Wednesday, 21 May 2014

Social Media in 2014 – Why You Should be Using it to Build up Your Pipeline

If you’re a Sales Professional in 2014 and you’re not using Social Media to sell then you have fallen behind the curve. I read a recent figure noting that 79% of sales professionals who use Social Media to sell outperform those that don’t. This shouldn't come as a surprise as everyone uses Social Media in this day and age. If you want to find new business then you need to be in the same places as your potential customers, so start using Social Media.

I want to discuss some of the reasons you should be using Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube & Pinterest:

Twitter – Twitter can be a fantastic source for sales people, you can keep up to date with the latest industry news, create a dedicated landing page for potential clients and link latest products and blogs from your official website. Be sure to engage with customers and tweet content of value to your network.

Facebook – First off Facebook is the second most visited site in the world and can be a very valuable tool to show of your products. With over 1 billion users it is safe to say that your customers are on Facebook. With the new graph search you can find people in your area that might be interested in your products. Build your fan page and invite fans & friends to like your products & services. Facebook allows you to build relationships with huge numbers of people, increasing the pool of people who know, like, and trust you so take advantage of it and build on your pipeline.

Google+ - Google+ is one of the fastest growing Social Media sites today, with over 300 million active users. It allows you to create pages and develop tighter relationships with prospects and customers. Google+ is unique in that you can set-up social hangouts and talk about your product with others. You can set up as many different circles as you want; there is no limit on characters and you won’t get silly invitations to play farm games as you would on Facebook.

LinkedIn – With powerful networking tools, it is a great resource to help build your personal profile and build on your pipeline. What makes LinkedIn so powerful is that no matter what industry you’re in, you’re likely to find a new prospect or lead for your business. Start by building a broad network of professional connections whose knowledge you can tap into, and discover new business opportunities.

YouTube – YouTube is a fantastic marketing tool where you can create online video advertising for brand awareness. Posting a video of your product on YouTube takes on a life of its own as this video can then be viewed by thousands of YouTube users which in turn could be shared on numerous websites, blogs, and email. Using the power of video in conjunction with other social media outlets to show off your product has countless benefits and you should be using this to increase your pipeline.

Pinterest – Now Pinterest isn't for everybody, it really comes down to what is right for your brand. Pinterest allows you to share images of your product and allows others to do the same; it is almost a new way of flicking through a magazine. With 70 million+ users on the site it can be a gold mine if you get it right.

By starting up on these social sites you can greatly increase your sales pipeline and build up your fan base for future success.


Written by Liam Oakes
Liam is the Office Manager at Aaron Wallis and has been with the company for 3 years after having a career with the RAF; Liam has helped hundreds of Sales Professionals secure a new Sales role and ensures that Aaron Wallis runs smoothly.

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