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Sales Process social media selling Social Selling Social Tool Series

How To Get The Most Out Of Social Listening

Social listening aims to find out what people are saying about your brand or industry, why they’re saying it, and what they want from you. This information can help businesses make better decisions about how they market themselves and which customers they target.

The process involves using software tools designed to collect the data you need and then analyze it so that you can identify trends in the way people talk about your brand or industry. This can range from simple keyword searches to more complex data analysis techniques such as sentiment analysis (which measures whether someone feels positive or negative about a particular subject).

Simply put, it’s a great way to gain insights into what people think about you and your business.

Here are some ways to make the most out of social listening:

Know What Topics and Keywords to Monitor

The first step is to consider who your target audience is—and then think about what they talk about when they’re online. Are they interested in technology? Do they love animals? Are they all about politics? Once you’ve figured that out, it’s time to find the best places for them to discuss these topics.

Keywords are a great way to focus your attention on the most relevant conversations. Consider using keywords specific to your industry or your products or services. You can also use keywords that reflect your audience’s questions about your brand, like “Why should I buy from you?” or “What’s the best product for me?”

Topics are another way to narrow down what you’re looking for in social media conversations. For example, if you’re an online retailer, you might want to monitor mentions of “shopping” or “online shopping” and mentions of particular products or brands that interest you.

Hone in on Pain Points

Social listening is a process for understanding what’s bothering people in your industry, and it’s essential to do this before you start marketing.

On social media, people talk about their pain points. They talk about what they love and what they hate. They talk about the products they love and the products they hate. And all of this can provide invaluable insight into what the competition is doing well…and what they’re not doing so well.

All it takes is a little listening, and you’ll be able to figure out exactly where your business needs improvement—and then you can use that information to ensure that your social media presence is as strong as possible!

Improve Your Customer Engagement

The first step is identifying the platforms you’d like to use for social listening. Then, set up alerts on each platform so that you can receive notifications whenever someone mentions your brand or products in a post or comment. You can even set up alerts that will inform you when someone mentions another company in connection with yours—this can be a great way to see how your competitors are doing and what they’re doing right (or wrong).

Once you’ve set up all those alerts, it’s time to go through them! Start by looking at your posts and comments—what do people love about them? What do they hate? This will give you insight into what customers think about your brand and how they feel about specific aspects of your business.

Next, look at what other companies say about themselves on social media. See if any emerging patterns could help you better understand why customers choose one company over another. If there are any red flags raised by competitors’ posts—for example, if their followers seem less engaged than yours—then this might be an area where you need improvement!

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Content Marketing Demand Generation digital marketing marketing Marketing Management social content marketing social media selling

Why Content Marketing Is Still a Crucial Growth Method in Sales

Content marketing has become a staple for most companies – whether Fortune 500s or new startups.  Much like the gargantuan oak tree began from a tiny acorn, content marketing is the same – so important and valuable that even the latest businesses can use it to their advantage.

Everyone is familiar with content marketing. Why? Why is content marketing powerful? What benefits can you expect? How do you do it?

How Content Impacts Your Marketing and Sales Strategies

How Content Impacts Your Marketing and Sales Strategies

All content is not created equal. Some of it is just plain bad.

We know this because we’ve seen it firsthand: in our content and the content we see from other businesses. And when there’s terrible content on the internet, people stop trusting your brand. They don’t want to give you their money or their time anymore.

Think about the last few articles you read. Were they short? Were they long? How did you feel about them?

Like most people, you felt the longer articles were more thorough. However, you also felt shorter articles were more concise and direct. Do you think about how much better it feels to know the author has been consistent over time? Or taking time to make sure every word was important and well-crafted?

No doubt writing quality content takes time—but it’s worth it. Because when your audience can see how much effort goes into each piece of content, they will feel much more invested in what you have to say. When they see your consistency, they’ll know they can trust this information and expect more from you in future pieces of content!

Capturing Attention

Great content can be used in many ways to grow your business. It can help build customer relationships, generate leads, and increase sales. But how do you know if your content is effective?

To keep your audience engaged, you need to understand their needs, wants, and desires. This means you need to know what they’re looking for in a product or service like yours. When you understand this, developing content that will resonate with them and help them feel connected with your brand is easy.

When creating great content, you must ensure that everything is focused on one goal: attracting new customers while retaining existing ones. The best way to do this is by creating quality content that educates them about your brand or product line without being too salesy or promotional-sounding; this will help build trust between you and your readers, so they’ll want to continue reading more from you in the future!

