Get Started with Social Selling

Social Selling

What's the one number you need to know about social media and social networking? 25.

25% of time spent on the internet today is spent on social media.

Nearly 25% of Americans use social networking sites several times per day.

And more than 25% of the people in the world have a social media account. THE WORLD.

So why aren't you trying to use social media to generate leads and nurture prospects? Because, obviously, you should be. Businesses everywhere, from small firms to multinational corporations are using social media for marketing, advertising and brand awareness. But some salespeople have been slow to adopt for direct sales purposes. Understandably, it can be a bit overwhelming. Especially for someone unfamiliar with social media. But it's really just another way to communicate -- just like email (and the telephone before that). So here are some tips to help you get started with social selling:

Get Started with Social Selling by:

1. Create (and use) professional social media profiles on Twitter and LinkedIn.
2. Optimize social media profiles.
3. Seek referrals on LinkedIn by giving recommendations & endorsing others.
4. Follow at least 100 new people (20x per day) on Twitter including:
• Industry Thought Leaders
• Prospects
• Customers 
• Sales Gurus
5. Set up Google Alerts for competitors/prospects/customers/industry terms.
6. Post at least 3x per week about:
• Industry News
• Prospects/Customers
• Competitors
• Thought Leaders
• Photos when Travelling
• Sales Best Practices
• Personal Interests (20% of time is okay)
7. Join industry-specific groups on LinkedIn.
8. Add LinkedIn connector to Outlook on laptop.
9. Download LinkedIn Connected app for mobile phone.
10. Connect Salesforce account to Twitter.
11. Subscribe to industry and thought leadership blogs.
12. Subscribe to LinkedIn Sales Navigator (optional).
13. Blog (optional).

New Business Sales Daily Social Selling Routine Checklist:

1. Open LinkedIn and Twitter in browser tab (don’t close – just like email).
2. Find content to share.
3. Share general content on social networks.
4. Share specific content with prospects & customers on Twitter & LinkedIn (just like you would via email).
5. Look at who liked, retweeted, favorited or commented on your posts on LinkedIn & Twitter.
6. Review LinkedIn alerts.
7. Check on who’s viewed your LinkedIn profile.
8. Send personalized connection request to any prospects who looked at your LinkedIn profile.
9. Send personalized connection requests to any prospects you emailed thru Outlook yesterday.
10. Send personalized connection requests to people who engaged with your LinkedIn posts.
11. Follow people who engaged with your tweets.
12. Follow people who followed you on Twitter.
13. Respond to messages (just like you would email).

Top Prospect Weekly Social Selling Routine Checklist:

1. Open LinkedIn and Twitter in browser tab (don’t close – just like email).
2. Find content specifically for/about top prospects.
3. Share content specifically with top prospect (via email and social media).
4. Like and Retweet posts from top prospects.

Social Retention/Growth Weekly Routine Checklist:

1. Open LinkedIn and Twitter in browser tab (don’t close – just like email).
2. Find content specifically for/about current customers.
3. Share content specifically with current customers (via email and social media).
4. Like and Retweet posts from current customers.

Have other tips for salespeople looking to use social media to start selling? Leave them in the comments below:

Ten tips for better LinkedIn profile headlines

Image Source: Studenthacks.org

Please don't be the guy (or girl) with the generic auto "Title at Company Name" profile headline on LinkedIn. Even if you're not a marketer, but especially if you aren't currently employed, you need to use this valuable space to tell people exactly what it is that you do. It's not only important so that you show up in search results, but it will also make people click on your profile when there's a long list of people similar to you.

