There’s so much occurring within the world of social media that it is hard to stay ahead of the curve; new platforms and apps are coming online all the time and new terms are being invented quicker than you can learn the meaning of them. You might be finding it all a bit difficult to navigate, but don’t worry you’re not the only one!
In the realms of social media, there is one relationship that most people find hard to define and that is the difference between social selling and social media marketing, are they one and the same? Do they complement each other, or are there very distinct difference? We’ll try our best to explain…
Social selling – Explained
The definition of social selling is easy, straightforward, and uncomplicated: social selling is leveraging social media to come up with revenue. That’s it. Social selling is just sales. The methodology, however, is different! Technology is just an enabler, and social media is simply another platform. It really doesn’t matter if your medium is the telephone, email, telegraph, or smoke signals. Social media simply accelerates the sales conversation, very like all of the aforementioned sales processes, generating revenue is the sole objective; in other words, the goal is to sell your product or service, creating revenue for your business.
Social media marketing – Explained
Social media marketing, on the other hand, is any social media activity that doesn’t have revenue generation as its primary goal. This may include but isn’t limited to, activities like personal and company brand awareness and brand building.
What are the largest differences between the two?
Revenue creation is THE one and only differentiator between social selling and social media marketing.
So which tactic should you be using?
First, ask yourself, “What is my goal?” Do you want to generate sales or nurture relationships? Are you trying to stimulate interest in your product or service that may result in an offline customer relationship? Or do you simply want to generate what is known as “vanity metrics”, in other words, followers, likes, shares, comments? Depending on your specific answers to these questions you can get an idea of which tactic works best for you. When you have established this, you can then follow these guidelines…
Best social selling practices
Social selling best practices are defined by the three C’s of social selling success: Content, Conversation, and Conversion. Being a consistent, supportive resource for customers and prospects, providing value during all stages of their buying journey is accomplished by generating relevant and meaningful content.
Best social media marketing practices
Social media marketing best practices are grounded in this important business skill… the ability to develop and nurture genuine business relationships, with the intention of helping others first and foremost with no expectation of reciprocity.
At Caffeine Marketing we believe that there’s no merit in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to digital marketing – our marketing methods are bespoke, innovative and anticipate the intent of your customers. We can help you establish a clear online marketing strategy will give you focus, drive more of the right traffic to your website or social media platforms and help you achieve your business objectives – whatever they may be – brand awareness, lead generation or sales. We can help get you started building a digital strategy.
