Where Social Selling Meets Content Marketing

In the social selling world, content has undeniably become the key to marketing strategy. Marketers are constantly thinking about best practices for using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and other platforms to attract potential prospects. In the words of Tom Martin, who recently hosted a webinar for Oktopost, the B2B social media marketing platform, “Content is the door opener. It’s the way to get buyers to first identify themselves – by either reading, clicking on, sharing or engaging with it.” Content plays a vital role in starting any conversation in the social selling environment.

During the webinar, Tom highlighted the importance of being a “good neighbor” in the social selling space. Rather than attempt to sell your product directly, first try to help prospects by answering their questions, engaging in their discussions and responding to their comments. This can be achieved by creating and sharing content that users find valuable, and which promotes their pre-purchasing research efforts in a helpful manner. Delivering information that addresses questions and concerns is crucial to building a positive relationship with users, and when the time comes, can favorably impact their purchasing decisions. The more a user values and interacts with your content, the more he or she will be willing to engage with your company – which ultimately makes it easier to begin the selling process.

Depending on the resources and staff at your disposal, creating content can be an overwhelming task. Tom remarked that the best way to approach this challenge is to adopt a “content ecosystem planning” strategy. First, when mapping out your plan, never take a singular approach to content.Companies often refer to a single piece of content they’ve created – a blog post, YouTube video, Podcast and so on, instead of thinking about content on multiple levels. The only way to win the social selling race is to generate a host of content, publish it on diverse channels and engage with users at every possible opportunity. For example, take a single webinar and turn it into several blog posts, as well as a white paper, presentation and case study – and then use all of these items to effectively nurture leads.

The basic premise behind this concept is to take a major piece of marketing content, break it down into multiple items, and push out each one to target-rich platforms. This content, whether it’s an eBook, buying guide, article or post, can then be shared and distributed to relevant audiences across multiple platforms. The simpler it is to disassemble content into various units, the more effectively you can utilize your marketing resources.

Keep in mind that content doesn’t always have to be created – it can also be curated. Curating simply means discovering, compiling and delivering digital content that relates to a specific subject matter. Instead of creating new information, look for useful articles or commentary from online platforms and share it with potential prospects via social platforms to drive engagement. This is a great, cost-effective way to establish thought leadership, boost brand visibility and SEO.

No matter whether you create or curate, make sure to first listen to your audience, and show them that you have their best interests in mind before trying to sell your product or service. The more your content is valued, the easier it is to gain the interest and support of key influencers in the social world, who can help you develop and expand the visibility of your brand.

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/social-selling-meets-content-marketing-0698084?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=social-selling-meets-content-marketing