It only takes a minute, so please just go update it today and follow these ten tips:

1. Establish yourself as an expert in something
2. Explain why someone should connect with you
3. Use stats & numbers if possible
4. Utilize as many industry buzzwords as possible
5. Start with a short question
6. Use examples of proven results
7. Differentiate yourself from everyone else in your function/industry
8. Use V-bars (|) to separate sections
9. If you're C-level say so
10. If you're a jobseeker say so

Got any other tips? Or examples of some good headlines? Share them in the comments below:

An argument for generic LinkedIn invites

You've probably seen a blog post, heard a podcast, or attended a webinar that called for an end to generic LinkedIn invitations. Everyone is talking about it. And everyone seems to be in agreement. For example, here are 10 opinions from some industry experts:

• 40x50.com - (I Am Tired Of) Generic LinkedIn Invitations
• SocialMediaToday.com - LinkedIn Invitations: Everything You Need to Know
• Jim Muldoon - Improve Your Introduction Connect Request Ratios
• MarketingThink.com - 5 Ways to Use LinkedIn Invitations Help Your Social Selling
• Forbes.com - Your LinkedIn Intervention: 5 Changes You Must Make
• Kyle Lacy - Stop With Your Stupid & Generic LinkedIn Invitations
• TimsStrategy.com - 11 Ways to Personalize a LinkedIn Invite
• JobSearch.About.com - How to Send LinkedIn Invitations & Messages
• FastCompany.com - The 3 LinkedIn Etiquette Rules You Should Never Break
• CareerRocketeer.com - 5 Guidelines for Accepting LinkedIn Invitations

But I couldn't disagree more! I am here to argue exactly the opposite:

You don't need to customize your LinkedIn invitations to connect.

You don't customize each phone call greeting do you? No, you simply say "Hello". And when you handwrite a letter you simply start with "Dear". So why do we have to customize our LinkedIn greetings? In an effort to combat the 10 (thousand) posts that are telling you why you should, here are 10 reasons why you shouldn't:

1. It's easier to send generic invitations! Why are we making technology (that is supposed to make the world simpler and more convenient) more complicated by forcing people to customize each individual LinkedIn invitation?
2. The people who send these generic invites aren't lazy, they're busy! Time is money, so the fact that you didn't take the time to customize your message likely means you're a busy, successful businessperson who understands this concept, and therefore someone others should want to connect with on LinkedIn.
3. The LinkedIn mobile app does not allow you to customize your message, so the request likely came from someone innovative and technologically savvy who, again, you should want to connect with on LinkedIn.
4. The LinkedIn social connector add-on for Outlook also does not allow you to customize invitations, but it is the quickest and most effective way to connect with someone you just exchanged emails with while at the office.
5. Nobody reads, so until LinkedIn allows you to embed a 30-second elevator pitch video recording in each invitation you might as well not waste the time writing it.
6. Everyone should accept every LinkedIn invite to connect (you can always block them later), but the whole point of a social network is to connect with people, so why does it matter what their invitation said? The real power is what they bring to your network after you connect. If you accept someone's invitation and they are constantly spamming you, block them (but, unless you're a celebrity, this will rarely happen).
7. If people don't accept every invite, they can still check out your LinkedIn profile (and Google you) to find out more about you than you could possibly explain in the invitation's 300 character limit.
8. LinkedIn itself even says the ability to "add a personal note" is OPTIONAL! If it was required it would just be a blank text input box without a generic template.
9. You don't have to customize your "friendship" requests on Facebook or requests to follow on Twitter and Instagram (the so-called "personal" social networks), so why do you need to personalize your invitations to connect on LinkedIn (the so-called "professional" social network)?
10. And lastly, again, no one should expect you to customize your LinkedIn invites until everyone starts answering the phone, "Hello this is Ryan an innovative and creative marketer who would like to talk to you on the phone right now and here's why you shouldn't hang up yet..."

Are you on team generic LinkedIn invitations? If so, add your reasons below! Or if not, feel free to tell me why I'm wrong:

SEM, SMA, CPC, and the holy grail of marketing acronyms: ROI

So many acronyms. But only one matters: ROI.

And when calculating your return on investment (ROI) on search engine marketing (SEM) or social media advertising (SMA) spends, the only acronym that can prove ROI is CPC (cost per click).

How? 

CPC is directly correlated to ROI.

Let me explain.

Over the past year I've been advertising on all the major platforms, and here are the results:

• AdWords: $0.54 CPC
• Facebook: $0.08 CPC
• LinkedIn: $2.00 CPC
• Twitter: $0.21 CPC
• YouTube: $0.41 CPC

What does all that mean?

