One of the most common mistakes made by business owners is allowing their sales team to manage their company's social media strategy. Doing this not only takes time away from the sale process, but also allows for a one-sided approach on social media that does not reflect the customer service attitude you want your customers to experience.
A vast majority of companies are using social media to generate revenue. More than 50% of income across 14 major industries was generated by social sales. This number is even higher for B2B buyers and executives. And 48% of companies believe that there are benefits to expanding their reach through social sales.
Over 70% of sales professionals and 90% of top performers use social media as a tool to help them to improve their success.
But while sales people should be using social media to engage with their prospects, there are risks when a company puts the sales team in charge of the overall brand strategy on social media.
The Danger of Letting Your Sales Team Run Your Social Media
Sales teams are often incentivized to generate leads and close deals, rather than build relationships.
As a result, they may be more likely to post content that is promotional or self-serving, rather than content that is informative or engaging.
This can lead to a number of problems:
- First, it can turn off potential customers who see your social media as nothing more than a sales pitch.
- Second, it can damage your brand reputation if your content is not well-received.
- And finally, it can make it difficult for you to achieve your broader marketing goals if your sales team is focused solely on generating leads.
If you want to use social media to build relationships and drive sales, then it's important that you have a clear strategy in place.
Make sure that your sales team understands your goals and objectives, and give them guidelines on what type of content is appropriate to share.
By doing so, you can avoid the danger of letting your sales team run your social media brand strategy and ensure that your social media presence is an asset to your business.
Understanding the Differences Between Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing are two essential functions of any business. Both departments work together to generate leads, close deals, and grow revenue. However, there are some key differences between sales and marketing that you should be aware of.
Sales is all about generating revenue through the act of selling products or services to customers. Marketing, on the other hand, is focused on creating awareness and demand for a company's products or services. Marketing efforts often take the form of advertising, public relations, or online content.
While both sales and marketing are important for growing a business, they require different skill sets and approaches. Salespeople need to be outgoing and persuasive, while marketers need to be creative and strategic. It's important to have a clear understanding of the differences between these two functions in order to ensure that your business is properly utilizing both departments.
Why You Should Never Hire a Sales Representative to Handle Your Social Media
Sales representatives are not social media experts. They may be able to sell your product, but they probably don’t know how to effectively use social media to promote your brand.
Here are a few reasons why you should never hire a sales representative to handle your social media:
- They’re not familiar with the platform.
- They don’t understand how to create engaging content.
- They’re more interested in making a sale than building a relationship with customers.
- They lack the creativity needed to produce truly compelling content.
- They’re not invested in your brand or their audience.
The Negative Results of Letting Your Sales Team Run Your Social Media
It's no secret that social media can be a powerful sales tool. But if you hand over the reins of your company's social media accounts to your sales team, you may be doing more harm than good.
Here are some of the negative results that can come from letting your sales team run your social media:
1. Your social media will become all about selling, and nothing else.
Your sales team's primary focus is, understandably, on selling your product or service. So if they're in charge of your social media, all they're going to post about is how great your product is and why people should buy it.
This approach is likely to turn off potential customers, who will see your company as nothing more than a pushy sales machine.
Instead of seeing your product as something they need or want, they'll view it as something they have to be constantly bombarded with in order to make a purchase.
2. Your social media will lose its human touch.
Your sales team may be great at selling, but they're not necessarily the best at representing your brand on social media. They're likely to come across as too pushy, or worse, robotic and impersonal.
And since social media is all about building relationships and connecting with people, this lack of a human touch will ultimately damage your brand rather than help it grow.
3. You'll miss out on valuable feedback from customers.
If your sales team is in charge of your social media, they're not going to be focused on gathering feedback from customers. And yet, customer feedback is one of the most valuable things you can get from social media.
It's through feedback that you can learn what people like and don't like about your product, what they're looking for that you're not providing, and what changes you need to make in order to better serve your target market.
4. Your social media will be less effective overall.
When it comes down to it, letting your sales team run your social media is a recipe for disaster. Your social media will become all about selling, with no human touch or valuable feedback to be found. As a result, it will be much less effective overall at growing your brand and attracting new customers.
How to Avoid These Issues by Hiring a Social Media Manager from the Start
When it comes to social media, your sales team may be the last group of people you want in charge. Why?
Sales teams are often focused on their quotas and may not have the time or knowledge to effectively manage a social media account. Additionally, they may not understand the importance of building relationships with potential customers online or see social media as a valuable marketing tool. As a result, hiring a social media manager from the start can help avoid some major issues down the road.