Quality content is the key to success on social media

Social Media Traction

As a business owner, you know how difficult it can be to get noticed on Facebook and Twitter. You’ve probably tried posting funny photos, links to articles that will interest your followers and clients, or even updates about what’s going on in your personal life. But did any of those things work?

It’s time to change your approach. Instead of posting random updates that no one cares about, focus on creating quality content that will attract the people who matter most to your business: your customers!

Quality content is the key to success on social media because it allows you to connect with potential customers in a way that feels genuine and authentic—and they’ll trust you because of it. Even better? 

Quality content stands out from the noise online, which means more people are likely to see it than if you were just trying to get clicks by posting clickbait titles or sharing outdated memes. 

Online presence is essential because it allows people to learn more about what makes your company different from others in its industry—and why they should do business with YOU instead of someone else.

Lead Generation

When you write blog posts, infographics, and other content that is helpful to your audience and solves their problems, they will want to read it. This helps them feel they know what they’re doing regarding your products or services. They’ll be more likely to make purchases from you because they trust you and what you have to offer.

In addition to generating leads, content marketing is also an excellent way to get more views on your website. For example, when people see what kind of information you share on social media or through email newsletters, they might click over and check out more details about what you have available for sale. 

This can help increase traffic on your site, which may lead them down a path towards becoming paying customers for whatever it is that you sell!

SEO

If you want people to find your site when they search for specific information or products, then it makes sense that you would like to create content that is as relevant as possible.

This doesn’t mean that every page on your website needs to provide information about every product or service you offer—but it does mean that if someone searches for something specific on Google and finds your site near the top of the results page, they’re likely going to stick around long enough to see what else you have available.

The first step in SEO is to write great content, not just old content. Next, you must focus on creating helpful stuff that interests readers and makes them want to share it with their friends.

The second step is ensuring that when people search for things related to what you write about, they find your site first. That’s where keyword research comes in: you need to learn what words or phrases people use when they search for things related to your business to optimize your site for those terms (and avoid using them yourself).

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#S4LSocial social content marketing social media selling Social Selling Social Selling Toolkit Social Selling Training Twitter

How To Post Social Media Content Every Day Without Losing Your Mind, Passion, Or Unique Branding

Do you feel like you need to post every day on your social networks to keep up with the Joneses? And if so, do you think that could be a detriment to your business? Not necessarily. You can post every day and maintain quality, variety, and value. It isn’t always easy to conceive ideas for new content every day, but there are ways to make it easier.

The 3 (Not-So) Secret Ingredients to Daily Social Media Content

To build a solid online presence and gain followers, post quality content regularly, with variety in your posts and value for your readers.

Quality. Variety. Value. These three variables, when combined, create top-notch blog posts. Don’t worry about keyword density or backlinks. Instead, focus on creating fascinating blog posts that people will link to naturally. Google’s Panda update rewards this sort of content because Google knows that your readers will naturally want to share or link to great content.

Quality Comes First.

Quality Comes First.

It’s a common misconception that you have to post more content to gain more followers. But the truth is that posting high-quality content will bring people back for more.

No matter how often your material gets shared on social media, people will stop viewing it and go elsewhere if it lacks quality. Quality is the key to creating solid relationships with your audience, and it’s what makes them want to keep coming back for more.

If you want to be seen as an expert, or just a credible source of information, you need to make sure that everything you post is high-quality. Your content needs to be researched, well-written and accurate. If it isn’t, no one will take you seriously, and they certainly won’t trust your opinions or advice!

Variety Comes Next.

Variety Comes Next.

We know you’re busy, so we don’t want to tell you this every day: posting the same thing every day is a bad idea.

There are a few reasons why. First, it gets boring—your followers will get bored and stop following you if they see the same thing repeatedly. Second, it’s not suitable for your brand—you want people to be excited about what you post, and if they can’t even remember what you posted yesterday because it was the same as today, how excited can they get?

So how do you make sure that doesn’t happen? We recommend posting 3-4 different kinds of posts throughout the week. How many depends on your industry—if your followers are in the tech industry, then maybe only one post per week is enough; but if they’re in retail or fashion, then perhaps two or three times per day might be necessary!

Your audience is looking for a variety of content that will help them with their daily lives. If all you do is post about how excellent your product is and why they should buy it, they’re going to get bored with what you offer.

