Social media has become an essential tool for businesses to connect with their target audience and generate leads. One of the most effective strategies for leveraging social media for sales is social selling, which involves using social media platforms to build relationships with potential customers and ultimately drive sales. However, creating high-quality content for social selling can be challenging. 

Our previous blog article explained why high-quality content is essential to be part of your social selling approach. Now it’s time to learn how to create this compelling content that will make you and your sales team stand out from the crowd in the social selling world. 

1. Know your audience.

Understanding your target audience is the first step in creating high-quality social selling content. You need to know the needs, interests, and pain points of the people you are trying to reach. After all, 71% of consumers prefer personalized ads tailored to their interests and shopping habits. So put in some effort and research your audience.

Your content will be even more successful if you create buyer personas representing your target audience. According to information from the Marketing Insider Group, companies that use buyer personas in their marketing strategies have 124% higher engagement rates. So, conduct additional research to learn more about your ideal. This strategy will help you tremendously with creating content that resonates with your audience and addresses their needs and pain points.

2. Provide value for your network.

Your content should provide value to your audience, so ensure that it addresses their pain points or offers solutions to their problems. Share industry insights, helpful tips, or product demos that showcase how your product or service can help your audience. Your content should be informative, educational, and helpful.

Another key is to be and stay consistent. Statistics show that brands that post at least once a day on Instagram see the highest engagement rates. Remember that consistency over time is your way to success in social selling – no matter the platform you use.

LinkedIn statistics show that posting once per weekday on LinkedIn can help you reach 60% of your unique audience. And according to LinkedIn’s own best practices, posting at least once a week can help you stay top-of-mind with your network. You don’t have the time to post daily? No worries. Additional research shows that companies that post at least once per week on LinkedIn see twice the engagement with their posts. 

Still, consistency is key. According to Forbes, LinkedIn’s algorithm favors consistency, meaning that frequent posting can help improve the visibility of your posts and overall reach. Other research states that consistent branding across all channels can increase revenue by up to 23%.

These statistics demonstrate that consistent posting on LinkedIn and other social media outlets can help you reach more of your target audience and increase engagement with your content. By developing a content calendar and sticking to a consistent posting schedule, you can build a more substantial presence on social media platforms and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry.

3. Use visuals to make your content more attractive. 

Visual content is more engaging and memorable than text-based content. According to Buffer, tweets with images receive 150% more retweets and 18% more clicks than those without images. Facebook posts with images receive 2.3 times more engagement than those without images. 

The same goes for LinkedIn. LinkedIn posts with images receive two times more engagement than those without. According to LinkedIn, video posts have five times more engagement than image or text-based posts. And 71% of B2B marketers use visuals as a part of their content marketing strategy on LinkedIn. Another interesting fact is that infographics are the most shared type of visual content on LinkedIn, followed by images and videos.

These statistics demonstrate the importance of using high-quality visuals, particularly videos and infographics, in your content strategy on LinkedIn to increase engagement and reach. By incorporating visuals into your LinkedIn posts, your content can be more eye-catching and memorable for your audience.

Visual content can help you tell a story or showcase the benefits of your product or service. However, using high-quality visuals, such as images, videos, infographics, and animations, is crucial to capture your audience’s attention. Use visuals that align with your brand and are easy to understand.

4. Be true to yourself.

Authentic content can help you build trust with your audience and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry, so it’s essential that your posts reflect your brand’s personality. Use a conversational tone and avoid sounding too salesy or promotional. Share stories or experiences demonstrating your brand’s values and how you can help your audience.

Engaging with your audience goes hand in hand with posting relevant content that aligns with your brand values and image. Remember that social media is about building a nurturing trusting connection with your audience – and reacting to their comments, likes, and questions is just as important as providing them with new insights. 

No wonder 71% of consumers who have had a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend it to others. Additional statistics show that companies responding to customer complaints on social media have a 95% higher customer retention rate. So don’t despair if you ever get negative feedback – own it and make the best of it. 

5. Optimize your content for social media use.

Since you are producing messages for social media, your content should be optimized for these channels. Are you wondering how? Well, there are a couple of essential aspects to consider. One of the most crucial characteristics of social media content is hashtags. 

Social media posts often use hashtags to categorize content and make it more discoverable by users interested in specific topics. For example, hashtags help users find posts on particular subjects or themes. By using relevant hashtags, individuals and businesses can increase the visibility of their content and reach a wider audience interested in those topics.

Hashtags also play a crucial role in marketing and branding strategies. Companies and organizations create unique hashtags to promote their products, services, or campaigns. These branded hashtags help increase brand awareness, encourage user-generated content, and facilitate tracking and analyzing social media campaigns’ reach and engagement.

Additionally, hashtags often represent trending topics. By incorporating trending hashtags into their posts, users can tap into ongoing conversations, increase their visibility, and reach a larger audience. Trending hashtags allow you to participate in broader discussions and engage with a wide range of users. According to Hubspot, tweets with hashtags receive two times more engagement than those without – and Instagram posts with at least one hashtag average 12.6% more engagement than those without. 

But hashtags aren’t the only hack for social media content. Formatting your posts to fit the requirements for each platform perfectly increases the readability aspect and your audience’s engagement. Think about it that way: You want to make it as easy and enjoyable as possible for your audience to read your content, engage with and share it. Social media optimization can help you increase your reach and visibility on social media.

Create your social media content to reach your goals.

You know now that creating high-quality content for social selling requires a deep understanding of your target audience. But it also includes providing valuable and visually pleasing content. Ensure you show your brand’s true self on social media and be authentic. Optimizing your content for specific social media outlets is the icing on the cake. By following these tips, you can create content that resonates with your audience, helps to generate leads, and builds meaningful relationships with your audience on social media.

Have you mastered creating compelling social media content, or are you still looking for ways to improve? We look forward to your stories and feedback in the comment section.

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