Twitter is a great network for social listening. You can create Twitter Lists to monitor content from specific groups of people. Here are three key Twitter lists you can use to start social selling on the network.
1. Existing customers Use this list to keep close tabs on your existing customers and watch for opportunities to reply to — or like — their Tweets. This will help you keep your brand on their radar. Don’t overdo it, though. Be sure that your interactions with clients are meaningful: only like Tweets that you genuinely like and only comment when you have something valuable to say. And make sure to stay relevant — your customers don’t need your brand interacting with personal updates. 2. Prospects As you identify potential customers, add them to a private list. But don’t engage with them with the same sense of familiarity as you do with existing customers. Instead, keep an eye out for requests for help or grievances about your competitors. That way, you can reply with a helpful comment. 3. Competitors Adding competitors to a private list lets you keep tabs on them without actually following them. This could help spark ideas for your own social selling efforts. SOCIAL SELLING BEST PRACTICES Whichever platform you use to reach your unique audience, make sure you’re adopting social selling best practices. Here are 4 to keep in mind. 1. Establish your brand by providing value When interacting with prospects and customers through social networks, it’s important not to get too salesy. And if your brand is new to a social media platform, don’t dive into social selling right away. Before you jump to sales pitches, establish your position as an expert in your industry. One way to build your brand on social media for social selling is by sharing interesting, valuable and shareable content Or it might mean writing and sharing interesting content that others will find useful to establish your brand (or personal brand) as an industry thought leader Basically, show your prospects that you’re not just out to get something. You’re there to give something, too. 2. Listen strategically and build relationships with the right people Effective social selling means paying attention. In other words, make sure you’re social listening. Monitor what people are saying about you, your company, your industry and your competitors. Watch for pain points and requests, both of which provide natural opportunities for you to provide solutions. You should also leverage your existing network whenever possible. Before reaching out to any of the leads you identify, check their following and follower lists to see if you have any mutual connections. If you do, ask your shared contact for an introduction. 3. Keep it real Instead of writing one note and sending it to countless potential buyers, take the time to personalize your social selling messaging. This means you could:
When it comes to selling, nothing beats interacting with an actual human. 4. Be consistent Finally, don’t expect immediate results. If your relationship building efforts don’t yield immediate results, don’t give up. Some contacts may not be ready to purchase whatever you’re offering quite yet — keep in touch. Follow-up with new leads. Reach out to contacts you’ve previously connected with, but haven’t heard from in a while. Maintain meaningful relationships by offering congratulations when they move to new positions or companies or engaging with the content they share over social media. Be ready to offer advice or help, even if it doesn’t directly promote your product. Social selling is a new approach to selling that allows salespeople to laser-target their prospecting and establish rapport through existing connections.
