When you want to buy a product or service, but don’t know where to buy it, how do you start your research? In the days of yore, you might talk to business owners directly. You might also have asked friends and family for a recommendation. Today, people are still doing both of those, but it’s taking place on social media.

What does that mean for you and your business? If you are selling products or services online, you should be selling via Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media platforms. 

There are many facets of “social selling.” To give your business the broadest exposure possible, leading to more sales, you’ll want to incorporate social selling into your marketing strategy as thoroughly as possible.

Let’s break down social selling—what it is, why it matters, and how you can incorporate it into your marketing strategy.

What is social selling?

Social selling is just what it sounds like—the sale and advertisement of products and services via social media. 

In recent years, social media platforms, notably Facebook and Instagram, have added features to help sellers on their platforms. Both platforms enable businesses to create pages just for their business. Within those pages are numerous features that allow businesses to advertise and connect with potential customers. 

Businesses can fill their Facebook page with information about their business, including their website, contact info, and story. Customers can also leave reviews on Facebook business pages. All of this is vital for marketing a business and finding customers.

Today, businesses can do more than market their business on social media. Online stores can now open up shop on their social pages, displaying products directly on their Facebook page. As for Instagram, since Facebook now owns it, businesses can easily link their Facebook shop to their Instagram business page and tag photos of their products. 

Both platforms will direct customers to your website to complete the purchase. Note that this feature is only available to businesses that sell physical items.

Why should you sell on social media?

It’s always a smart marketing tactic to meet customers where they are. Today, they’re online. Specifically, they’re on Facebook and Instagram. Luckily, it’s easier than ever to reach customers on these platforms, thanks to a handful of helpful features listed above.

In addition to displaying your products and business information for potential customers to see, Facebook allows you to reach a much wider audience than you’d ever manage to find on your own. 

Between Facebook’s recommendation feature and all the ways Facebook allows you to build credibility and find new customers (shares, tags, comments, hashtags, ratings, reviews, etc.), there are numerous invaluable ways social media can boost your business’s sales.

Are you looking for help with adding “social selling” to your marketing strategy? Look no further than Web Rocket Media. Web Rocket Media is a digital marketing agency in Long Island, New York. We create desirable, usable, useful, and valuable digital products for clients. Contact us today!