Some trends are so hot that they take off right from the starting gate, dragging us along with them. Social media is just such a trend. In fact, social media is more than a trend as it is here to stay.

But because social media has grown so fast, most marketers have been forced to learn how to use it “on the job.” Is it worth it – the learning curve? According to the 78 percent of salespeople who regularly outsell their competitors by effectively using a social media strategy, it sure is!

In this post, learn how to develop a social media strategy that pays.

Social + Media = Sales

There are two key aspects to understanding, how social media is designed to work.

– It is social. The social aspect is about developing ongoing authentic relationships with people.

– It is informational. The media aspect is about using web tools to share accurate, useful information.

When you develop a social media marketing strategy that is both highly social and highly informational, it becomes easier to cultivate relationships that in time can lead to sales.

Nurture Your Leads

Because social media is actually attempting to replace face-to-face human contact with posts, pictures, stats and charts, this isn’t a medium where you can expect to “just click” with a prospect, make a sale and be on to the next sales call 5 minutes later.

Rather, you will need to be patient as you nurture relationships with prospects with an eye towards making a sale or gaining a referral for the future.

In other words, you can’t rush the sales pitch via social media – not if you want to make the sale!

Know Which Channel to Use for What

Different social media channels can be more effective for different purposes.

For example, 80 percent of social media users state they prefer to make contact with companies and brands via Facebook as opposed to other social channels.

With Twitter, longer tweets produce more link click-through than their shorter counterparts.

And a full 43 percent of salespeople have used LinkedIn successfully to find new clients (for Twitter, the same holds true for 36 percent of salespeople).

So here, it is critical to study each channel and play to its strengths when you are nurturing leads with the aim to generate sales.

Use Landing Pages Effectively

Where many talented and otherwise well-educated social media marketers still mess up is during the phase when the prospect is redirected from the social media channel to the business’s website.

You want to design a landing page that has two options: buy or leave. This simplifies the prospect’s options without sacrificing the still-developing relationship.

The Bottom Line

By understanding how social media is set up to work, what each channel’s unique strengths are and how to use landing pages to play to those strengths, you can join the growing ranks of businesses successfully using social media to sell products and services, generate referrals and cultivate customer loyalty over the long-term.

Article Written By: Cent Muruganandam of Business 2 Community