Social Selling

Social selling is using social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to connect with prospects, establish trusting relationships with them, and convert them into customers without pressuring them into a purchase through hard-sell tactics. It’s about providing users with useful, entertaining, or educational content that fosters trust and helps brands differentiate themselves from competitors.

In this article, we’ll unveil the importance and benefits of social selling, uncover how it works, and what platforms you can use. We’ll also provide a guide on creating a social selling strategy, give you some tips and examples.

Why is social selling important?

• Brands can stand out in a highly competitive environment only when they are ready to adapt to their customers’ preferences, needs, and desires. This involves selecting the right channels, creating relevant offers, and devising effective marketing strategies. As more people switch to social media to research products, find solutions to their problems, and determine their needs, social selling is crucial for every business seeking success. There are even more reasons to consider this technique for your company.
• The opportunity to reach more prospects. According to statistics, Facebook is the most popular social media platform for shopping in the US, with 46% of buyers using the platform for this purpose. This supports the fact that businesses will have a greater opportunity to communicate their marketing message to the right audience and bring more conversions. People use social media for various purposes, including product reviews, peer recommendations, and brand insights.
• Trust and credibility. By sharing useful content, providing valuable insights, and entertaining your target audience, you not only increase your reach and match algorithms but also establish trust. This aspect is crucial because prospects view you not as a brand that merely tries to sell, but as an expert who helps users effectively solve their problems. When there’s trust, people are more likely to buy from you, stick to your brand, and recommend it to others.
• Higher conversions. Social media enables you to interact with potential customers during a specific time and nurture good relationships with them. By doing so, you can generate high-quality leads who are ready to purchase. These people always welcome your promotional messages and consider your product as a solution to their problems.
• Targeted approach. Social media platforms are ideal for businesses that aim to offer personalized services to their customers. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok share audience insights, allowing company owners to tailor messages based on users’ preferences, location, interests, needs, and behavior. When you choose to use sponsored ads, you can always target customers based on their browsing habits or location, making the message relevant. If you share information about products that people are interested in, you are more likely to increase sales while boosting customer satisfaction.
• Shorter sales cycle. When you consistently share content and interact with your audience, you can move your prospects through the sales funnel more quickly. This happens because they already have trust in your brand and are ready to choose your product as a solution. If you have already addressed common questions, resolved problems, and helped make the desired decision, you’ll have higher conversion rates.

Get to know 10 social selling statistics that prove its effectiveness. Now that you understand why social selling is essential for expanding your reach and growing your brand, let’s examine the benefits in more detail. It will help you decide whether this technique is valuable for attaining your business goals.

Benefits of Social Selling

Social selling offers numerous benefits for businesses, particularly when targeting millennials and Gen Z. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are the most effective channels for reaching your potential customers, and we’ll explain why. Here are the main reasons.

• Better relationships with the target audience. If you use social media for your business, you can build strong connections with your customers. These long-term relationships encourage repeat purchases, loyal customers, and referrals.
• Higher brand visibility. When you successfully match algorithms, you can expand your audience and receive recommendations. It means a lot for your business because this allows you to reach people who are ready to buy your products without you having to pay for paid advertising on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
• Long-term value. Not all users make purchases, and that’s a normal practice. However, these prospects usually continue to interact with your brand while using social media platforms. This way, your products remain top of mind until they are ready to be purchased. You don’t need to invest a lot of resources in nurturing these leads and allowing them to take the desired action as soon as they are ready.
• Competitive advantage. Creating good content for your target audience helps you differentiate your brand from others. Funny, entertaining, useful, and intriguing reels are a good way to stand out from the competition and establish an emotional connection with your customers. They will always have reasons to come back to your brand and purchase your products.
• Cost-effectiveness. Social media benefits businesses of all sizes, including startups and those with modest budgets. You don’t need to invest significant resources in running sponsored content or collaborating with micro-influencers. Additionally, you can always grow organically by creating viral content, such as funny reels, helpful posts, and entertaining stories.

