Social Selling: An Effective Way to Increase Sales

🟡What is contained in the following article?

• What is Social Selling?
• Why is Social Selling important?
• How to bring Social Selling into your company
• Social Selling on LinkedIn
• How to optimize Social Selling
• Monitor the Social Selling Index
• How to plan and prepare social media content
• What to publish on Social Media?
• How often should you post on LinkedIn?
• What themes work best in Social Selling?
• Sales and Marketing collaboration
• Summary and implementation of Social Selling

Social Selling is a modern sales strategy that uses social media to build relationships with current and potential customers, generate leads, and achieve business goals.

It’s a long-term process that relies on the sales representative’s strong personal brand, as well as their openness and motivation to share knowledge and discuss industry issues. The key to effective social selling lies in consistency, building a social media network, and earning the trust of the audience.

Sounds easy, right? Challenges arise when weeks of activity don’t translate into sales leads. That’s when motivation tends to plummet, causing many people to claim that social selling doesn’t work. In reality, it does work, but it should be regarded as one of the building blocks of the sales process, not a shortcut to success. In this article, we’ll discuss the best tips for acquiring customers through social media, with a particular focus on LinkedIn, where we’ve been running ambassador programs for the past 6 years.

Traditional methods of operation, such as cold calling or mass mailings, are not only becoming ineffective but are often illegal. Sending out offers blindly, without knowing the needs of the target group, won’t work in 2025. That’s why sales professionals who are attuned to market trends explore other methods, and the top performers engage in conscious social media activity.Salespeople who can effectively use social selling have 45% more sales opportunities, 51% higher odds of hitting their quota, and a 78% chance of outperforming competitors who don’t use social media (acc. to LinkedIn Sales Solutions).

First and foremost, effective social selling isn’t “pushy”, so that people don’t feel pressured to do or buy anything. It doesn’t involve sending a pitch in the first message, as that’s the fast track to being ignored.

The key is to reach your target audience through social media and build credibility – you want people to think, “This person really knows what they’re doing.” The purpose of developing a sales representative’s personal brand is to build trust and long-term relationships that lead to sales conversations and, eventually, buying decisions.

The success of your social selling efforts depends on how much time and energy you invest in building your online presence as a trusted expert. Let’s explore key focus areas and practical tips for effective LinkedIn sales.

Choose the Right Platforms

Are you puzzling over which social media channels are right for your strategy? Can’t decide if you should post on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or maybe X? While being active on every platform might seem like a way to expand your reach, it often means dividing your attention and spending countless hours on social media. And let’s face it –  a salesperson’s time is not unlimited.

Our advice? Start with where your target group actually is. Take time to research your current and potential customers on social media to see where they’re most active. Rely on data, not intuition.

Social Selling on LinkedIn

For us and our clients, LinkedIn is the obvious choice. It’s a platform built for professionals where experts from different industries share knowledge and build relationships through in-depth discussions. As of 2024, the platform boasts over 8 million registered accounts, with a growth rate of 22%.

75% of B2B buyers use social media to make business decisions, and 50% of them turn to LinkedIn as a trusted source of information (acc. to LinkedIn Sales Solutions).

We’re willing to bet that your competitors are already there, running company pages and encouraging employees to get involved through employee advocacy programs.

Monitor Social Media Activity

Publishing content isn’t enough – you also need to track its performance. Sharebee makes social selling easy to manage. Features like a content library, an AI-assisted writing tool, and an inspiration calendar help you maintain consistency.

Live analytics let you monitor content performance and motivate users through gamification. Nothing drives sales teams like a bit of healthy competition.

The goal of social selling is, of course, to sell. But the path to success is through the proper use of social media: regular publishing, expanding networks, and encouraging potential customers to exchange opinions. Those are the activities that truly move the needle.

Monitor the Social Selling Index

The Social Selling Index (SSI), developed by LinkedIn, measures the effectiveness of sales efforts on the platform. It evaluates four key areas: personal branding, relationship-building, content engagement, and attracting potential customers.

The SSI ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting greater efficiency. It uses daily user activity data and updates weekly. The index consists of four components. You can find out more about checking the Social Selling Index in a separate article.

The success of your social selling efforts depends on the content you share. It should be professional, insightful, trustworthy—and engaging. Conscious use of social media goes beyond publishing – it means inviting potential customers to join the conversation.

By engaging in discussions and providing valuable information, you earn the trust of your audience. This helps you build the relationships that are the foundation of successful B2B sales.

What to Publish on Social Media?

Again, much depends on your audience – but also on the formats you’re most comfortable with. While writing posts and creating graphics are relatively easy, producing professional webinars, podcasts, or videos may require assistance.

A varied content mix will ensure that your connections and followers will not get bored, and the algorithms will work in your favor. The visual aspects and quality of the content translate into a positive brand image and your reputation as an expert. It’s also important to be consistent, as this helps potential customers identify your content with you or the company.

What Themes Work Best in Social Selling?

The most effective way to create social media content is to understand the challenges faced by your prospects. Answering their most common questions is a much better strategy than sharing generalities.

Potential customers are always looking for ways to improve how their company operates. If you offer them concrete solutions, implementation examples, and valuable insights, you’re not just another sales rep – you’re a partner in conversation.

How to get in touch with your target audience? The best way is to join relevant discussions in the comments of other people’s posts. And if you want to scale your social selling efforts, being active and present at industry events – both virtual and in-person – is a smart strategy.

In practice, social selling isn’t just a sales initiative. It requires close cooperation with marketing, which often has more experience in social media communication.

Answer the following questions:

• Do you have access to your company’s marketing materials?
• Is there a company blog that you can use as a source of inspiration?
• Can you direct potential customers to your current website to help them make a purchase decision?
• Are the marketing efforts aligned with sales goals and do they reach prospects?
• Does your company run personalized ad campaigns?

If you work at a small organization or run your own small business, you need to accept some limits and invest in your content creation skills. The quality of your posts affects both your selling opportunities and your professional image.

Now you know how to plan and implement social selling. You also know that in today’s world, social media communication is an effective way to generate leads.

Social selling works when you understand the potential of social media and use it as one of the important channels of market communication. It won’t deliver overnight results, as the process takes time and regularity. But it definitely pays off.

If you’re looking to bring your sales team onto LinkedIn while also keeping track of your social selling performance, Sharebee is the perfect partner to support you every step of the way.