During the past few years, throughout the world, social selling has emerged as a powerful approach in the sales and marketing domain, transforming the way businesses connect with their customers. In this digital era, social media platforms have become essential tools for building relationships, engaging with prospects, and propelling sales.
Social selling refers to the practice of using social media platforms and networks to engage with prospects, build relationships, and ultimately drive sales. Unlike traditional strategies that focused on cold calling and intense advertising or promotional tactics, social selling focuses on making active connections and offering value through information and personalised interactions. It is a totally customer-centric strategy that concentrates on knowing prospects’ requirements and preferences in order to provide customised solutions and establish trust.
Currently, the social selling landscape in Sri Lanka is developing swiftly, driven by the increasing usage of social media, mobile devices, and digital platforms. Businesses are using these trends by adopting localised content strategies, providing personalised engagement, and adopting mobile commerce. As social media platforms evolve and change, Sri Lankan companies and their sales teams will need to keep up with trends to ensure they get the most out of these channels.
According to DataReportal, the online reference library, Sri Lanka has 7.2 million social media users as of January 2023, equating to 32.9% of the total population. According to the report, the number of active mobile connections reached 36.1 million early this year. Meanwhile, there are 14.5 million internet users in the country, with 66.7% internet penetration. Also, the report indicates that Facebook’s ad reach is 44.9% of the local internet user base, and Instagram has 1.4 million users in Sri Lanka.
Immense potential
These astounding figures indicate the immense potential for customer reach in the country through social selling. The figures signify the importance of using popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to establish a strong media presence to aid the sale of products and services by Sri Lankan companies.
Already, most large companies in Sri Lanka are heavily engaged in social selling strategies, while smaller organisations are also gradually transforming their selling efforts. By staying in touch with these trends and tailoring their social selling strategies accordingly, businesses in Sri Lanka can effectively engage with their target audience, drive sales, and stay competitive in the digital marketplace.
Influencer marketing has gained traction in Sri Lanka, with brands collaborating with local influencers to promote their products and services. Influencers who have a significant following and strong engagement rates are seen as trusted sources of information. Businesses are partnering with these influencers to showcase their offerings, generate brand awareness, and drive conversions.
Sri Lankan consumers appreciate localised content that blends with their culture and preferences. Businesses are focusing on creating content that reflects the local context, including language-specific posts, culturally relevant visuals, and references to local traditions and events. This approach helps establish a deeper connection with the target audience and gain their trust.
Let us look at some of the unparalleled benefits of engaging in social media in the sales effort. In the context of relationship building, social media enables businesses to develop authentic and meaningful communication with their target audience. By engaging with prospects on social media, sales professionals can understand their interests, challenges, and pain points, facilitating more personalised and relevant interactions.
Social media enhances brand visibility, generating more value. Leveraging social media platforms provide businesses with an opportunity to augment their brand visibility. By consistently communicating stimulating and valuable content, organisations can easily establish loyalty and gain the recognition of potential customers. Also, by providing professional guidance through social media platforms, companies can establish trust with prospects.
The customary tough methods of finding leads of yesteryear are no more. Today, social media platforms offer a vast collection of potential leads. Through social selling, businesses can identify and connect with individuals or companies even if they have not specifically expressed interest in their products or services, creating a selling opportunity. By nurturing these leads through personalised interactions, sales professionals can convert them into loyal customers.
More importantly, compared to traditional marketing and promotional models, social selling is often enormously cost-effective. It allows businesses to reach a larger audience, perhaps unlimited, at a lower cost, reducing the need for expensive advertising campaigns that might increase the return on investment.
Marketing organisations deploy various strategies to derive the best results from social selling. Most companies now use messaging applications such as WhatsApp to send out individual messages to attract prospects. Direct messaging offers one-to-one contact and enables sellers to provide useful information about their products or services. In addition, companies can provide valuable guidelines for selecting the required product or service.
Social commerce
Sellers can leverage social commerce through social media. Users can now purchase directly on social media, which makes it a great place for companies to have some influence. Instagram shopping, Pinterest shopping, and Facebook shopping are on the rise, and they’re only going to get bigger as customers want to do everything in one place. However, sellers must choose the best online communities to participate in and engage with, according to the nature of their business.
Giving authentic success stories in social media messages is important to convince potential buyers. A mere presentation of how impressive the features of a product are or how efficient the after-sales service is does not work with the modern, informed, and knowledgeable buyer. They may only appear as self-created claims in the eyes of most buyers. Hence, showing tangible proof to buyers through message content is important.
This also means that companies must keep it real. Instead of sending a single message to many potential buyers, they should attempt to personalise communication, at least with each customer segment. Highlighting shared interests or addressing common existing situations can be effective methods. Sellers must understand that actual human interaction provides the best results when it comes to selling.
Finally, sellers must not expect immediate positive results by engaging in social selling. Sometimes it may take a while to achieve success. However, the guaranteed result is that brand visibility keeps escalating and the number of prospects who know the brand increases. Therefore, constant social media engagement and follow-up with the chosen customer segments are imperative.
Social selling has emerged around the world as a powerful approach for businesses to connect with their target audience, build relationships, and drive sales. By leveraging social media platforms, sales professionals can engage with prospects on a more personal level, provide valuable insights, and establish trust and credibility. By adopting effective strategies, such as defining target audiences, building personal brands, sharing valuable content, and nurturing relationships, businesses can harness the true potential of social selling and thrive in the digital age.