Social Media for Sales

Let me start by clarifying that this has nothing to do with buying or selling on social media. I am not a fan of the phrase “social selling”. This is a summary of what I have learned in my decade as a Marketer within Sales Enablement.

“Please stop tweeting!”

Believe it or not, it was once my job to ask sales people not to tweet. Why? Because they were disclosing confidential information. When Twitter was new, many people didn’t realize that their tweets were indeed public. Instead, I asked my teammates within Worldwide Sales to use internal forums for sharing best practices and asking for help. That was in 2009.

In 2012, I became Cisco’s first Social Ambassador, and partnered with the Corporate Marketing team to help build training for the adventurous early adopters who wanted to use social media as part of their jobs. I was part of a Sales Executive’s communication team, then. Learning about social media was my “special project”. In 2016, it is my job to train teams within Worldwide Sales on digital storytelling and distribution via social media channels. All of our jobs have been transformed.

“Where did Blab go?”

I shared my Twitter story in rich detail during a Blab earlier this year. I hesitate to share the link to that recording because Blab no longer exists as a platform. The people who built it have decided to stop working on it because live-streaming simply didn’t pay off as a product. It didn’t work for Blab. It didn’t work for Meerkat.

Platforms come and go.  I will miss Blab because it was a great way to have live conversations with friends inside and outside the company.  Its public nature, gave newcomers the chance to join in any time, and that’s exactly how I met a lot of cool tech disruptors, such as Aseel and Shaan.

“Tag me”

If you know me, you know that Twitter is my favorite social media app. It works well for the work I do because it’s real-time, concise, and highly personal… when used properly. I hope Twitter endures, because it’s an app I use every day. I’m also happy to see that many of my teammates within Worldwide Sales are embracing Twitter, and more importantly the training that our team offers. Share your work! But be smart about how you do that.  When you’re ready to celebrate a milestone, make sure to tag or mention your team members. Tagging (or mentioning) works within LinkedIn, Twitter, Vine, Periscope, Instagram and Facebook.

“Facebook is for friends and family”

Love it or hate it, Facebook is where your aunt wants to plan your next family reunion, your neighbors want to share pictures of BBQs, and your high-school mates try to check your relationship status. When you do log in to Facebook, if you log in to Facebook at all, you don’t want anyone trying to sell you anything. As a Marketer, knowing this drives me crazy. As a Facebook user, I couldn’t agree more.

So how do we use Facebook for work? Mainly as a family album of team building days, milestones and events. When you love where you work, your colleagues become part of your family.

“Add me on LinkedIn”

There is one place where even people who will never use Facebook have to be: LinkedIn. Why? Because if you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, you don’t have a résumé. It’s that simple. Many recruiters source exclusively on LinkedIn, or at least expect you to prove your professional existence there.

Having accepted and created this business version of ourselves, we are also more receptive to reading industry news on LinkedIn, than on other platforms. And because LinkedIn isn’t Facebook, we shake our heads when people share daily personal updates there. Each of these social media apps have differentiated themselves successfully.

“I need a better camera”

The words we choose vary based on the app we fire up. Notice I have referred to apps rather than websites, because the mobile user experience is now the default.

Mobility is synonymous with phones. But I bet the next time you think about upgrading your mobile device, it will be because you want a better camera, to capture sound, video and images. We are moving beyond words. Let’s learn more about that together. Just follow the hashtags.

What is your favorite social media app and how do you use it for work?

Follow Silvia Spiva @silviakspiva
http://www.linkedin.com/in/silviakspiva