Social Selling Tools for Increasing ROI

Social media is paying off for those who now know how to measure ROI. Social selling is the new hot ticket, made easier by social networks integrating checkout right into our content streams.

Mobile changes everything for social selling

Twitter is testing a new "buy now" button to take mobile users from a tweet directly to checkout. This shopping feature is currently only available for select mobile device users. A company spokesperson indicated it will be rolled out for desktop users as well. Earlier leaked information referred to this offering as Twitter commerce.

Facebook started testing a similar feature in July 2014, but theirs will work on both desktops and mobile devices. Facebook seems more focused on driving use of apps and ads so far.

Pinterest is the obvious choice to turn into an e-commerce platform because of statistics showing traffic from Pinterest converts well. Strangely, they seem content with driving traffic as no rumors of adding e-commerce directly have surfaced that we can find.

"Pinterest is overflowing with items that I would love to have, but don’t really know where to find,” says Nikki Etolen from Pretty Opinionated. “The Ubokia 'Want It' Button makes it easy for me to broadcast what I am looking for and have sellers respond.”

Third party Ubokia has created a "want it" button for Pinterest that allows users to broadcast what they want for sellers to respond.

A lesser-known site called Fancy has implemented a social e-commerce model well before any of the major social networks. This could be a market disruptor as investors, such as Gucci owner Francois Henri-Pinault, plan to enable manufacturers to cut out the middle-men and retailers and sell direct to the public.

Eventually, buyers will be able to click and put products directly into shopping carts. Businesses need to be ready for social commerce. What matters most is conversions—not clicks.

Measuring social conversions

There is no longer any doubt that social media ROI can be measured. Solutions such as Oktopost are already revealing interesting data regarding what social networks convert best and how social has changed buyer behaviors.

Measuring clicks alone misleads businesses into spending their time where they get a lot of traffic—like Facebook—while ignoring sites that generate high conversion rates. Much lower traffic numbers on LinkedIn convert up to 22% for some solutions providers. It is imperative that businesses learn to measure conversions from all channels to prioritize where to invest. This is especially true of social activities.

How to dominate social selling

This video from a webinar given by Tom Martin of Converse Digital provides excellent insights into social selling and conversion measurements.

Users can shorten their research cycle by asking in groups on LinkedIn, Facebook and in relevant forums.

Solution providers who don't make a potential buyer's shortlist may never know about missed opportunities. This is why businesses must be active in social to promote quality content. Content is part of an inbound lead generation system for painless prospecting for qualified leads.

Pre-purchase research is being used to avoid giving brands contact info. Buyers still have 10.4 touches and are 77% through the B2B buying process before brands know who they are.

Look for links prospects share and then write for sites that are being shared by your prospects. Interact in the comments and reshare this content.

Compile 15-30 propinquity points. Choose "Embassies" where you really put down roots. These take time, so only have about three. Social media sites, communities surrounding websites, forums, groups, Twitter chats, Google Hangouts on Air (HOAs)—these are target rich environments. Be helpful. Answer questions. Offer advice and opinions. Be a good neighbor.

Choose additional "Outposts": blogs, websites, and other social networks where you aren't as active, but where you publish.

The key to winning the social selling race is repurposing content. Turn each post into three guest posts, ebooks, whitepapers, buying guides, podcasts, conference presentations, webinars. Do this more easily by focusing on modular content.

More articles from AllBusiness.com:

• When It Comes to Wearables, Women Decide Which Brands Go Big or Bust
• 10 Key Issues for Fintech Startup Companies
• Measuring Technology ROI for Your Small Business
• 4 Steps to Measuring Marketing Results

Integrate social media

Businesses must integrate social media into everything they do and especially email marketing. If you use webmail, consider implementing WiseStamp to add your social media icons automatically in your signature.

Use mobile responsive email templates that allow you to drag and drop social icons to get recipients to your social accounts. Also add social sharing buttons to all your email.

Just as your social media activities should drive potential buyers to your mailing list, your mailings should be promoting social media connections.

Stay on top of social selling tools

Social commerce is expanding at an ever increasing rate. New tools pop up all the time. One way to find out what is available is to search on Chekkt. Most available outsourced services and B2B SaaS solutions are listed there along with reviews by their users.

One of the best features of Chekkt is the ‘alternatives’ link. Search for any solution you know about and click that link and Chekkt returns similar solutions. If you search for Oktopost you’ll see 36 alternatives. Note that these are all significantly different, but when you’re researching what tool to use Chekkt will surface tools that may be very difficult to identify simply asking around or using a search engine.

Social selling is here to stay

Social selling is here to stay. Companies that understand and become early adopters have the advantage if they implement social selling tools that measure their results.

RELATED: 14 Tips to Successfully Launch a New Product on Social Media