How Social Networks Revolutionize B2B Marketing and Sales

Before going into the heart of the matter of social networks revolution, let’s begins by giving advice to the audience “Do not hire commercial people who do not know how to use social networks.” For Lets, it shows a lack of investment on the part of the commercial.

What Study Says About Social Networks

To carry out this study on the social networks and capital of the collaborators, Booster Academy took the 100 most common family names in France. They then asked respondents, how many “Dupond”, for example, they knew, how many followers on Twitter, how many friends on Facebook and how many contacts on LinkedIn and Video. Of the 300 people who responded to the study:

• 50% do not have a follower on Twitter and few friends on Facebook
• 32% have fewer than 10 friends on Facebook
• 31% have more than 250 contacts on LinkedIn

38% answered zero, 21% attended 1 network, 19% 2 networks and 8% 3 networks. The question “how many networks do you attend?”

With all these questions around networking or activity on social networks, Booster Academy has determined levels “social capital”. There are four, bronze, silver, gold and elite.

Of the 300 participants in the study, 20% are in the bronze, 59% in the silver, 12% in the gold and 9% in the elite.

This study shows that salespeople are still quite little to use social networks. Lets Platonic-Cohen ended his speech by mentioning 4 ideas received on social networks:

1. Salespeople spend a lot of time on social networks

As the study shows, this idea is false. On the contrary, sales people do not spend enough time on social networks.

2. Social networks are a great tool for prospecting

This is not completely false, social networks allow to do targeted prospecting. That said lead generation is more complex than we think about social networks. It is therefore necessary to put in place a real campaign of social selling, with the right tools to optimize as much as possible the prospecting.

3. Social networks belong to the individual, the company can do nothing

With the agreement of the collaborator, the marketing can easily publish on their profile using tools like Hootsuite.

Publishing quality content on your salesperson profiles will allow the company to increase its visibility by accessing the commercial network but it will also allow the salesperson to increase its visibility and employ-ability. On LinkedIn, the active profiles, that is to say those that regularly publish content, are twice as much seen as the others.

4. Profile is a replica of a good resume

False, LinkedIn makes it possible to do real Personal Branding; you can put publications, videos, white papers, all the elements that allow you to increase your credibility and your Expertise with your network. Well used, social networks can be a gold mine for your sales people.

Tips for Prospecting on LinkedIn and Finishing with Prospecting

1. Create an Attractive Profile

On LinkedIn, your profile is your first showcase. Put a nice picture, make a description, and put some elements of contacts, your professional experience. In short, put yourself forward.

2. Get lots of Friends

Dare to make contacts request on LinkedIn, you will be surprised at the acceptance rate. In addition to increasing your contacts on LinkedIn allows you to increase your personal network, reach more people and increase your visibility?

3. Interpret with Value Content

Through LinkedIn you will be able to regularly broadcast content. Find interesting content for your network and post them. This allows you to illustrate your expertise to your contacts and remind you of their fond memories.

4. Be Findable … and Found

LinkedIn is very well done for one thing, it is completely “SEO friendly”, that is it allows you to apply the rules for Search Engine Optimization, optimization for search engines. Place interesting keywords for you and your network in your profile to stand out on the search engines. You will gain visibility.

5. Be Recommended … and Recommended

Thanks to LinkedIn, you can very easily make your expertise with recommendations. Do not hesitate to ask people in your network to recommend your skills or even to write you testimonials of recommendation.

For the last point, Simon advocates asking these testimonies only to people you worked with for credibility.

6. Target your Prospects Effectively

LinkedIn offers a tool, Sales Navigator, which allows you to search contacts by keywords, company, current title, company size, sector…

Once you have identified a contact and as you go on his profile, if you look to the right, LinkedIn automatically offers you people with similar profiles.

7. Get Started

If you are not already there, it’s time, create your profile, ask for recommendations, ask your marketing department to help you write messages and find content, Post it for you and start your prospecting.

You will be surprised how many contacts you will be able to reach.

8. Challenge your Salespeople

To make sure that your salespeople play the game and increase the number of contacts on LinkedIn, organize a challenge. With a mobile app like Incentive, you’ll be able to do it very quickly and very simply. A great way to gain visibility to your business by playing with competitive spirit that prevails in your sales people.

You’ll understand, social networks can really boost your business and increase the visibility of your business. We must not be afraid of it. Do not hesitate, become Social.