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From using consistent social media user names across platforms to the vital role of blogging to build your reputation, this post offers proven social media strategies.

Top Tips to Sharpen Your Social Media Skills

Social media. Love it or hate it, building your brand through social networking is a must for any modern salesperson. Research tells us that 75 percent of all buyers use social media to learn about vendors and services. The question is, do you? In this post, let’s share some top tips to sharpen your social media skills.

Get strategic

A strategic approach starts with clear objectives. What do you want to achieve? Start by setting clear and specific objectives, so you can track and measure the success of one activity versus another. Common objectives include lead generation; creating awareness; attracting followers; and networking.

Brand yourself

What brand should you use? It seems like a simple enough decision, but the answer often depends on your circumstances. For instance, many real estate agents seem to advertise their personal brand. While often, building an organizational brand, like a business or association, makes a lot more sense.

Consistency counts

Use a consistent username across social media accounts and the same logo/graphics across landing pages. This consistency creates a polished, professional look and makes it easier for people and search engines to find you. To speed up the process of finding a name, you can try using a search aggregator site like checkusernames.com.

Measure & improve

Over and above tracking leads, establish social media metrics to track your progress as you build a reputation online. Typical metrics include engagement, reach, views, likes, follows, friends, shares, etc. Between promotions and campaigns, you can analyze the results of your activities to understand your audience better.

Tip: If you set targets, make sure they’re modest, attainable, and realistic. Set yourself up for success, not failure!

Know your audience

Speaking of your audience, how much do you really know? Too often, sales pros focus so much on nailing their scripts, reviewing product features, and preparing their pitches that they short shift their audience. Do your homework! The more you know about your audience, the better you can craft messages to spark their interest and engagement.

Where do they go?

Don’t forget their media habits. Because social media influences 93 percent of shoppers’ buying decisions, knowing whether they prefer Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter can prove extremely valuable. If you can figure out where they get their news, you can focus your efforts on the channels that they use and trust the most.

Try profiling

Some sales teams will create a fictional, composite profile of their ideal audience that combines demographic, geographic, and psychographic information. With a feel for everything from their age and income to lifestyle motivators, they can use their profile as a means of directing their networking and content-creation efforts.

Creating content

If you have the skills, time, and passion to do it, then creating and sharing your own content can help you generate leads on social networks. Popular content items include blog posts, reviews, ebooks, webinars, infographics, videos, memes, etc. This type of intellectual property can help differentiate your brand while you generate leads.

Curating content

You probably read and watch a lot of material online that might logically appeal to your audience as well. If so, why not share it? You can curate third-party content by offering links to tips, news, advice, demos, etc. along with your thoughts on the content item. Remember: Not everything you share on social media should be about you!

Promotion

When you do create content, you should use what you know about your audience to ensure its relevance. Focus on subjects, keywords, and concepts of most interest to your audience, not you. Avoid jargon and cliché. And above all, make sure you promote your content. Creating your own content is pointless if nobody sees it.

The litmus test

When you create or curate a piece of content, stay razor-focused on your audience. Ask yourself: Will they really value what you offer? Why should they care? When you add value by offering them new insights or useful intel, you gain respect and attract quality relationship opportunities.

Scheduling

You can create a content calendar to help keep your social media sales efforts organized and help you stay on top of everything. In the ideal world, you can combine original and curated content, focused on your brand, your industry, and your audiences. Publish as frequently as you can, but never, ever at the expense of quality.

Summary

• Set clear and specific objectives
• Establish your brand approach
• Use a consistent username and graphics
• Set realistic social media metrics
• Get to know your audience(s) expertly
• Create and/or curate relevant content
• Schedule, share, and promote it!
• Keep your standards high

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