Taking a step back: why social selling?

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Social selling is hot! And it is becoming increasingly important for companies. In addition to sales, social selling on LinkedIn also involves marketing and communication. If this happens, great synergy benefits can arise. However, in practice, a number of basic matters are often forgotten. In this article, therefore, three practical tips for marketing and communication professionals to lay a good foundation for your organization's social selling activities on LinkedIn.


Before we start with our tips, we think it is good to take a moment to consider the context. Why should companies invest in social selling at all? Three important reasons:

With the right tools and techniques, you can perform much more targeted and personal sales. With b2b email list clear results as well! For example, research by Motivaction shows that the best performing sales professionals use social media two hours a day. No less than 93 percent of them achieve their sales targets versus 83 percent on average. The research also shows that 84 percent of top performers use social selling to build authentic relationships with prospects (versus 61 percent on average).
If you know how to use social media effectively, the number of prospects who approach you (for example because you share a lot of knowledge) will also increase.
Privacy legislation is changing in the short term. As of 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will apply. According to many, this is the final death blow to cold calling.
Enough background information. What can you do as a marketing or communications professional on LinkedIn to lay the foundation for social selling?!

If you know how to use social media effectively, the number of prospects who approach you (for example because you share a lot of knowledge) will also increase.

1. Company page present and in order
If you as a company start with social selling and use LinkedIn for this, a good LinkedIn Company Page is indispensable. It is the business card of your company on this platform, but it is also the proverbial glue between your employees and their networks. Every company can set up a Company Page for free. The content that is shared is publicly accessible.