Social selling — maybe you’ve heard of it, but you aren’t entirely sure what it means. Think it’s the same as social media marketing? (Spoiler: It’s not.) Or maybe you think it’s basically just social media advertising? (Second spoiler: Also no. That’s something else altogether.) In short, social selling allows your business to zero in on business prospects on social media and build rapport with a network of potential leads. Done right, social selling can replace the dreaded practice of cold calling. If you have not yet incorporated social selling into your funnel, you’re likely losing business to more social media savvy competitors. But once you’re done reading this guide, you will have all the information you need to change that. Social selling is the practice of using a brand’s social media channels to connect with prospects, develop a connection with them and engage with potential leads. The tactic can help businesses reach their sales targets. Think of social selling as modern relationship-building. Actively connecting with potential customers on social media can help you be the first brand a prospect considers when they’re ready to make a purchase. And it can replace outdated relationship-building and sales techniques like cold calling! What social selling is not Social selling is certainly not about bombarding strangers with unsolicited Tweets and DMs. That’s spam. Don’t do it. Social selling is not just about adding new contacts to your list. It’s about making those interactions meaningful and presenting your brand as having a solution to a problem. When you do that, you’re more likely to build trust and loyalty. If your brand has a Facebook Business Page, a LinkedIn page or Twitter profile, or is active on any other platform, you’re already engaged in the basics of social selling. The social selling index (SSI) is a metric used to measure the impact of a brand’s social selling efforts. LinkedIn first introduced the concept of the SSI back in 2014. The LinkedIn SSI combines four components to establish a score. It looks at whether you are:
4 reasons your business should care about social selling. If you’re still not sold (see what we did there?) on social selling, here are 4 reasons why you should give it a try. 1. Social selling works. Don’t just take our word for it. According to LinkedIn Sales Solutions’ internal data:
A recent Forbes article states: “87% of business event professionals have canceled events because of the pandemic, and 66% postponed events.” Networking and relationship-building have shifted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic — and now is the perfect time to prioritize social selling. Social selling creates opportunities to connect with new potential customers on social media, where they’re already active and engaging in conversations. Using social listening tools allows your sales reps to go a step further and identify leads who are already talking about your business, your competitors or your industry. That means you can reach out to an audience who already have an interest in what you’re offering and authentically connect with them, offering useful information when the time is right. Authenticity builds trust — and that, in turn, can become customer loyalty. 3. Your customers (and prospects) are already engaged in social buying. In the last six months of 2020, 25% of Americans ages 18 to 34 made a purchase via social media. India, the UK, Australia and New Zealand all saw approximately a third of people ages 18 to 34 make a purchase via social media in that same timeframe. 4. Your top competitors are already social selling. Using social selling means staying competitive. Other brands are active on social media interacting with potential customers on popular social platforms. According to data from Statista: “In 2020, an estimated 25% of e-commerce enterprises worldwide were planning to sell their goods on social media.” Now, consider the numbers:
The future of retail is a “phygital” ecosystem, transforming the new “dot” portfolio of retailing with tiered models, multiple formats and unique solutions. Design, innovation and technology are key to transforming the new real estate portfolio of retailing. From virtualized to in-store hybrid retail, it’s fundamental to know what format best supports each cluster.
Environmental, social and governance factors will be advanced by innovation and are future proof that your brand will remain relevant in a marketplace focused on sustainability. Customers are coming to expect the option of a digital experience to meet their variety of needs. With that in mind, here are four typology “dots” that need to be considered and merged to create this new interconnected retail portfolio network. They are:
While 63% of shopping begins online (Source), 49% still prefer to shop in physical stores (Source). These reports only go to show that the FMCD sector has a lot to offer by leveraging the phygital phenomenon. Consumers have experienced personalization and convenience by shopping online. However, when they venture out into a physical store, these expectations fall flat. Here, phygital is filling the appetite of customers and supplementing value to brands at a lower cost. So, what has changed for brands, and how they will deliver the best phygital experiences? Re-imaging stores Some consumers shop online and some like to visit the stores, feel the product and then, proceed to buy. To a certain extent, the second option still remains. Brands faced challenges to create an environment for customers where both the world can meet. The aim was to offer customers a store-like experience without having them to visit the stores. A digital experience that is, personalized and touches the physical convenience is going to be the next big thing. That’s how brands are redefining their stores and creating a space for customers where they can enjoy comfort and