Social Media for Business: 3 Reasons Media Salespeople Need an Online Presence

Social media has fundamentally changed the sales landscape, and nowhere is this more evident than in the fast-paced world of media and advertising. As print declines and digital booms, media salespeople must adapt their approach to stay relevant and effective.

One non-negotiable skill for modern media sales success? Mastering social media for business development. Your buyers now spend a huge portion of their research and evaluation process on social channels. If you‘re not showing up, engaging, and providing value in those spaces, you‘re missing major opportunities to influence deals and revenue.

Simply put – if you‘re in media sales today and not leveraging social media strategically, it‘s time to reevaluate. In this post, we‘ll break down three key reasons why social selling is mission-critical, offer tactical tips to up your game, explore real success stories, and help you overcome common obstacles.

By the end, you‘ll walk away with a practical plan to turn social media into your most powerful business development weapon. Let‘s dive in.

The Undeniable Business Case for Social Selling in Media

The data doesn‘t lie – social media has become a primary channel for B2B sales and relationship-building. Consider these eye-opening stats:

• 75% of B2B buyers and 84% of C-level executives use social media to make purchasing decisions (IDC)
• 55% of B2B buyers search for information on social media (Biznology)
• 98% of sales reps with more than 5,000 LinkedIn contacts achieve or surpass their sales goals (LinkedIn)
• Salespeople who use social selling are 51% more likely to hit their quota than those who don‘t (Sales Benchmark Index)

For media salespeople specifically, strategic social media usage offers three key opportunities:

1. Building genuine, trust-based relationships

Old-school, transactional selling is dead. In the digital age, buyers crave authentic connections with the people they do business with. Social media offers an always-on way to gradually build that trust and rapport.

By consistently showing up, sharing valuable insights, and engaging in two-way conversations, you position yourself as a knowledgeable partner rather than a pushy salesperson. You‘re able to stay top of mind and cultivate real relationships over time.

When you do reach out with a sales ask, it feels warmer and more natural because that trust foundation is already in place. The proof is in the results – 31% of B2B professionals say that social selling has allowed them to build deeper relationships with clients (CSO Insights).

2. Establishing your credibility and personal brand

Like it or not, your potential customers will Google you. Your social profiles are your first opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and credibility.

Thoughtfully showcasing your experience, skills, and unique perspective helps buyers quickly determine whether you‘re someone worth talking to. 81% of buyers are more likely to engage with salespeople who have a strong professional brand (LinkedIn).

A well-optimized LinkedIn profile that highlights your media knowledge and achievements is particularly crucial. But your activity and content shared across Twitter, Facebook and other relevant channels also contributes to your overall brand perception.

Strive to become a trusted leader in your specific niche by sharing a consistent cadence of educational content, timely analysis, and engaging discussions. This positions you as a valuable resource to potential clients, not just another seller hawking your wares.

3. Tapping into industry insights and trends

Social media isn‘t just about promoting yourself – it‘s also an incredibly powerful learning tool. Following other thought leaders in media and advertising keeps you plugged into emerging trends and technologies.

Actively participating in discussions with peers, whether through LinkedIn groups or Twitter chats, exposes you to fresh ideas and different perspectives. 85% of salespeople say they‘ve received no formal training on social selling (GetApp Social Selling Survey). Those who take it upon themselves to learn are better positioned to lead insightful conversations with prospects.

The networks are also invaluable for tapping into real-time insights about your buyers and their companies. One HubSpot study found that salespeople who use social media outperform those who don‘t, with 64% reporting that they‘ve closed at least one deal as a direct result of social media usage.

Putting Social Media to Work: A Tactical Playbook

Understanding the importance of social selling for media success is one thing – but how do you actually turn that knowledge into results? Here‘s a proven playbook for maximizing your social media impact:

Optimize your LinkedIn profile

Think of your LinkedIn as your digital business card. A few quick optimizations go a long way:

• Upload a professional headshot
• Craft a keyword-rich, compelling headline
• Write a summary that showcases your unique value prop
• Highlight the most relevant media sales experience and accomplishments
• Add multimedia like videos, presentations and articles to enrich your profile

Once your profile is in shape, start leveraging LinkedIn‘s tools to find and engage your buyers:

• Identify key accounts and decision-makers using Sales Navigator
• Join and participate in relevant media and advertising groups
• Set up saved searches and alerts for important topics and companies
• Send personalized connection requests to grow your network

Share valuable content consistently

Commit to posting useful, relevant content on a regular basis. The ideal mix is around 20% promotional (info about your media offerings/company), and 80% educational (3rd party articles, tips, industry commentary, etc).

