The Art of Social Selling: Finding and Engaging Customers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Other Social Networks

by Shannon Belew

This book presents a detailed methodology for growing sales and expanding their customer base via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other social media platforms.

Internet marketing strategies have evolved well past the days of purchasing banner space on popular websites and hoping the right customers stumble upon it during their late-night searches. With the explosion of social media platforms, businesses can now tap into specific online communities and be confident that they are communicating directly and regularly with their target audience.

Citing enlightening research and real-world examples, The Art of Social Selling will show you how

Use content and conversations to build online relationships that transition to salesExecute realistic sales strategies for each of the major social media platformsSpot social media trends that may influence future buying behaviorsSell online in B2B and B2C environmentsTurn social shares (likes, favorites, +1s) into social salesSet tangible goalsUse online tools and analytics to track social influencers and identify relevant conversations as they are happeningComplete with a chapter dedicated to capturing mobile sales--a segment currently exploding as the adoption of smartphones and tablets continues to grow--this invaluable guide is a must-have resource for sales professionals in every industry.

Genres: Business, Psychology, Audiobook

351 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Fiona Forthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is geared more toward salespeople at fairly large companies, but the strategies on using social media are still helpful and there are good takeaways that anyone can use.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview for beginners on how to use social media to increase sales. It was written in 2014, so keep that in mind as the social media landscape is constantly changing each day, but the strategies can still be applied across various channels. I rate it 4 stars for beginners, but if you're already familiar with using social media as a marketing tool, you probably already know this stuff.

[Claudette · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Audiobook) This book seems a bit outdated as social media platforms change constantly, however, the principles of selling online are still the same. The book focuses on B2B and B2C social media selling techniques.

[Edythe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shannon Belew, a professional in her industry, has well written a book with resourceful information. She explains the importance to incorporate and use social media in your sales field to attract potential customers. “Somewhere along the way, people transitioned from using social media merely as a way to commemorate small milestones….to a medium…building business relationships.” Ms. Belew relays this information straight, no chaser. She immediately offers you to engage with her social media networks on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and Google+.
She further shares that there are two tiers of social networks. Tier 1: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linked In. Tier 2: YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Slide Share. She informs that blogs have a narrow focus with an easy identifying target. As you read further, you learn that customer care is still a key process, “everyone in the company must care, every time.” Also, there must be an immediate response to a customer’s inquiry (1-3 days). You will learn that there are ten rules to online social interaction, a few being Listen, Listen, Listen and maintaining separation of professional and personal.
In Chapter 5: Tweets, Like, Comments, and Recommendations, you learn online reviews is Word-of-Mouth Marketing on Steriods. I can relate to this with my experience using Twitter and Facebook. Ms. Belew shares that you must create good visual and text content when engaging on social networks to attract potential clients: Text Content: Linked In – connections to sales, Twitter – 140 characters or less (microblogging site), Facebook – fans to customers, Google+ - circles to opportunites, and for Visual Content: Pinterest – pins to customers, Slide Share – presentations.
She uses case studies and has related notes for every chapter. Included is a free sample chapter from ‘New Sales, Simplified’ by Mike Weinberg.
I recommend Ms. Belew’s book to all sales professionals needing a no-nonsense approach using social media to enhance building business relationships.
(I received this book for free from O’Reilly Media for this review)

[Prasanna]

Review Published on: http://bookreviews.infoversant.com/ar...

The book is focused on a single topic, compared to some other books that try to cram everything in one. The author uses many examples and covers different sales scenarios, which makes it easy to understand. The Art of Social Selling covers everything you need to know about social media to exploit it for business. The audience is everyone in the marketing function and small business owners who will be managing social media campaigns on their own.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book thinking that it might benefit small business owners. Unfortunately, it doesn't, as the content is almost entirely geared towards social selling in big business and corporations.

While it wasn't quite what I was expecting when I purchased it for a friend, I'm definitely glad it's now ended up on my personal bookshelf. As long as the audience is appropriate, it's a great book full of useful advice for social selling, addressing profile ownership issues in a large offices, and basic reenforcement of social media best practices.

[Janet Barclay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Social media is an extremely popular method of marketing. It’s relatively inexpensive, it’s far-reaching, and it’s fun. It’s gratifying when people follow you, share your content, and engage with your business. But are your social media activities helping to increase your bottom line?

Read my full review

[Steve Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of interesting bits of information and some good advice about strategy and tactics in social media marketing. I didn't finish listening because I determined that the topic was of less interest than the presentation.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough overview of how to use social media to market/sell. It helped to inspire several good ideas, thoughts, and concerns about how social media marketing works for different brands/products.

[Michael Compton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough book, especially useful for bricks-and-mortar stores and online merchants, but plenty for authors and other content creators as well. Covers all platforms, provides many resources.

[Anwer Qureishi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good starting point for someone new to social world