Now that you understand the advantages of social selling, it's essential to learn how it works before implementing it. Let’s dive in.

How does social selling work?

To incorporate social selling effectively, you should first understand how it works. We’ll provide this information in this section.

The process begins by establishing an online presence across the relevant social media channels, including LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. By sharing useful, entertaining, or funny videos, businesses establish authority and showcase their expertise to a wide audience. Brands outline their posting schedules and share various content formats, including reels, stories, posts, and sponsored ads, which help them reach the desired audience.

After that, they proceed to determine the right potential customers for them using social media tools. They can leverage sponsored content, collaborations with influencers, hashtags, and LinkedIn search to engage with people who may be interested in their product. Businesses can also identify their target audience by analyzing their competitors' followers and joining industry-related communities.

The next step involves engaging with these people by liking and commenting on their posts where they look for help. Experts can share links to their useful posts, and brands can promote their products by listing all their benefits. Social selling enables marketers to utilize targeted advertising and connect with individuals who meet specific criteria. They can set up location, preferences, and browsing history to target the right people with a relevant offer. This is effective for generating leads without requiring manual contact.

To stay top of mind, brands consistently share educational, entertaining, funny, or useful content. This way, they can appear in “Explore” and expand their reach. The primary task is to create reels and posts that are both catchy and helpful. It helps build brand visibility and encourages trust. Once prospects are ready to buy, businesses should address all their questions and convert them into customers. However, after the purchase, brands also need to stay in touch with clients post-purchase to provide them with all the necessary information and support.

Now that you know how social selling works, let’s proceed to the platforms you can use to your advantage.

6 Key Platforms for Social Selling

Depending on the target audience, you can utilize various platforms, including LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, and YouTube. We’ll unveil the benefits of each below.

• LinkedIn. LinkedIn, with over 1 billion members, is an excellent choice for B2B sales because it allows you to reach decision-makers and discuss all the details of the deal. You can create a profile with insights, case studies, and valuable data to establish credibility and showcase your expertise to partners. LinkedIn Sales Navigator, InMail messages, and group participation enable you to effectively connect with the right people and discuss business opportunities on a more strategic level. LinkedIn is suitable not only for B2B but also for consultants, recruiters, and other business professionals.
• Instagram. With 2 billion active users, Instagram is one of the most widely used social media networks. The platform will suit various brands that focus on the visual representation of their products. These include beauty companies, lifestyle brands, e-commerce platforms, and many more. You can utilize its tools to showcase your products in the best possible way, using features like Stories, Reels, Highlights, influencer collaborations, and sell them through Instagram Shops and direct messages (DMs).
• Facebook. As of 2024, Facebook has 3 billion active monthly users, which makes it the most popular social media platform globally. With this network, you can reach a wide audience, build a community around your brand, and engage effectively with your target audience. This social media network is suitable for both B2C and B2B businesses, regardless of their industry or business size. It has all the necessary tools for seamless selling, including Facebook Shops, Messenger for direct interaction, Facebook Groups, and Facebook Live. They help you generate more prospects and communicate with existing customers, ensuring they remain loyal to your brand.
• TikTok. TikTok, with 135.79 million users, has the largest audience in the US. This platform is ideal for brands targeting younger audiences, such as Gen Z and Millennials, that aim to present their products in an engaging and entertaining manner. The video-focused network is ideal for sharing funny, entertaining, and useful content, as well as discovering trending videos. TikTok’s algorithms enable your business to increase visibility and attract more potential customers without incurring any expenses on paid promotions. Your primary task here is to share videos featuring trending sounds and authentic storytelling, making them engaging and catchy. TikTok Shops, product links in videos, and creator partnerships will enable you to sell your products effortlessly.
• X. 429 million X users worldwide make this platform worth considering for brand promotion. Using this network enables you to connect with users in real-time through news, tech, and startups. You can boost visibility by sharing industry data and participating in discussions. Besides direct communication with users, you can utilize hashtags, threads, and X Spaces (live audio) to foster a stronger connection with your target audience.
• YouTube. YouTube, with 253 million viewers, is an excellent choice for those who want to share long-format videos. If you want to explain complex topics, share testimonials, and conduct webinars, this platform is a great fit for educational materials. By sharing valuable videos according to the schedule, you’ll be able to showcase expertise and gain credibility. YouTube allows video descriptions with product links, provides YouTube Shopping integration, and enables you to create community posts and Shorts.