conviction. Promoting the phygital point-of-view With the advancement of technology, transparency has been established between brands and consumers. Gone are the days, when brands used to consider that ‘consumer is always right’ by any means. Sounds bold, but is true, isn’t it? When customers buy online, they complain about products that do not match their expectations in terms of color, size, functionality, etc. And, in stores, they fully feel the product, experience it and then, buy it. Sadly, today, people have less time and are loaded with tasks. Hence, phygital is the only alternative. The consumer can have a look, touch and feel the product virtually. Brands will be able to eliminate the previous complaints from customers as they will be able to experience the product virtually prior to purchasing. Instead of being mendacious on eCommerce platforms, brands are allowing customers to decide for themselves. Targeting consumer emotions The future of retail would be to drive consumer emotions to purchase. The upsurge in ‘mood retail’ has caught fire after the introduction of phygital. Having introduced to the experience of the product without visiting the store is going to be the biggest USP in the FMCD economy going forward. When they feel the product, it encourages them to buy. Companies are using these emotions to simulate product choices with an intuitive and immersive customer experience. Technologies and best practices of phygital CXAs we are still envisioning phygital opportunities, businesses have introduced phygital in customer service. Here are a few best practices in an effort to deliver phygital experiences. AR glasses / Mixed Reality ecosystems are the new eyes for customers The innovation has introduced more usefulness of AR in customer experience. Augmented Reality ensures whether the product is perfectly convincing for customers by overlapping live video with products. It allows customers to see precisely how the items fit their preferences by providing close-to-real product visualization, be it the refrigerators, cloths or interior design products. Suppose, while buying furniture people tend to become picky aesthetes and for them, purchasing it in-store can consume a lot of time. However, representatives using AR glasses during the live product demo through video call can help the customer choose the perfect fit sitting at home or anywhere. This is an excellent way to encourage confident purchase decisions. Introduction of pro-phygital TFT or LED screens As brands are bending their strategies to build a phygital market space, the use of TFT screens is evolving. Businesses are implementing it in live product demos as an integration of digital into physical. For example, it is the display screen when you buy TV, smartphones and even clothes, phygitally. You can see different features of the item or even try different clothes at the same time virtually, with just one click. The forward-thinking future-ready brands are adapting to the customer’s needs and staying ahead of time. Channel-free customer experience Brands need to up their customer experience game to attract consumers and convert them into sales. With phygital innovations brands looking to offer face-to-face customer experiences, that build the brand’s credibility and fosters customer relationships. This makes the interaction so seamless without involving any other customer service channels. Phygital is the futuristic form of today’s omnichannel with greater possibilities; where consumers can come, shop effortlessly sitting at home, virtually experience the product, and become customers. This will truly be relevant if the customer requires remote after-sales service. Concluding: Phygital ecosystem of untold possibilities. Today, people live phygital experiences in day-to-day life with no awareness of it. Gen Z and millennial consumers are at the forefront, thus, pushing businesses to transform their customer experience strategy to phygital. There are several methods to offer desirable phygital experiences to your customers such as setting up virtual stores, utilizing AR & VR tools in customer service and product demos. Since you can now buy NFT's on LIVEPLEX - here is a NFT primer
These are the steps needed to buy an NFT: 1. Download Metamask, a Chrome extension that acts as your virtual wallet and an e-signature in one. This interacts with platforms to allow you to buy and sell NFTs on the blockchain. Make sure to (physically) write down your password, and keep it somewhere secure you won't forget! 2. Create a wallet on Metamask 3. Send ETH (Ethereum) to the wallet Eth is the most common currency used for trading NFTs; although others like Sol (Solana) are gaining in popularity. You can buy Eth with your credit card or bank transfer on Coinbase, Kraken, Binance or any other such app. Social media users don’t just want to find new things, they also want to contribute their thoughts and opinions, and ideally, become a part of a larger community of like-minded, or at least like-interested, people.
1. Share your journey. People want to hear from you and learn from your journey. This will encourage others to come forward with their journeys and build a community for your brand. Share on Stories and Feed. 2. Create a Series that the audience can be a part of. Use Hashtags to encourage conversation. 3. Create Special Moments: a filter, a gif, anything shareable that the followers can interact with. Do you have ideas that worked for you ? Let us know below. ![]() Facebook is hosting its 2021 Communities Summit today, where it brings together group admins from across the platform to help them connect, share insights, and learn about upcoming features to help improve group engagement. And as part of the event, Facebook has announced a slew of new groups tools – here’s an overview of all the new options being added to further streamline and improve its community offerings.