For my dollar, Facebook is hands down the cheapest advertising platform at just 8 cents per click. But just because LinkedIn costs me 2 dollars for every click doesn't mean it's wasted money. In fact, the advertising platform with the highest average CPC is likely your best spent cents. 

Why?

As long as you've fine tuned your ad copy through A/B testing and honed in on your target audience with the right keywords (and any other targeting criteria available), the platform with the highest CPC is also the network with the largest, most-active population of people you're trying to reach. It's also the network where your competitors are advertising. That's why it costs so much to engage with them.

But every industry will have different results. So which platforms are you advertising on? And which has the highest ROI?

Top 10 ways to connect with millennials

If you're looking for a way to connect with the millennial generation, social networks are the best source to find those "kids" and build meaningful relationships with them. Try interacting with them via:

1. Facebook: With over 1 billion active users and more than 42 million pages with 10 or more likes, Facebook is the perfect place to connect with MBAs. Your company/product/school should have its own Facebook page that millennials can “like” and get daily updates on relevant news and events. By creating an official Facebook page, you can easily reach a self-selected audience who is actually interested in what you have to say.
2. Twitter: Twitter is a proven marketing tool and an effective outreach device. Many companies have a presence on Twitter. And some even have multiple accounts, including an entire product-oriented presence. Millennials are already using Twitter to communicate, research, promote and personally brand themselves – you should be doing the same for your company's/product's brand. Take a moment each day to tweet about something relevant or interesting.
3. LinkedIn: Where Facebook is considered a more personal space, LinkedIn has been defined as the “professional” social network. Use LinkedIn to connect with working millennials with money to spend. You should not only create a LinkedIn group for your company's employees, but also create subgroups for each product's users/experts to better connect (and stay connected) with your customers.
4. Google+: Google+ is the fastest growing social network ever, already with 90+ million users. And it’s critical to Google’s new “social” search algorithm. Create an customer-facing company “page” now and start adding your customers, users and fans to your “circles” (Google+ pages are different than personal accounts in that you can’t add people to your circles until they’ve added you). Once your Google+ page has been created you can advertise it to millennials just like any other social network.
5. YouTube / Vimeo: Videos are 53 times more likely to appear in search than text webpages. So if you are trying to connect with millennials organically through search, YouTube might just the best way to do so. Need content ideas? Try helpful tips from users or how-to videos for your products.
6. Blogs: You are probably already blogging, but if not, you should be! A blog is the easiest way to get information on the internet for your audiences to find. And comments on blogs are the easiest way to start a conversation with those audiences. If you don’t already have a blog built into your website, you can start one for free on Blogger or Wordpress. Then start posting any news or commentary that you think millennials might find interesting, relevant and timely. Your company's blog is also a great way to promote your new products to millennials doing research on the web.
7. Instagram: This photo sharing network is an easy way to post a picture worth 1,000 words. Find the most artistic person with an iPhone or Droid in your office and create an account on Instagram for your company. Post pictures of goings-on around the office, product details, or people using your products to pique interest in your company. Instagram is the new Flickr.
8. Pinterest: Pinterest is the hot new social network, and it’s dominated by women. Create some boards around “Women", “Fashion”, and “Style” to connect with the female millennials.
9. Foursquare: Make sure your company is available for “Check Ins” on Foursquare. It’s an easy way for millennials to advertise for you by showing their friends where they've been and leaving tips for future visitors/customers.
10. Tumblr: It’s the new way to blog. The best Tumblr blogs have a niche theme, so pick something simple like “Our Customers” or the newest internet meme and twist it to something your customers might find interesting or funny.

For more information on connecting with the millennial generation, please contact me.

25 Random Things about ListAfterList.com

Hey Listers,

In case you didn’t know, Facebook is the cause of the two latest social networking crazes: a list of 25 random things about oneself, and tagging an emoticon poster (aka a picture of smiley faces with different emotions) with the appropriate Facebook friend. I will avoid mentioning the latter again, in order to not give it any more legs than its already grown.

