Social selling: How to turn followers into customers
No matter what kind of business you operate, it’s a certainty that most of your customers are on social media. According to Datareportal, in 2024, there were nearly 32 million social media users in Canada, roughly 82% of the population.
Whether they’re scrolling for fun, researching for work or actively shopping, they’re paying attention to what comes up in their feeds. For businesses, platforms like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are for showcasing the benefits of your products or services 24/7.
But how do you turn those followers into customers? Social selling.
Social selling is the process of building a network of prospective clients and cultivating one-on-one relationships with them on social media. Whenever you answer a question directly or send a contact a piece of content over social media—doing things that establish trust and rapport—you’re social selling. The personalized aspect makes it different from social media marketing, which broadcasts a single message to many people.
Here are 6 ways to give your business a boost with social selling.
1. Choose the right platform(s)
Unlike traditional sales techniques, social selling works best when you don’t cast a wide net. Instead, find out where your customers spend time online and educate yourself about how those platforms work.
For example, B2B businesses may find the most traction with their prospects on LinkedIn where they can share industry insights and demonstrate their expertise. B2C companies may attract the most attention by having a presence on Facebook, Instagram or even TikTok, where they can send and receive direct messages to customers about their product.
Here are a few popular platforms for businesses:
More than 24 million Canadians are on LinkedIn, making it the most popular professional networking platform. It’s where people and businesses go to establish a professional presence, build and maintain a network and gather and nurture prospects, among other benefits. LinkedIn is an ideal platform to nurture one-on-one sales relationships by sharing updates, industry insights and other useful information.
Entrepreneurs should have their own profile that details their professional experience and credentials. The business itself should also have a profile. This allows prospects to independently verify the legitimacy of a business and learn more about it and its owner. Entrepreneurs should regularly post and interact with their network. The business page should also have regular posting activity.
Social selling on Facebook is typically more suited to B2C businesses because connections are usually with individuals. It’s recommended that a business creates a company page rather than use a business owner’s individual Facebook profile to make professional connections.
Facebook is a great place to showcase products and services with more sales-oriented messaging. Nurturing leads can come in the form of community management and direct messaging. This could look like answering frequently asked questions from customers, offering care tips for a product and posting how-to videos.
One of the most popular forms of social selling on Instagram is via influencers. These are people who have many followers with whom they have established a deep well of trust. Brands often partner with influencers who have a connection to their industry (e.g. fashion, wellness) to showcase their products or services. This means they’re pitching to an audience of pre-qualified potential customers.
Another way to engage in social selling on Instagram is to have a business account and post videos, product photos and other content. It’s important to get to know your audience and create your own voice. Following the latest social media trends is optional and community management is important.
2. Identify your targets
Once you’ve chosen a social media platform, it’s time to start networking. Identify key decision-makers and influencers you’d like to connect with. Depending on your product or service, your outreach may include CEOs, procurement officers or marketing leaders. When you view a company profile on LinkedIn, check out the “people” section and view the various roles to help you narrow down the right contact for your outreach. The benefit of social media is that it offers an opportunity to connect with people you might never have access to in a face-to-face setting.
Take the time to see who your prospects are connected to on the platform. Pointing out that you have a mutual acquaintance, or a common interest is a great way to establish a rapport. Once connected, don’t rush into a sales pitch. Instead, focus on building a genuine relationship by sharing content, inviting them to events and responding warmly to their posts.
3. Demonstrate your expertise
You can demonstrate that you’ve got comprehensive knowledge of your products and your industry by sharing content that is interesting and helpful for your audience. This could be industry news, insightful articles or your own blog posts. Aim to provide value and spark conversations.
This might include writing a post or sharing a video that offers thought leadership on changes or events in your industry on LinkedIn, sharing an industry-related “hack” for followers on Facebook, or answering frequently asked customer questions on Instagram.
4. Be active on social media
In addition to sending connection requests and nurturing individual connections with direct messages, it’s important to show that you’re interested in participating in online community and industry discourse.
On social media, this looks like offering a thoughtful comment or words of encouragement when people in your network share a post. Reposting is also a popular way to amplify someone’s message and can generate goodwill in many directions if the post is genuinely helpful to others in your network. In general, it’s a good goal to engage with your network by commenting on posts and joining relevant discussions at least a few times a week.
5. Make introductions
Leverage your network to introduce connections to potential clients or partners. This positions you as a valuable resource and strengthens your relationships. People are more likely to reciprocate and refer business back to you.
Although this tactic is most common on LinkedIn, it’s possible to share posts and introduce people on other platforms.
6. Measure, learn and optimize
As in any conversation, listening is half the job. Be sure you’re monitoring what your followers are saying and doing. Look at what kinds of content spark the most reaction and leads to the best conversion rates. And monitor other successful companies in your industry to see what they’re doing on social media.
As you work on one-on-one relationship nurturing, you’ll want to keep track of how many messages you send and to whom. Pay attention to which strategies yield the most engagement—for example, asking a question or sharing an industry insight—and adjust your approach. If you’re on multiple social media platforms, assess where you’re finding the most engagement and success and consider focusing more attention there.
It's important to remember that social selling is a long-term strategy. It’s about nurturing relationships rather than making quick sales. Stay consistent with your efforts, and over time, you’ll build a strong network that can lead to significant business opportunities.
Next step
Plan and organize your social media posts with BDC’s free Social media calendar template.