People want more than just sales pitches from brands—they want something that helps them understand their problems and gives them advice on how to solve them.

You need to mix things up a bit! Some days, you can post a link to an article relevant to your business and industry. Other days, you can post a picture of something funny or cute. Sometimes, it’s even okay to post something that makes you happy! If all else fails, think about what would make other people like the posts they see in their feed—and then go with that.

Finally, Provide Value.

Finally, Provide Value.

Here’s the thing: If you’re not providing value to your followers, then what are you doing?

Your followers follow you because they want to learn something new and be inspired. They want to see what you’re up to in your business, but they also wish for tips and tricks to help them in their careers and personal lives.

So what do they get when they see a bunch of selfies and the same old sales pitches? Not much.

You need to give your followers something that will improve something for them. That’s where the real magic happens—when you give people something that makes their lives better, no matter how small or insignificant it seems.

The most important thing you can do as a brand is to give your followers something to make them feel valued.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of posting just to post—but if you’re not providing any kind of value in the posts you share, what are you even doing? What’s the point?

If you don’t have anything valuable to say or give to your followers, then why are they following you in the first place?

The answer: They want to be inspired, informed, and entertained by your content. And if they’re not getting that from you, well—they’re going somewhere else.

Conclusion

You’ve probably heard this before: you have to put in the time to see results.

It’s true—and especially true when it comes to content creation. When you’re trying to build a brand and gain followers, you’re building up trust. And you do that by showing your audience that you know what you’re talking about and that they can trust what you say.

That means creating quality content that tells your story, educates your audience, and gives them something they want or need.  It also means editing each piece of content, so it’s as accurate and polished as possible before publishing.

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Sales Inspiration sales performance sales pipeline Sales Play Sales Process sales skills sales strategy social content marketing social media selling Social Selling Social Selling Tools Social Selling Training Technology video video selling

Prospecting Videos: 5 Proven Strategies To Increase Turnover

If your job was to prospect for potential clients looking to buy from your company, what strategies can you use to help close more deals? 

Ten years ago, just about any business owner that possessed a camcorder, a tripod, and the ability to turn on the recorder could film a commercial. These days, video marketing needs a little more creativity and professionalism. Video offers a personal touch when communicating with prospects and lets them know that you care enough to put in extra effort for them.

How To Prospect Using Video: Our Top Tips

How To Prospect Using Video: Keep ‘Em Short, Simple, Sweet.

#1: Keep ‘Em Short, Simple, Sweet.

A sales prospecting video is the first impression, so it must be top-notch.

If you’re looking to create a video that will truly stand out, then it’s essential to follow these guidelines:

Keep it short and sweet. Keep your sales prospecting videos under two minutes. This ensures you can get your point across without overwhelming your customer.

Make sure your script is on point and tight. A poorly written script for a sales prospecting video can lead to even worse results than no video. You want to make sure you’re saying what you need to say to get those prospects on board with your brand message and sales pitch.

Keep it simple and easy to understand. Don’t overcomplicate things by being fancy or clever — it won’t work in this situation! Everything about this video makes sense for your audience, from start to finish.

How To Prospect Using Video: Always Leave a CTA.

#2: Always Leave a CTA.

A call to action (CTA) is simply an instruction that encourages people to take some kind of action. This could be signing up for something, buying a product, or even sharing the video with their friends.

It can be anything from signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, sharing, subscribing, or following you on social media.

There are many ways of including a call to action in your video. Here are some ideas:

  • At the beginning of your video – If you want people to take action at the end of your video (for example, subscribe or share), then it’s best to include the CTA in the beginning. This way, viewers will remember what they’re supposed to do when they reach the end of your video.
  • In the end – This is probably how most people include CTAs in their videos. You can either ask directly for viewers to take action (for example, “please subscribe”) or use a subtle hint – for instance, by saying something like “make sure you don’t miss out on our next video.” You can also leave it up to the viewer’s imagination by asking, “what should we talk about next?”
How To Prospect Using Video: Be Prepared. Have a Script Ready.

#3: Be Prepared. Have a Script Ready.

We’ve all been there. You’re recording a video, and you realize that you don’t know what you’re going to say.

It’s not a good feeling, and it can make the difference between a successful video and one that flops.

To avoid this scenario in your videos, write down your talking points before recording. When it comes time to record, you’ll be prepared with ideas for what to say next.

This can be as simple as writing down bullet points on paper or in a word processor — whatever works best for you.

