Blogger insights this week: Cracking the code on social selling

How do you persuade a social media user into buying from you?

That is one of the new selling challenges businesses are puzzling over today. Clearly people are not on social media to shop for products and services. They don’t want to see your advertising.

And yet, that is where the prospects are. We are in a new world of social selling.

Two posts in the spotlight this week look at how to socialize your sales engagement process to move social prospects into the customer column.

Spotlight: How to get customers on social media

Are you wasting time chasing down customers on social media? via KISSmetrics

Social media is doing a pathetic job of turning readers into customers, writes Sherice Jacob on KISSmetrics. Why? Because people don’t want to be customers on social media. They want to be social. Unfortunately too many marketers approach it with a “buy now” mentality. And then they get disappointing sales results.

The solution is to shift to an “outreach” mentality that creates a bridge between conversation and lead, and from lead to customer.

Click here to find out how to create that first step in connecting with prospects.

5 social selling tactics to attract, engage & convert more customers via Top Rank

Social selling is one of the fastest growing areas in the social media world, writes Lee Odden. The potential for businesses to capture new customers is so great because “social networks are powering important buyer and brand discussions from awareness to purchase to advocacy.”

But businesses have to reorient their sales and digital marketing strategies to fit social platforms.

The keys to success he outlines in this post are to develop a content strategy that makes you social site(s) an authority hub, and to train your sales force to listen and engage appropriately for social media.

Read the full post here to get his tips for scaling your social selling capabilities.

Credit: tomfishburne.com

Best of the Web: Blogger highlights

Social Media Marketing

Boost credibility on social media with customer stories via Maximize Social Business

Why are you still skeptical Pinterest can work for you? via Copyblogger

The Hare Krishna guide to social media influence via Go Digital

How to set measurable goals for your social media marketing via Unbounce

The powerful Twitter tactic 73% of you aren’t using via Siege Media

Content Marketing

10 strategies to battle content shock via {grow}

Introducing the periodic table of content marketing via Econsultancy

Why insomniacs love your blog via Social Media Today

Business blogging: Ignore it, do it, or use someone else’s? via Overit

Pros & cons of date stamping your content via Marketing Land

12 types of evergreen content that attract valuable links via Search Engine Watch

Integrated Marketing

Why outbound marketing deserves a place next to content marketing via Convince and Convert

7 do’s and don’ts for cross-channel direct mail campaigns via DM News

Getting the best out of social media and email marketing via Gro Traffic

Branding

Brand banter on Twitter: Too much social media, not enough marketing? via The Drum

Hidden persuasion: Unconscious branding actually works via Forbes

Are you delivering on your brand promise? via Blue Kite

Visual Marketing

How to use visuals, videos and social media to market your business via Social Media Examiner

How shifts toward visual content will impact marketers via Marketing Land

Newswire

Digital Marketing Weekly via JGO Digital

Top digital marketing news stories this week: Google+ goes big with super-sized thumbnail images and headlines; Twitter goes direct with click-to-call ad test; Yahoo goes local in search deal with Yelp; Pinterest goes for sales with “Gifts Feed” that display only product pins; Plus more news and info.

Need help with publishing content that converts prospects to customers? Let’s talk! Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute phone consultation.