Article

Social media has come a long way since MySpace launched back in 2003. What was once a channel solely for teenagers to connect and share music has transformed, and now social media sites are one of the most powerful destinations on the web, and one of the most persuasive channels in your sales funnel.

However, despite the millions of users that visit social media sites every day, social media marketing and social selling in B2B could be argued to still only just be emerging!

Organizations are starting to leverage the power of social media to persuade, and those that become social media stars are the ones who will win in the market. Find out how to use social media in your B2B sales process.

Customer Reviews and Testimonials

Review sites have been around for years, but now social media sites like Facebook include reviews functionality, which enables your customers to post reviews on your company page. Reviews provide you with incredible insights into your customers, so it’s important to enable review functionality.

You have the ability to respond to your customers and use the feedback they post through their reviews. You can identify your evangelists through reviews, reach out to them, and leverage their testimonials in your sales process. You can also share customer reviews and testimonials through your company posts, and use retargeting to get your customer testimonials in front of prospects and leads.

Credibility - Highlight Your Customer Base

Social media gives you a platform to connect with your customers, which means that it gives you a credible way to showcase your customer base and the ways they are using your product. For instance, financial software platform Intuit uses Instagram to promote its small business customers.

The customer quotes about entrepreneurship, the perks of owning a small business, or ways that these small businesses are succeeding in their markets highlight how Intuit is enabling businesses to succeed. Importantly, the stories being showcased tell a story, which makes them engaging and inspiring to other small business leaders.

Team Up with Influencers

 Within any market, there are thought leaders and influencers. Social media gives your brand a way to team up with these other influencers. Twitter is a great channel for finding and partnering with influencers. Find thought leaders within your space, and engage them through retweets, @ mentions, and by sharing their content. You can reach out to influencers and ask if they will showcase your products or services, or team up for joint promotion, like speaking events, webinars, or blogs.

Exceed Customer Service Expectations

 Social media is also a way to give great customer service. Many customers will post on social media sites if they have difficulty using a product or feature – this can be because they want to share their experience with others, or they may just not know another way to contact you. Many organizations set up separate social media accounts for support; for instance, Dropbox has set up a separate support twitter handle, enabling it to give support to customers without interrupting the feed on its company Twitter handle. You can also use the chat function available in various social media platforms to interact directly with your customers when they need support.

Summary

There are so many ways that organizations can leverage social media to connect with and persuade customers and prospects. Find out where you customers are active on social media, and get creative with how to connect with them.