It’s common for people to get nervous about being on camera and forget what they want to say, so you must have everything written down ahead of time.

You can use bullet points or complete sentences, but it’s best if the notes are short and concise. Don’t worry about the length of the talking points — just get the main points out there.

Once you’ve written down your talking points, you’ll need to memorize them. Practice saying them out loud until they feel natural. If you’re not sure how to practice, try reciting them while driving or doing chores around your house.

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask someone else for help if they notice something that needs fixing or improving in your presentation style. You’ll be surprised at how better people will react when they see that you’re trying hard — not just winging it!

How To Prospect Using Video: Connect with Your Audience.

#4: Connect with Your Audience.

When speaking to someone on camera, your eyes are the most essential part of your body. When you talk to your audience on camera, make sure that you look at them as they watch what’s happening in front of them with interest and focus.

When we speak to someone, there’s an unconscious connection between our eyes and theirs. To make it work in a video, simply turn the camera toward yourself to capture your face from the side while you’re talking. Then, turn the camera back toward whoever is listening to you so they can see what you see onscreen.

The viewer will be able to see that connection between their eyes and yours through this process — making it easier for them to feel like they know who you are and what you’re experiencing together in real-time. 

Because video is an emotional medium, it’s important that your viewers feel connected to you through their feelings about what’s happening onscreen — rather than just watching passively from an outsider’s perspective.

How To Prospect Using Video: Add Some Personality To Your Videos!

#5: Add Some Personality To Your Videos!

A sales prospecting video is one of the best ways to get your message to your target audience in a way that they can relate to. It’s a great way to show off your personality, and it offers you an opportunity to be yourself.

For example, if you’re a consultant, you might want to show how easy it is for people to reach out and ask you questions. Maybe you want to explain why you do what you do, or perhaps you just want to give some tips on how they can get started on their businesses.

If you’re a freelancer or contractor, your prospecting videos should focus on why clients should hire you instead of everyone else offering similar services. Show them why they should choose you over all the other options!

When producing a sales prospecting video, it’s tempting to use stock images and generic music. You may think that having a generic look will help as many people hear your message as possible.

That might be true, but it also means that your prospects will be less likely to pay attention. If they’ve seen a million videos just like yours, they’ll tune out before you get started.

The best way to promote yourself is to show off who you are through the videos you create. Don’t hide behind the camera or pretend that you’re someone else — let your personality shine through so that prospects can see who they’re dealing with.

Here are some tips to achieve this:

Show off your office space. 

This is a great way to give prospects a chance to see what working at your company would look like, but it also gives them a chance to see where the work they do every day happens. If you have any cool features like slide shows or other office amenities, definitely include those!

Have fun with it! 

This is an opportunity for you and your team members to be themselves—show off their personalities and let people get to know them better. This can help build trust with viewers since they’ll be able to see that they’re dealing with real people who care about what they do.

Use humor whenever possible!

It goes without saying: people love humor, especially when it’s used effectively—and the best part is that there’s no wrong way to do it! Just make sure that whatever jokes or puns you use are appropriate for the audience you’re reaching out to

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Blog Sales sales for life Sales Leadership sales organizations sales professionals sales skills sales strategy sales training social media selling Social Selling Training

The Emergence of Investments in RVP/AVP Coaching Training

Leadership

I’m blessed to have developed a strong relationship with my fellow CEOs at sales training, consulting and advisory firms around the world.  We chat at conferences, via email, and exchange notes quite often.  There is one topic that we all unanimously see as high growth, and customers scrambling to level up – training/coaching for the Regional VP’s or Area VP’s of Sales.

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Blog digital sales Digital Selling digital selling training Sales and Marketing sales fundamentals sales transformation social content marketing social media selling Social Selling social selling companies Social Selling Training

To jump, or not jump – off the “digital sales cliff” without a parachute?

Digital sales cliff

Today I was with a Global 50 conglomerate’s learning and development (L&D) team talking about making the big plunge into digital sales. The sales team has been selling face-to-face in nearly 100% of their accounts – at the detriment of a bloated CAC (Cost of Customer Acquisition). As their L&D team puts it “we’re spending thousands to make thousands from many of our customers – it’s counter-productive”. This digital sales transformation is about to become a sweeping, universal change for the company. We’re talking about 1,000’s of sales professionals moving from 100% face-to-face, to 80% inside & 20% face-to-face with key accounts. I decided to write this blog from the voice of the customers and their key concerns about this transition.