Also interesting: “To help make your groups more accessible to those in the broader community, we will be testing the option for admins to extend community access to those without an existing Facebook account, enabling them to participate in a single group.”
“For admins of Facebook Groups, the new experience will allow them to use an official voice when interacting with their community. For admins of Facebook Pages, the new experience will help them build community in a single space for members to participate and engage. Admins of Pages will also be able to take advantage of the moderation tools that Groups have today. This new experience is in early testing over the next year, before it becomes more broadly available.” Groups remain a critical element of Facebook’s success – in fact, it’s likely the key aspect that keeps many users coming back, particularly considering recent insights which show that Facebook engagement has been in decline in many aspects over the past few years. Facebook Groups, at 1.8 billion monthly active users, are a central social element for many people around the world, and as local news publications shutter, due to impacts on advertising, groups are also becoming an even more crucial tool for staying in touch with happenings in your area, and maintaining connection with neighbors and friends. It’s one of the more powerful, and beneficial aspects of Facebook’s platform – and while groups can also amplify more harmful movements, and bring dangerously like-minded collectives of people into contact, the broader good of such connection is also clear. Facebook can do more to protect against the former, but the latter is central to parent company Meta’s ongoing mission. Indeed, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had this to say on the metaverse as part of his speech to the Communities Summit: “Groups and communities on Facebook are going to be an important part of [the metaverse] vision. Nothing beats being together. But when we can't be together in person, the metaverse will help get us even closer to feeling that sense of an in-person connection.So, we're focused on building bridges from our apps on 2D screens into more immersive virtual experiences. Facebook, and your groups, are going to be central to this.” It might be eying the future, but Meta needs to maintain the bonds of existing communities to maximize its vision. Groups remain central to this, and these new tools will provide more options on this front. The twitter algorithm favors videos. What must you do get more reach and viewership are these small tweaks. Watch below ![]() Visual social networks pull ahead in popularity. Millenials are loyal Facebook users and there are no signs of that changing. However, both sides of the digital native generation embrace visual-first social networks, (especially Instagram and YouTube) and they want brands to do the same. Brands have yet to find the sweet spot on TikTok, but those that lay the groundwork now and start testing content on that platform could have an edge with Gen Z. EXPLORE CREATIVE STORYTELLING. Fifty percent of Gen Z consumers say they’re more likely to buy from a brand over a competitor when that brand demonstrates an understanding of what they want and need. Prioritizing visual channels alone won’t guarantee that Gen Z will engage with your brand. To earn their recognition as best in class on social, brands must create memorable content. What makes content memorable is in the eye of the scroller, but one surefire way for a brand to stand out is by showing how well they know their audience. Half of Gen Z consumers (50%) say they’re more likely to buy from a brand over a competitor when that brand demonstrates an understanding of what they want and need. Creating an outbound content tagging system is an effective way to track which content themes, messages, formats and other factors resonate most with current and potential customers. Tagging inbound messages also helps your brand collect feedback, identify FAQs and pinpoint other insights that can shape a more targeted content strategy. MILLENNIALS WANT TO BUY FROM CULTURALLY RELEVANT BRANDS As Millennials consider which businesses to support, 53% say brands that create culturally relevant content have the edge over competitors. But what exactly does cultural relevance mean to Millennials? Businesses that keep a finger on the pulse of culture at large can spot trends before they crest and uncover new perspectives that inspire more relevant content. Listen to the voice of culture to share relevant messages and ensure your content is considerate of sensitive current events. DIGITAL NATIVES TRUST THEIR PEERS
When digital natives need customer service from a business, social media is their first stop. Once they get there, their expectations are high. The case for integrating social into your business’s overall customer service strategy has never been stronger—41% of Gen Z and Millennials alike say they would buy from a brand that delivers timely, responsive customer service over a competitor. On the other hand, poor customer service is the number one reason digital natives will unfollow a brand on social. STRONG SOCIAL CUSTOMER SERVICE INSPIRES LOYALTY When digital natives need customer service from a business, social media is their first stop. Once they get there, their expectations are high. The case for integrating social into your business’s overall customer service strategy has never been stronger—41% of Gen Z and Millennials alike say they would buy from a brand that delivers timely, responsive customer service over a competitor. On the other hand, poor customer service is the number one reason digital natives will unfollow a brand on social. KEEP LISTENING TO THE AUDIENCES Content marketing — including blogging — costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates three times as many leads.