The other craze has already grown legs, legs like the giant spider monster in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Everyone was doing it. Every major news source had stories about it. Imagine Beanie Baby Teletubbies that laugh when you tickle its stomach. Yeh, that big. But fortunately that monster’s been slain.

Until now! I’m bringing it back, baby! One last time. Like a Barbara Streisand comeback tour. Here are the 25 random things you didn’t know about ListAfterList.com:

1. LAL is slang for ListAfterList.com – not to be confused with the L.A. Lakers or Indo-Iranian word meaning “red friend queen”
   
2. You can follow LAL on Twitter and get all the new lists dumped into your feed with all of Ashton Kutcher, William Shatner and the REAL Shaq’s updates
   
3. LAL eats Snickers bars with a fork
   
4. LAL gave into the peer pressure and got on Facebook
   
5. LAL is trying to find a better job just like all of you on LinkedIn
   
6. LAL is the #1 Google search result for terms like “celebrity gamertags” and “types of ecosystems” as well as “other words for penis”, “famous sidekicks” and “23 flavors of dr. pepper”
   
7. LAL was fat in high school
   
8. LAL now has over 16,000 lists
   
9. LAL has been pooped on by a flying flamingo
   
10. LAL now has over 2,000 listers who have created at least 1 list
    
11. LAL was born on February 26, 2007 – sharing birthdays with Michael Bolton, Levi Strauss, Johnny Cash and Marshall Faulk and same day as the final radio broadcast of Dragnet
    
12. LAL has had over 2 million visitors since its birthday
    
13. LAL has 6 toes
    
14. LAL has hundreds of lists across 29 different categories
    
15. LAL drinks two glasses of Treleaven Riesling every night before bed
    
16. The most popular list of all-time on LAL is Famous Celebrity XBOX Gamertags
    
17. LAL once had a message show up in its Alpha Bits cereal – it said “Ooooooo”
    
18. The sports category is the most popular category, followed closely by movies and personalities
    
19. “Worst” is the most popular search term on LAL
    
20. LAL cried at the end of the “Rudy” when he finally runs out onto the field
    
21. If LAL were on death row and had to choose one final meal to eat, it would definitely be Chipotle
    
22. LAL has become THE place to create and share “bucket lists” with the rest of the world
    
23. LAL hates it when people nay-say something before trying it
    
24. On LAL you can edit, re-order and add to any wiki list someone else has created
    
25. LAL is being a complete hypocrite
    

Lists Hidden in This Newsletter
Top 10 Best Legs
Are Movies with 8 or More Oscars the Best Films Ever?
Top 10 Most Valuable Beanie Babies
Top 10 Movie Monsters from NYC
Top 10 Biggest Comeback Tours Ever
Teams with Most NBA Championships
Best SCI-FI Actors and Actresses
Top 50 Celebrities on Twitter
Favorite Seinfeld Moments
Tips to Burn More Fat Faster
Best Toilet Paper
February 26 Happy Birthdays!
Day in History: February 26
Top 20 Cayuga Lake Wineries & Vineyards
Famous Celebrity XBOX Gamertags
Peter Griffin's Jobs
Top Tearjerkers in Movie History
Things that People Nay-Say Before They Even Try It
Merriam-Webster Dictionary Top 10 Words of the Year (2007)


ListAfterList Updates and Reminders
Have you tried the new search on LAL powered by Google? It is much more effective. Now you can think of LAL as a place of reference, instead of just a website where you can find randomly cool stuff and interesting trivial lists. Find a bucket list of a die-hard sports fan, or the list of 5 NFL teams that haven’t played in the Super Bowl. Even try using LAL when you are looking for birthday gifts for someone (i.e. Top 10 Gifts for a Star Wars Fan).

If there is anything you would like to see on ListAfterList, let us know. And, if you have any friends who might enjoy ListAfterList, let us know that too.

Your Fellow Lister,
Ryan Pratt
Editor
www.ListAfterList.com