Is It OK To Sell On Social Media Channels?

These days, you can’t have marketing without social media. The digital channels at our fingertips keep multiplying and amplifying in both prevalence and importance, and they can’t be ignored. But, does that necessarily mean you should be using social media to sell your products or services? Does it mean social media and ROI are a given? 

Not so fast. Since launching my marketing agency a decade ago, I’ve seen endless mistakes that companies make with social media. And, I’ve also seen plenty of wins. Surprisingly, what separates them is really just the following two perspectives.

Look For Long-Term Impact

If you search for stats to back up whether social sales are worth your time, you’ll find some compelling stuff. For example, HubSpot says that “top-performing sales reps, who close deals 51% more than their peers, consider social networking platforms ‘very important’ to their success” and that “sales teams using social selling experience 18% greater pipeline volume and 21% increased pipeline velocity than those who don’t.” Judging from this, you’d think you’d better start pumping out some sales offers on your social profiles ASAP, right?

Again, not quite. The key distinction here is to consider what social selling means in this context. It doesn’t mean actually selling through social; it means using social media to identify and engage with folks who may eventually buy from you. Put differently, it means relationship-building. In fact, in the same post I just referenced, HubSpot explains this nicely: “Instead of a hard closing tactic, social selling more closely resembles lead nurturing.” 

So, when you think about how to use social media effectively, don’t even think of it as selling. Think longer-term than that. You don’t want a quick win or an impulsive conversion. You’re looking to find the right people who actually like you, and want to grow a relationship over time. These people will be the ones to – eventually – give you referrals, share your content and, yes, buy from you when they’re ready. They’ll also be the ones to come back time and again because your organic feed is enough for them. No sales gimmicks required. 

Ads Are To Promotion As Social Posts Are To _______? 

Secondly, consider your ratio of promotional posts to organic posts. Piggybacking off the last idea, what you actually share on your pages should be intended to give your audience value. Make them laugh, teach them something, cause them to think. Selling, in the strictest sense of the word, doesn’t fit here. But this is where people get confused. Can’t we still talk about our products or services? It’d be weird not to, wouldn’t it? 

Well, yes. So this is where I like to talk about a ratio. We like Gary V’s “jab jab jab right hook” philosophy that basically instructs businesses to offer something valuable or interesting (non-promotional) three times for every one post that’s promotional. It gives your followers a nice cadence, in which your relationship with them is prioritized, but your business isn’t totally overlooked. It teases what you have to offer, without forcing it down their throats. Whatever exact ratio you want to use is up to you. But the point is to make sure the non-promotional posts heavily outweigh the promotional ones. 

We recommend using paid social ads to advertise products, services, limited time offers and specials. That’s what they’re for, whereas your organic feed is for nurturing the relationship and showing other aspects of who you and your company are. So think of it like an SAT question. Ads are to promotion, as social posts are to relationship-building. When you frame it like this, it becomes easy to remember that social media and ROI only go hand-in-hand when you use the tool properly and intentionally. Otherwise? It’s just a tool.

What about you – what has your experience been with social sales? I’d love to hear about it.