With social media becoming such a large part of the sales and marketing process, it’s important to learn techniques that will help you to nurture and convert leads through the different social platforms.  Many marketers are far too direct with their approach.  Adding people you don’t know to your page and then blasting them with a sales pitch is a sure way to lose those connections, and along with that, any opportunity for a sale.  It’s important to note, not every connection you make will be a sales opportunity, however, that doesn’t mean they can’t benefit your business.  Many times it’s influencers and people who believe in your product or service that will promote your content to the right areas and even get you a meeting with the correct audience.  Often times you’ll make connections with people who present to you ideas that will help to improve your product or service.  This is invaluable information and you want to avoid scaring these people away with a premature sales pitch.  Below we’ve compiled a basic formula for building relationships and through social media.

Create and Develop your Profile

The first step to take in your social media strategy is to create a comprehensive profile.  You’ll want to highlight your expertise and accomplishments.  Having a picture may seem trivial, but it is extremely important when it comes to gaining trust.  Most users won’t even consider adding someone that doesn’t have a profile picture.  Make sure your profile remains updated and clearly displays yourself as a legitimate business person.  This can be done by adding all relevant professional information and connecting with current colleagues.

Join Groups

The next step is to join relevant industry groups.  To do this you can search terms that are common within your industry.  One of the best ways to determine what groups to join is to research the profiles of known targets.  Once you’ve joined the groups, it’s essential that you become an active participant.  You can do this by liking and commenting on group posts as well as posting your own material.

Make Connections

After joining your groups, you can start to make connections with individuals who fit your ideal buyer persona within those groups.  Make sure you start with people that you’ve had some kind of interaction with.  Whether it be liking or commenting on someone’s post or an individual that did the same on one of your posts, you have a much better shot at making a connection with someone that has a little familiarity with you.

Introduction

After you’ve made connections, you’ll want to make sure you reach out to them in a timely manner.  Your first touch with a connection can make or break your relationship, so it’s important to not come off as a salesperson.  Remember, these are people, you want to connect with them on a professional level, but also appeal to their personal side as well.  You need to be genuine in your approach.  Just because you have a strategy to make sales, doesn’t mean you want to be fake.

Relationship Building

Once you’ve introduced yourself to your new connections, it’s time to start building a rapport with them.  This can be done through sharing experiences that may be relatable to their line of business.  You don’t want to be too personal, but it’s ok to include some information that displays your personality.  It’s important that you come across as a person and not a salesperson.  These are relationships that could last well into the future and be mutually beneficial.

Share Content

Once you’ve built a rapport with your connections, it’s time to start sharing content.  It’s best to start with industry related articles that have nothing to do with promoting your brand.  Once you’ve built a trust with your connection they’ll be more receptive to your company’s material.  Make sure the content you share is useful and relative to your connection.

Discovery Call

If your connections begin to show interest in your material and a possible need for solutions your company provides, it’s a good idea to suggest a discovery call.  It’s important that this is not positioned as a sales call.  These conversations should revolve around your company background and what types of solutions you provide.  Be sure to let your connections be actively involved in the conversation and allow them to provide background and information regarding their company as well.

Sales Presentation

If your prospect displays a significant interest during your discovery call, it’s time to suggest a possible sales call involving them and other decision makers within their organization.  Be sure to gather as much information as possible during your discovery call regarding pain points and company needs.  Your sales presentation will go a lot smoother and has a greater chance of success due to the relationship you’ve built with your connection.

Social media is one of the most common and effective ways to build relationships with your prospects.  The interactions you have with you prospects create warm leads and excellent sales opportunities.  This type of nurturing is an important part of any inbound marketing campaign.  With the competition for business being fierce, having a personal connection with your prospects will go a long way towards growing your business.  To learn more about how you can grow your business through inbound marketing, click below to schedule your free inbound marketing assessment.