Social media allows professionals to demonstrate their accountability, successes, and overall value through their account profiles and posts.
For sales professionals, showcasing this value, or ‘social influence’, is an increasingly important part of the sales process. Social influence helps you establish yourself as a thought leader and helps build trust with others online, which are two key indicators of social sales success.
Listed below are five areas of your social media accounts to focus on to help you demonstrate social influence today.
1. The quality of your network
Who you are connected to is important, as it directly reflects on your status as a professional. Therefore, focus on building a network that includes others of influence in your industry.
2. The size of your network
A large network indicates that you are known in the industry and that people are interested in what you have to say. While the quality of your network should always trump the quantity of people in your network, a large network size will help to validate you as well.
3. Client testimonials and recommendations
A strong indication of social clout is through recommendations and client testimonials. The ability to display first hand recommendations of your services or solutions generates immediate legitimacy in the eyes of others.
4. Engagement and interaction levels
If your social media posts include a high level of engagement, including likes, comments, and shares, it is an almost instant endorsement of authentication. To increase your level of engagement, focus on creating industry relevant posts that others will find interesting.
5. Quality content focused on providing value
Above all, maintaining a frequent consistency of thought-provoking, industry relevant content that helps to solve a problem and provide a solution to a common need will help you remain top of mind while creating ongoing value.
As others find you online, it is important that your accounts help you to make a lasting first impression. Be sure to review these five areas of your social media profiles and refine them as necessary to ensure that you showcase your successes and demonstrate your social influence today.
(Editor's Note: This post was originally posted on rFactr's blog. rFactr's social sales program provides sales organizations with an easy way to activate their team on social channels, enabling them to connect with prospects and begin the sales process earlier in the sales cycle. Learn more... )