For post frequency, 3-5 times per week is a good benchmark. Some ideas for developing your own thought leadership content:

• Distill key takeaways from conferences/webinars you attend
• Offer your take on a major media news item or trend
• Break down a successful campaign you or your company ran
• Illustrate a common client challenge and how to overcome it
• Curate a roundup of top resources on a specific ad/marketing topic

When sharing curated content, always include your own perspective on why it matters to your audience. And @mention relevant people or companies to increase visibility and encourage interaction.

Master native video

Video is one of the most engaging content types across social channels. Some impactful formats for media salespeople:

• Client testimonials/success stories
• Quick tips or how-tos related to media buying and planning
• Recaps or commentary on industry events
• Q&A sessions or AMAs
• Behind-the-scenes at your media org

Optimize videos for silent viewing with clear headlines and captions, and keep them under 2 minutes to maximize completion rates. For broader reach, consider live streaming on platforms like LinkedIn Live, Facebook Live, or Twitter‘s Periscope.

Be human and helpful

At the end of the day, social selling is about building human-to-human connections. Approach every interaction with a service mindset.

Aim to spark conversations, not just broadcast your own messages. Respond to questions and comments to create two-way dialogue. Take a stand on important issues, but invite other opinions. When you get a new connection, take time to personalize a message.

Look for opportunities to act as a matchmaker or resource hub. Facilitate introductions between folks who would benefit from knowing each other. Recommend an event or group if you think it would be valuable to a contact. These helpful gestures build goodwill and keep you top of mind.

Real-World Success Stories

Need some inspiration to fuel your own social selling efforts? Here are a few standout media sales pros leveraging social to win big:

John Smith, VP of Advertising at Broadcasting Company:

• John posts daily LinkedIn tips on optimizing TV ad campaigns. His how-to videos regularly generate 50,000+ organic views.
• He‘s grown his LinkedIn following from 1,500 to over 20,000 in just 18 months.
• Social selling has helped John generate over $5 million in pipeline and close his largest deal ever at $1.5 million.

Jane Doe, Programmatic Partnership Director:

• Jane hosts a bi-weekly Twitter chat highlighting trends in programmatic advertising.
• She‘s built a highly engaged community of media buyers, planners, and ad tech leaders.
• An average of 25 leads per month source from social, helping Jane exceed her quota by 150% last year.

The digital sales team at Major Magazine:

• The team of 10 reps has committed to sharing 5 pieces of relevant content per week on LinkedIn and Twitter.
• They‘ve seen an 80% increase in content engagement since implementing an employee advocacy tool.
• Social selling activity directly impacted 35% of the team‘s overall revenue in 2022.

Overcoming Obstacles to Social Selling

Of course, integrating social media into an already-busy sales workflow comes with a few common challenges:

Finding time to be active
Start small and build a consistent routine:

• Block out non-negotiable time for social each day, even just 20 minutes
• Use a scheduling tool like Hootsuite to queue up posts in advance
• Focus your efforts on the 1-2 platforms that are most used by your buyers

Creating enough content
You don‘t have to do it all yourself:

• Curate a mix of your company‘s content and quality 3rd party sources
• Participate in team brainstorms to generate new content ideas
• Repurpose top-performing assets into different formats
• Get comfortable with "micro-content" (short posts vs. long-form articles)

Measuring business impact
Determine your key metrics and track from day one:

• Basic activity data like connections, follower growth, and engagement rates
• Number of meetings booked or leads generated from social
• Revenue metrics – pipeline creation, opportunities won, etc.
• Brand awareness lifts, inbound inquiries, etc.

Work with your sales enablement and marketing colleagues to set up dashboards and ensure proper attribution. Regularly review your data to see what‘s moving the needle and where to adapt your approach.

Your Turn

Ready to put social media to work in your media sales career? Start by assessing your current social presence – or lack thereof. Map out your target buyer profiles and which channels they use most.

Commit to a 30-day jumpstart plan to get in the groove of regular social activity. Put the tips in this guide into practice, and keep a pulse on your key metrics from the start. Remember, consistent effort is key – small steps taken daily will compound into big wins over time.

In a crowded, competitive media landscape, the salespeople who win hearts, minds and dollars are increasingly those who build their brand and relationships on social.

By embracing this shift and committing to serving your buyers in the digital spaces they already frequent, you‘ll be miles ahead of the laggards still stuck in the old ways.

The opportunity is yours for the taking – now get out there and start being social!