Some common problems that can arise from letting your sales team run your social media include:
Lack of Engagement: If your sales team is only focused on making sales, they’re likely to post content that is all about selling and promotion. This type of content doesn’t usually resonate well with users and can lead to low engagement levels.
Missing Out on Opportunities: A good social media manager will know how to identify opportunities for promoting your product or service. They’ll also be able to take advantage of user feedback and create content that meets the needs of your target audience.
Inexperience: Without someone experienced in managing social media accounts, your brand runs the risk of making mistakes that could damage its reputation. For example, posting too frequently, not responding to comments or concerns, and using inappropriate language are all potential pitfalls that could be avoided by hiring a social media manager.
Overall, entrusting your social media to a dedicated manager can help ensure that your accounts are active and engaging, while also protecting your brand from potential damage.
Build a Content Strategy to Improve Social Media Engagement
Sales teams are often fixated on generating leads, which can result in social media content that is all about promoting products and services. However, this approach is not effective in building relationships with potential customers and ultimately results in low engagement.
A content strategy should be developed to focus on creating quality content that is relevant and interesting to your target audience. By providing value, you will be more likely to earn attention and engagement from potential customers.
Here are a few tips for developing a content strategy to improve social media engagement:
1. Know Your Target Audience
Before you can create valuable content, you need to understand who your target audience is and what they are interested in. Consider conducting market research or using social media listening tools to gather insights about your audience.
2. Plan Your Content Calendar
Once you know what type of content your target audience wants, it's time to start planning out your content calendar. This will help you ensure that you are regularly publishing quality content that is aligned with your business goals.
3. Create Variety in Your Content Mix
Don't just focus on creating written blog posts - mix things up with other types of content such as videos, infographics, podcasts, etc. This will help keep your audience engaged and coming back for more.
4. Promote Your Content Across Multiple Channels
In order to reach the widest possible audience, make sure to promote your content across multiple channels including social media , email, and your website.
5. Analyze Your Results and Adjust Your Strategy
Finally, don't forget to track your results and adjust your strategy accordingly. Use analytics tools to see what content is performing well and where you can improve.
Hire Professional Content Managers for Social Media Marketing
As a business owner, you might think that handing your social media over to your sales team is a good way to get more eyes on your product or service. After all, they're the ones who are out there talking to potential customers all day, so they must be good at promoting things, right?
Wrong.
Your sales team may be excellent at selling one-on-one, but when it comes to social media, they are likely to trigger some red flags that could cost you dearly. Here are four reasons why you should never let your sales team run your social media:
1. They're too self-promotional.
Your sales team's number one priority is, well, selling. And while there's nothing wrong with that per se, their focus on pushing products and services can come across as very pushy and self-promotional on social media. This will turn potential customers off and make them less likely to do business with you.
2. They're not great at listening.
In order to be successful on social media, you need to be able to listen to what your audience is saying and adjust your strategy accordingly. Your sales team, however, is probably more focused on talking than listening. As a result, they're likely to miss important feedback that could help you improve your social media presence.
3. They're not always available.
Sales teams are often out of the office meeting with clients or attending trade shows. This means they're not always available to post timely updates or respond to customer inquiries in a timely manner.
4. They're not experts in social media.
Let's face it: most salespeople are not social media experts. They may be good at selling, but when it comes to crafting effective social media posts or creating engaging content, they're likely to fall flat.
If you want your social media to be successful, it's best to leave it in the hands of professionals who understand how to use these platforms effectively. Hiring a dedicated social media manager (or team) is an investment that will pay off in the long run.
Get Started Building Your Social Media Strategy
Social media is all about creating a connection with your target audience. It's not just a place to post links to your latest product or service. If you want to build a successful social media strategy, you need to focus on creating content that educates, entertains, and engages your audience.
Your sales team may not have the time or resources to create high-quality content on a regular basis. They're also likely not as familiar with social media best practices as someone who specializes in this area.
A good social media strategy takes time and effort to create. It's not something that can be put together overnight or even in a few weeks. If you hand over responsibility for your social media presence to your sales team, chances are it won't be given the attention it deserves and your results will suffer as a result.
At Binary Glyph, we understand the complexity of social media marketing and focus on building a long-term strategy that positions your brand to be a leading voice in your industry.
We provide both the technical and creative resources to push your brand forward on social channels in a way that increases brand awareness and audience engagement.
If you're ready to get started building your social media strategy, contact us today.