Now that you understand which platforms are better for your business, it’s time to uncover how to create social selling strategies.

How to create a social selling strategy?

If you're certain about using social media for your company but unsure where to start, we invite you to explore our guide on developing your social selling strategy. You’ll find it below.

1. Determine your key goals. Before diving into the world of social media, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your purpose for using it. Whether you aim to generate more prospects, improve conversions, or increase awareness and visibility, it's essential to outline your goals and use accurate metrics to better achieve them. This will help you later determine whether social media enables you to achieve these objectives. For example, you might want to get 10 sales on Instagram each month.
2. Outline your buyer persona. To provide relevant offers and target the right people, you need to create a detailed profile of your ideal customer. It should cover job title, challenges, preferred social media channels, content type, etc. This information will help you effectively choose social media networks for further interactions, craft the right content, and address their problems successfully. Consider utilizing social media’s specialized tools, such as audience insights, to enhance this buyer persona.
3. Identify the right social media networks. After creating an ideal customer profile, you’ll already know which platforms are best for your target audience. If you are engaged in B2B, it’s better to use LinkedIn. For visual brands targeting young people, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are great options. However, always pay attention to your audience and their preferred channels.
4. Work on your content plan. Social media isn’t the same as phone calls, where you instantly sell. Here, you should present your brand from its best perspective and earn the audience’s trust. Only after this, you’ll be able to see higher conversion rates. To achieve this, you need to create high-quality content that educates, entertains, or engages your audience. How-tos, tips, and guides are perfect for educating your audience. With polls, questions, and carousels, you can grab attention and interact with your followers. Additionally, consistency is crucial when establishing strong connections with your audience, so having a content plan is essential. Once you have one, stick to it. For example, if you post 3 times a week, do it regularly every week.
5. Establish contact with your audience. Engaging with your audience is crucial for demonstrating care and capturing attention for your brand. You should respond to users’ comments under your posts, share their user-generated content, answer their DMs, like their posts related to your products, etc. This will encourage trust and increase satisfaction.

Now that you have a basic understanding of how to create a social selling strategy, it’s time to proceed to the tips. They will help you find the right focus and ensure everything is in place for a successful implementation.

To successfully implement social selling into your business, you need to understand which areas need your close attention. We’ll provide you with some practical tips to maximize your brand promotion on social media networks.

