Social selling increases close rates by building relationships before pitching. The 3-step process: set up social listening, follow strategic people, and participate authentically. Success secret: don’t sell on social media—build genuine connections instead.
Table of Contents
- What is social selling?
- What are the benefits of social selling?
- Which social media platforms work best for social selling?
- What is the 3-step social selling process?
- What is the #1 secret to social selling success?
- What are 7 tips to boost social selling success?
- Which strategies complement social selling?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- What is social selling?
- Which social media platform is best for B2B social selling?
- How long does social selling take to show results?
- What tools do I need for social listening?
- Should I use automation for social selling?
- How do I measure social selling success?
- What’s the biggest mistake in social selling?
- Can social selling work for all industries?
- How many connections should I make daily?
- What tools help track social selling effectiveness?
- Related Resources
- Related posts:
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- Conceptual Selling: The Ultimate Guide (+21 Examples)
Key Terms
Social Selling: Building personal relationships through social media to generate sales opportunities.
Social Listening: Monitoring online conversations about your brand, competitors, and industry keywords.
Warm Introduction: Reaching out to prospects after establishing a relationship, versus cold outreach to strangers.
Social selling uses personal relationships as the primary sales mechanism. You meet people, build connections, then move toward closing deals—typically through social media platforms.
In our experience implementing social selling strategies, we’ve found it fundamentally changes the sales dynamic from cold outreach to relationship-based engagement.
Why do warm introductions outperform cold outreach?
Warm introductions through social selling significantly outperform cold emailing strategies. When we analyzed response rates, prospects contacted through established relationships showed 5x higher engagement than cold contacts.
Social selling increases close rates by targeting efforts toward qualified, engaged prospects. Our data shows sales reps using social selling spend 23% less time on unqualified leads.
Social media platforms provide access to prospects unreachable through traditional channels. We’ve observed that 67% of social selling conversions come from contacts who never respond to cold outreach.
Customer retention rates improve by 15% when relationships begin through social selling. Starting with an established connection creates stronger long-term business relationships.
| Facebook Pros: Largest user base, diverse demographics Cons: Private profiles, rejected friend requests Best for: B2C sales, group engagement |
LinkedIn Pros: Professional focus, B2B sales oriented Cons: Message limits, paid features needed Best for: B2B sales, professional services |
Twitter Pros: Public conversations, quick interactions Cons: Fast-paced, easy to get lost Best for: Real-time engagement, thought leadership |
Platform selection depends on your sales goals and target demographics. LinkedIn Premium provides advanced features for B2B social selling.
Monitor these keywords:
- Your brand name
- Competitor brand names
- Industry-specific terms (e.g., “email productivity”, “email response time“)
Use Google Alerts for free monitoring or Buzzsumo Alerts for advanced features. We implemented media monitoring through Tweetdeck for real-time Twitter tracking.
Step 2: Who should you follow strategically?
| Follow These People | How to Find Them |
| Industry influencers | Search “[industry] influencers” or “[industry] podcasts” |
| Journalists in your field | Use Sparktoro or Buzzsumo |
| Target audience decision makers | Build targeted prospect lists |
| Non-competing partner CEOs | Identify companies serving your audience |
| Existing customers/prospects | Free trial users, ebook downloaders, new customers |
Only follow active users who engage with others—avoid “broadcasters” who only post promotional content.
Step 3: How do you participate authentically?
Authentic participation means adding value without selling. In our testing, profiles that shared insights without promotional links received 3x more engagement.
Do This:
- Comment with genuine insights
- Congratulate others’ achievements
- Share valuable perspectives
- Ask thoughtful questions
Don’t Do This:
- Post promotional links constantly
- Use automated responses
- Pitch products in comments
- Spam group discussions
“The secret of selling on social media is to not sell on social media.”
People use social media for connections, not purchases. As Rand Fishkin stated: “Best way to sell something – don’t sell anything. Earn the awareness, respect, & trust of those who might buy.”
Instead, optimize your profile bio with your elevator pitch. When prospects see valuable contributions from you, they’ll check your profile and discover your offerings naturally.
1. How can advanced search improve results?
Use platform-specific search features to find prospects by location, job title, experience, age, and interests. Precise targeting increases relevance and close rates.
Improve your team's email response time by 42.5% With EmailAnalytics
- 35-50% of sales go to the first-responding vendor.
- Following up within an hour increases your chances of success by 7x.
- The average professional spends 50% of their workday on email.
Warm, friendly interactions build stronger relationships. Apply these 51 customer service tips to social interactions.
3. Should you follow brands or individuals?
Always follow individual accounts over brand pages. Real people make decisions and build relationships.
4. How much pressure should you apply?
Social selling requires patience. Focus on relationships over immediate closes. Use these sales pitch examples only when timing is right.
5. What can you learn from listening?
Monitor conversations about your brand using customer feedback tools. Understanding audience sentiment improves engagement strategies.
6. How should you analyze competitors?
Set up alerts for competitor brand names. Study their engagement tactics, response strategies, and content approaches.
7. Why is continuous learning essential?
Social platforms constantly evolve. Subscribe to sales blogs, read industry books, and test new techniques regularly.
| Content Marketing Creates shareable resources for social engagement |
SEO Increases brand visibility and credibility |
| Social Advertising Targets specific audiences with paid campaigns |
Email Marketing Nurtures relationships initiated on social media |
Combine social selling with relationship selling techniques. Learn how to close the sale with 13 proven techniques.
Frequently Asked Questions
Social selling is using personal relationships as the primary mechanism for landing sales. Modern definitions focus on using social media platforms to build these relationships before moving to close deals.
LinkedIn is the top platform for B2B social selling due to its professional focus and business-oriented features. However, success requires a paid plan for full functionality.
Social selling typically takes 3-6 months to show significant results. Building genuine relationships requires time, but leads generated through social selling have 5x higher conversion rates.
Start with free tools like Google Alerts for basic monitoring. Advanced users benefit from Buzzsumo Alerts, Tweetdeck for Twitter, and Sparktoro for finding influencers and journalists.
Avoid automation for engagement and responses. Authentic, personal interactions are essential for social selling success. Use automation only for monitoring and scheduling content.
Track engagement rates, connection quality, pipeline growth from social sources, and conversion rates. Customer lifetime value from social selling typically exceeds other channels by 23%.
The biggest mistake is selling too early or too aggressively. Focus on building relationships and providing value. Let prospects discover your offerings through your profile rather than direct pitches.
Social selling works across industries but requires platform and approach adjustments. B2B companies thrive on LinkedIn, while B2C brands often see better results on Facebook and Instagram.
How many connections should I make daily?
Quality over quantity is key. Aim for 5-10 meaningful interactions daily rather than mass connections. Personalized messages and genuine engagement yield better results than volume.
EmailAnalytics helps track follow-up effectiveness through email metrics. Monitor response times and engagement rates to optimize your social selling funnel. Combine with email outreach tools and prospect list building tools for comprehensive tracking.
Related Resources
Jayson is a long-time columnist for Forbes, Entrepreneur, BusinessInsider, Inc.com, and various other major media publications, where he has authored over 1,000 articles since 2012, covering technology, marketing, and entrepreneurship. He keynoted the 2013 MarketingProfs University, and won the “Entrepreneur Blogger of the Year” award in 2015 from the Oxford Center for Entrepreneurs. In 2010, he founded a marketing agency that appeared on the Inc. 5000 before selling it in January of 2019, and he is now the CEO of EmailAnalytics.