Whether you have started a blog to make money online or to grow traffic to your website, using the right blogging tools will save you time, money, and energy. Amid ongoing discussion about Facebook’s approach to content moderation, and amplification via its platforms,and amplification via its platforms, The Social Network has today launched two new ads which call for more Government regulation of the tech sector, while also seeking to humanize the people behind Facebook’s decision-making process. As you can see in this example, Facebook has today published two new profile videos of staff that are working on its content moderation challenges. The clips first show each employee holding images of their families, then provide a quick overview of their work, and their views on regulation. As per ‘Rochelle’ in the above clip: “You should be able to understand who has your data and how they use it. Federal legislation can give our platforms and other platforms guidelines so we can have a consistent approach.” ![]() The pandemic is going to have a huge impact on the worker expectations. In April, the number of workers who quit their job in a single month broke an all-time U.S. record. Economists called it the “Great Resignation. In July, even more people left their job. In August, quitters set yet another record. That Great Resignation? It just keeps getting greater. Nearly 7 percent of employees in the “accommodations and food services” sector left their job in August. That means one in 14 hotel clerks, restaurant servers, and barbacks said sayonara in a single month. Thanks to several pandemic-relief checks, a rent moratorium, and student-loan forgiveness, everybody, particularly if they are young and have a low income, has more freedom to quit jobs they hate and hop to something else. Tthis level of quitting is really an expression of optimism that says, We can do better. For the far smaller number of employers and bosses—who in pre-pandemic times were much more comfortable—this economy must feel like leaping from the frying pan of economic chaos, only to land in the fires of Manager Hell. Job openings are sky-high. Many positions are going unfilled for months. Meanwhile, supply chains are breaking down because of a hydra of bottlenecks. America’s epidemic of bad behavior, from Trader Joe’s tirades to a poor Cape Cod restaurant that had to close briefly in the hope that its clientele would calm down after a few days in the time-out box. Cabin-fevered and filled with rage, American customers have poured into the late-pandemic economy with abandon, like the unfurling of so many angry pinched hoses. I don’t blame thousands of servers and clerks for deciding that suffering nonstop rudeness should never be a job requirement.Meanwhile, the basic terms of employment are undergoing a Great Reset. The pandemic thrust many families into a homebound lifestyle reminiscent of the 19th-century agrarian economy—but this time with screens galore and online delivery. More families today work at home, cook at home, care for kids at home, entertain themselves at home, and even school their kids at home. The writer Aaron M. Renn has called this the rise of the DIY family, and it represents a new vision of work-life balance that is still coming into focus. By eliminating the office as a physical presence in many (but not all!) families’ lives, the pandemic may have downgraded work as the centerpiece of their identity. In fact, the share of Americans who say they plan to work beyond the age of 62 has fallen to its lowest number since the Federal Reserve Bank of New York started asking the question, in 2014. Workism isn’t going away; for many, remote work will collapse the boundary between work and life that was once delineated by the daily commute. But this is a time of broad reconsideration. what we have instead: a great pushing-outward. Migration to the suburbs accelerated. More people are quitting their job to start something new. Before the pandemic, the office served for many as the last physical community left, especially as church attendance and association membership declined. But now even our office relationships are being dispersed. The Great Resignation is speeding up, and it’s created a centrifugal moment in American economic history. |
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