The biggest complaint I hear about using social media, is that people don’t think they can actually sell through social media platforms. And while I always suggest that you “sell without selling”, directly selling is not the only way to gain business or sales.
Just having a presence online and openly showcasing your ability can more often than not lead to a sale.
The other day, a Facebook friend of mine, Terry Daniel, posted:
The actual platforms themselves don’t sell; the people using the platform to the fullest of its ability makes the sale.
That means engaging with people, selling without selling and giving value to all that you do.
Businesses are still so afraid to get involved in social media because they just don’t see how they can make money from, essentially, free platforms.
All they see are the big businesses using social media just for exposure purposes and allowing their community to thrive online.
But small and medium businesses can actually thrive a lot better online and gain a lot more sales through social media.
Here’s Why
When you’re a small business, people feel more comfortable talking to you. You seem more accessible and transparent, so they feel as if they can ask you anything and actually get a response back.
People feel as if they’re getting a better product or service through small businesses (which they usually are).
If you’re making a true effort to connect with your peeps online, then they will return the favor by getting to know who you are as a person and a business.
I don’t want to say that small businesses are usually more creative, but they do tend to think of more creative ways to reach their audience and get their product/service out there because they have to stand out and get noticed, which means being creative about how they showcase themselves. This can draw in the target market needed to make the appropriate sales.
Real Life Example:
I have a client who has built their brand and community only through the efforts of a website and social media. They don’t post about their products, instead, they’ll post pics and videos with their products in creative ways to showcase the benefits and value. Instead of saying, “This product is awesome because it’s made of durable rubber…blah blah blah”, they make it relevant to their brand by showcasing it in a creative way. They never ask for a sale, they rarely post that they’ve added a new product (without it being creative) and they never tell people they should buy their stuff.
Instead, they’ve created a huge community of devote individuals who buy their items because they WANT to. They’ve created such a strong presence and brand around themselves that now people are asking them where and how to buy their stuff because they love the brand so much.
Of course, this didn’t happen overnight, but their hard work has paid off and in a year, they were getting consistent, daily sales, just through the efforts of social media.
The point is, you CAN make sales through social media. You may not make a sale every single day, but as long as you’re consistent and diligent in your efforts, the sales will come naturally.