1. Research your target audience. Before sharing content on your social media profiles, analyze your audience’s preferences, needs, and challenges to understand what they really want. After receiving this information, you’ll be able to craft messages that are relevant and effective in converting prospects into customers.
2. Build a professional brand profile. When you just start with social selling, it’s essential to create a professional and customer-focused profile. Use a high-quality profile photo, craft a bio that shows your business, and add an appealing headline. Your business page should cover all the essential information for customers, including testimonials, case studies, and links to your portfolio.
3. Personalize your messages. Whether you prefer creating reels, stories, highlights, or posts, and running paid ads, they should be tailored to your audience. This means that if you decide to kickstart targeted advertising, it’s crucial to reach prospects based on their location, needs, and browsing history to ensure that your offer is relevant.
4. Take advantage of social listening. Pay attention to keywords, hashtags, and conversations associated with your industry. After identifying the groups where your target audience prefers to spend time, consider joining these communities. By being active in these groups and sharing helpful information, you’ll be able to demonstrate your experience and establish authority. These people will explore your content and consider purchasing from you when your product meets their expectations.
5. Be consistent in your interactions. Stick to a predefined schedule so that users know when to expect your content. For better effectiveness and higher visibility, consider posting regularly around 3-5 times per week. You should also be consistent with your brand voice and content topics. When you select a specific niche, it’s preferable to consistently post content related to it. It positions you as an expert in a specific industry, rather than a brand discussing everything in general. This approach will help you build trust and remain top of mind for social media users.
6. Prioritize value rather than sales. Social media is about building strong relationships with your audience through useful content that helps solve problems. That’s why it’s essential to combine different content formats to deliver value to your followers. Your primary task here is to educate, share useful resources, inspire, or entertain to achieve the desired results. Sales pitches don’t work here because everybody focuses on establishing connections and providing value.
7. Try commenting for higher visibility. It’s always a good idea to talk about your product in comments. You can share information about your brand under posts in groups and communities related to your industry. People reading comments might notice your product and consider it for solving their problems. Sometimes it’s even more effective than adding posts to your profile. You can also initiate discussions and encourage people to comment, which can lead to increased brand awareness and improved product visibility.
8. Focus on building relationships with followers. Your social media profiles shouldn’t just sell; rather, they should make followers feel comfortable, inspired, educated, or entertained. Everything depends on your product. Engage with your audience in all possible ways, including posting, commenting, responding to users’ DMs, liking their responses, etc.
9. Take advantage of collaboration with influencers. If you're just starting with social selling and need to establish a follower base, consider partnering with opinion leaders. There’s no need to overpay for macroinfluencers because their audience isn’t 100% active. It’s better to choose micro-influencers who have good relationships with their audiences and a large number of active followers. When people trust recommendations, they are more likely to explore your offers. As a result, you’ll have more followers, higher visibility, and better brand awareness.

Now that you know the tips, it’s time to proceed to the examples and grab some inspiration. After exploring them, you’ll be able to reap the benefits of selling on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and others. So let’s dive in.

Examples of Social Selling

To understand how social selling works, you need to see the examples in real life. That’s why we’ll show you how famous brands take advantage of social media networks and succeed in reaching their goals.

iHerb — sponsored content

Many brands use targeted advertising to communicate with the right audience, and iHerb is no exception. The well-known online retailer, which offers health and wellness products, runs ads on Instagram to deliver its promotional message to a wider audience interested in purchasing the company’s products. This ad targets individuals who have already searched for specific wellness products, visited the business’s website, or compared it to competitors. Its smart targeting enables iHerb to interact with the right people, provide them with relevant offers, and let them make instant purchases using Instagram Shop.

Nike — collaboration with opinion leaders

Nike utilizes social media to its advantage in various ways, one of which is through partnerships with influential individuals. In the example below, you can see that the world-renowned company has created a signature shoe with A’ja Wilson, an American basketball player. By developing special sneakers, the company managed to attract more attention, increase awareness, and drive sales.

Rare Beauty

Rare Beauty is an excellent example of how to effectively utilize user-generated content to expand your reach, build trust, and foster loyalty. The brand encourages users to share their own content (UGC) to showcase the benefits of its products and genuine reviews, including information about the quality. By adding videos created by its customers, Rare Beauty generates even more feedback and reviews, which are crucial for informed purchasing decisions. When existing customers review and recommend Rare Beauty’s products, this is an effective strategy for driving even more sales.

Social selling is a powerful marketing tool that, in today's modern world, is essential for reaching young audiences and promoting products. However, to make the most of it, you should clearly understand your target audience, their preferences, and the most effective communication channels. With a proper strategy and content, you can attain various goals, such as a wider reach, more conversions, higher visibility, and increased brand recognition. Hope that our tips will come in handy the day you decide to implement social selling for your business.

Last Updated: 13.06.2025