How Does Sales Automation Fit into Your Social Media Strategy?

by Sparky Powell on November 17, 2009

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Sales AutomationTruthfully, you don’t have time to stay in continuous, effective contact with ALL of your customers and prospects – Especially once you get your Social Media Marketing Program humming along for you. When done right, social media will generate an exponential amount of traffic to your website/blog and a steady flow of new prospects and leads. And yet, continuous, effective contact is the one thing that will separate you from your competitors as well as allow you to close more business.

By automating your follow-up, you are giving yourself a chance to stay in touch without doing any of the work. Simply write the sequence once and you are done. Your prospects and customers will receive perfectly orchestrated (and relevant) sequences when they need them most. You can even automate document delivery when prospects request whitepapers and other downloads from your website.

And even though this is happening automatically and you may feel it is very impersonal – to the person on the other end, it actually feels very real. What you are doing is starting, creating, and nurturing a relationship with everyone who engages with you. They don’t know the sequence is automated.

In fact, before they become customers, many of our prospects respond to our automated messages because they think they are personal communications. And that’s OK with us, because we engage right back – That is what we want!

Tagged as: blog, leads, nurturing, prospects, Sales Automation, Social Media, social media marketing, Social Media University, strategy, website

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Where are my Prospects? Sales & Marketing’s Social Movement

by Sparky Powell on November 10, 2009

Are people taking your cold calls to them? Is your direct mail generating enough response to make it profitable to do? Are you steadily getting in front of new prospects on a regular basis? If you are like most companies, the answer is a big “NO”. It’s not just the economy though; it is also the movement of change. The change that social media is bringing.

Social Media University - Lead Generation - Marketing

Here are some interesting statistics

Statistics on Social Media Users

  • 33% visit social media sites to engage in product research before making a purchasing decision.
  • 47% say social media sites influence their decision to purchase specific companies, services and brands.
  • 26% of respondents changed their minds about purchasing a product after reading about it on a social media site.

Statistics on Online Users

  • 91% say consumer reviews are the #1 aid to buying decisions.
  • 87% trust a friend’s recommendation over a critic’s review.
  • They are 3 times more likely to trust peer opinions over advertising for purchasing decisions.
  • They feel that 1 word-of-mouth conversation has the impact of 200 TV ads.

IN SUMMARY
People are not listening to what you have to say without first listening to their trusted networks.

Social Media isn’t just for social fun

There has been a tremendous surge of businesses moving online to social media over the past several months. The advancements that Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn have made, along with the continuous release of new add-ons and plug-ins to enhance business performance and trackability is further testimony to the movement. Here is a breakdown of activities and how companies have been using social media.

  • 81% Generated exposure for their business
  • 61% Increased subscriber/traffic/opt-in list
  • 56% Resulted in new business partnerships
  • 52% Increased search engine rankings
  • 48% Generated qualified leads
  • 45% Reduced overall marketing expenses
  • 35% Closed more business

It’s not surprising that the largest use, 81%, is to gain additional exposure (also known as impressions). That seems like an obvious use. But what are very surprising are the percentages that follow and the real business value they offer.

Tagged as: buying decision, cold calls, direct mail, Facebook, LinkedIn, marketing, prospects, purchasing decision, qualified leads, sales, Social Media, Social Media University, Twitter, word-of-mouth

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