lccuk.org

byAlma Abell

It is difficult to find a person today who doesn’t have a Facebook page for interactions with friends and family. It is also very uncommon to find a business professional that doesn’t have a personal LinkedIn page, particularly if they are working for a company involved in B2B sales.

It is less common to find a company that has a well-designed business page on LinkedIn, or that accurately and effectively uses other social media platforms such as a Facebook or Twitter. For B2B sales, any social sales trainer will recommend focusing on LinkedIn as this is the most likely place to generate qualified leads, network and become a trusted resource for prospective clients.

This overwhelming interconnectedness with social media sites, at least on a personal level, can create a false sense of understanding how to use the sites for actual business to business sales and marketing. As a business owner or manager, there are important telltale signs that you need to bring a trainer in to get your staff up to speed on how to use social media marketing to your company’s advantage.

Problem Profiles

As a business manager or owner, taking the time to look at your employees’ professional profiles on LinkedIn can be an eye opening experience. A social sales trainer can work through the best development of a positive profile with the group, allowing for each staff member to make the necessary changes.

Common problematic issues include:

• Inappropriate, low quality or silly photographs rather than professional looking photos

• Missing photos or the use of standard placeholders

• Incomplete summaries or inaccurate summaries

• No headlines or no keywords in the headlines

• Irrelevant information on the summary or history part of the profile

The company profile page should also include the use of keywords, a catchy headline and a summary with a call to action to drive qualified leads to your website.

Lack of Uniform Messaging

Another element that is important is the uniform messaging about the business throughout the profiles as well as across the corporate site. This can include missing addresses and phone numbers, old information, or incorrect information.

Other factors such as promotions, links and advertising campaigns may be incorrect across different social media sites. Your social sales trainer will teach your sales staff to monitor these issues and create a comprehensive and consistent message.

You may also find that people on your sales and marketing teams have profiles, but they really aren’t sure what to do next. The trainer can work with your staff to learn how to engage leads, generate interest and network with potential new businesses in highly effective ways.