Twitter that reports 1,400% growth in Tweets (short text posts limited to 140 characters) last year.
Currently the site is approaching 50 million tweets per day, an average of 600 tweets per second.
Hot enough? If you're following the explosive growth of social channels and wondering how to use them to stand out and sell more, you're not alone.
Many sales and marketing pros recognize the remarkable potential of social media to connect with prospects and gain a competitive advantage.
Far fewer have a plan to put social media to work.
With such staggering numbers, it's likely that the folks you want to do business with are on social media networks.
But what's the most effective way to connect? How do you measure your results? How do you make sure you're using social channels productively? Here are a few tips for putting social media channels to work in sales.
- Align social channels with business goals.
It's been said that if you don't keep score, you're only practicing.
Because social channels are often available at little or no hard cost, they often escape rigorous measurement - but social media isn't free, and there's always opportunity costs to consider.
You can begin by assigning a dollar value to your time and tracking the number of hours spent driving sales through social channels.
It's not an exact science, but you can begin to estimate key metrics like lead volume, lead quality, conversion, cost of leads and cost of sales.
It's also worthwhile to track the quality of prospects you're connecting with through social channels compared with those acquire through other means.
- Check out integrated products.
The first generation of social media tools achieved mass popularity with personal use.
The next generation will include features for core business objectives - closing sales, creating referrals, and retaining clients.
Many sales and marketing applications are incorporating social features.
If you're not sure how to get started, look for social media features and add-ons for your current tools.
If you blog, the WordPress platform has a variety of Plugins to help share and publicize your content.
The Salesforce AppExchange enables developers to create social tools to strengthen the existing Sales, Support, Partner Relationship Management, Marketing, and Analytics solutions many sales pros already rely on.
Facebook to create a fanbase, announce sales - Find your competitive advantage.
Most sales pros will use social tools to get closer to prospects and clients.
Exceptional sales pros will use social tools to stand apart from their competitors.
Consider the strengths and weaknesses of the phone, email and Internet channels.
The decision makers you can't reach by phone or email may be accessible through LinkedIn or FaceBook.
You may find that social media tools provide new ways to set expectations, overcome obstacles and streamline complex sales transactions.
As new media guru Chris Brogan points out, social networks are now used frequently by your customers, your prospects, and your competitors.
That's a huge opportunity to join the dialog.
Sales mastery will always be about listening, collaborating and building trust and rapport.
Those who figure out the best ways to use new media to reach these tried-and-true goals will be miles ahead of the pack.
Currently the site is approaching 50 million tweets per day, an average of 600 tweets per second.
Hot enough? If you're following the explosive growth of social channels and wondering how to use them to stand out and sell more, you're not alone.
Many sales and marketing pros recognize the remarkable potential of social media to connect with prospects and gain a competitive advantage.
Far fewer have a plan to put social media to work.
With such staggering numbers, it's likely that the folks you want to do business with are on social media networks.
But what's the most effective way to connect? How do you measure your results? How do you make sure you're using social channels productively? Here are a few tips for putting social media channels to work in sales.
- Align social channels with business goals.
It's been said that if you don't keep score, you're only practicing.
Because social channels are often available at little or no hard cost, they often escape rigorous measurement - but social media isn't free, and there's always opportunity costs to consider.
You can begin by assigning a dollar value to your time and tracking the number of hours spent driving sales through social channels.
It's not an exact science, but you can begin to estimate key metrics like lead volume, lead quality, conversion, cost of leads and cost of sales.
It's also worthwhile to track the quality of prospects you're connecting with through social channels compared with those acquire through other means.
- Check out integrated products.
The first generation of social media tools achieved mass popularity with personal use.
The next generation will include features for core business objectives - closing sales, creating referrals, and retaining clients.
Many sales and marketing applications are incorporating social features.
If you're not sure how to get started, look for social media features and add-ons for your current tools.
If you blog, the WordPress platform has a variety of Plugins to help share and publicize your content.
The Salesforce AppExchange enables developers to create social tools to strengthen the existing Sales, Support, Partner Relationship Management, Marketing, and Analytics solutions many sales pros already rely on.
Facebook to create a fanbase, announce sales - Find your competitive advantage.
Most sales pros will use social tools to get closer to prospects and clients.
Exceptional sales pros will use social tools to stand apart from their competitors.
Consider the strengths and weaknesses of the phone, email and Internet channels.
The decision makers you can't reach by phone or email may be accessible through LinkedIn or FaceBook.
You may find that social media tools provide new ways to set expectations, overcome obstacles and streamline complex sales transactions.
As new media guru Chris Brogan points out, social networks are now used frequently by your customers, your prospects, and your competitors.
That's a huge opportunity to join the dialog.
Sales mastery will always be about listening, collaborating and building trust and rapport.
Those who figure out the best ways to use new media to reach these tried-and-true goals will be miles ahead of the pack.
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