than your LinkedIn posts?

These are only five examples of the things to look for. The results will tell you what your audience wants to see and read about, where they hang out and when they do their scrolling.

Keep testing until you establish the optimum formula. But never stop researching and educating yourself. Social media is an investment – make it work for you!

Converting conversations to posts

Analyse the comments under your posts. Has one comment turned into a conversation, if so, where has this led to? There may be a clue as to what else your audience want to hear about – consider what that might be and base your next post on that.

Using the right language to sell

Always keep your language simple. Using big words, jargon and acronyms is a real turn off and screams EGO. This won’t put you in the approachable category!

Think differently about selling.

You’re not selling – you’re helping people to buy. You’re giving them something they need. You’re giving them the information they need to make a comfortable decision about buying.

Be human!

Think of posting on social media like walking into a party. You wouldn’t start shouting about what you do immediately would you – instead you’d introduce yourself, talk to others, like what they have to say and then tell them what you do and how it benefits others.

Never forget that you are a subject matter expert and people will want to listen to what you have to say. Please don’t be shy or self-conscious, if you’re adding value, you’re being helpful, and this will be appreciated.

How to get in touch with Karl

Karl has kindly offered my followers a complimentary 30 minute session where you can find out exactly how he can help your business grow. When you get in touch, mention, that you’ve read this blog or watched the YouTube livestream with me!

Karl Morris: 07766 053306 | karlmorris@actioncoach.com

To watch the full discusion head over to my YouTube channel.

What’s Becs up to next?

My next workshop is all about Twitter! Join me online to learn how to grow your brand and generate leads. The workshop starts on Tuesday 20 October and runs for four consecutive days – we’ll spend one hour each day covering: