The Definitive Guide to Social Selling in 2024: Statistics and Best Practices

Social selling has become a cornerstone of modern sales strategies. It leverages social media platforms to connect with, nurture, and convert potential customers in a non-intrusive way. This article explores key social selling statistics and best practices to empower businesses to maximize their ROI.

The Power of Social Selling

• Measurable Impact: HubSpot research indicates that 87% of salespeople find social selling effective, with 59% reporting increased sales through social media channels.
• Complementary Approach: Social selling complements traditional channels, not replaces them. 94% of social sellers continue to leverage their websites and third-party marketplaces.
• Targeted Audience: Over half of social sellers consider audience targeting a key benefit. Platforms like LinkedIn Sales Navigator facilitate precise targeting.

What are the Four Pillars of Social Selling?

Social selling has emerged as a crucial strategy for modern sales professionals. It leverages social media platforms to build relationships, identify prospects, and ultimately drive sales. Effective social selling is built on four key pillars:

1. Personal Branding
   Establishing a strong personal brand is foundational to social selling. It involves curating a professional online presence that showcases your expertise and credibility. By consistently sharing valuable insights, demonstrating your knowledge in your field, and engaging with relevant content, you position yourself as a thought leader. This not only attracts potential clients but also builds trust and recognition in your industry.
2. Targeted Prospecting
   Targeted prospecting is the process of identifying and connecting with the right prospects who fit your ideal customer profile. This involves using social media platforms to research and pinpoint individuals or businesses that are most likely to benefit from your product or service. Effective prospecting ensures that your efforts are focused on high-quality leads, increasing the chances of successful conversions.
3. Engaging Insights
   Providing engaging insights is about delivering valuable and relevant content to your audience. This content should educate, inspire, and provoke thoughtful discussions. By sharing industry news, expert opinions, case studies, and practical tips, you can engage your audience in meaningful ways. This not only keeps your network informed but also positions you as a resourceful and knowledgeable professional.
4. Building Relationships
   Building relationships is at the heart of social selling. It involves actively engaging with your network, nurturing connections, and fostering trust. This can be achieved through regular interactions, personalized communication, and genuine interest in your connections’ needs and challenges. Strong relationships lead to loyalty, referrals, and long-term business success.

Building Trust and Relationships

• Revenue Growth: Organizations embracing social selling report a significant revenue boost, with 61% experiencing growth according to HubSpot.
• Increased Deal Flow: Sales professionals who leverage social selling close 40-50% more deals compared to those who don’t, as highlighted by various studies.
• Sales Channel Effectiveness: Social media ranks fourth among the most effective sales channels, as per HubSpot’s 2024 State of Sales report.
• Influencer Recommendations: 25% of social media users have purchased based on influencer recommendations.
• Active community Engagement: Active community engagement (64%) is the most effective method to encourage UGC, followed by incentives (discounts, rewards).
• Building a community and actively engaging with it is the most crucial feature for social media platforms in social selling (45% of sellers).
• Organizations engaged in social selling report a 61% increase in revenue.
• Social sellers close 40-50% more deals than those who don’t (HubSpot).

Optimizing Social Commerce Platforms

• Consumer Trust: Facebook reigns supreme as the most trusted social shopping platform, followed by YouTube and Instagram (HubSpot, 2023).
• In-Platform Shopping: Facebook further excels in in-platform shopping experience, followed by Instagram. While TikTok is less trusted, Gen Z heavily utilizes it.

Customer Engagement: Understanding Buyer Behavior

• Global Reach: As of January 2024, the number of social media users worldwide has reached 5.04 billion.
• Self-Directed Research: HubSpot’s 2024 State of Sales report indicates that 71% of consumers prefer independent research before contacting a seller.
• Social Listening: Social media platforms are a goldmine for buyer insights. 75% of B2B buyers rely on social media to make purchasing decisions (LinkedIn).

Social Selling Adoption: How Businesses are Embracing the Strategy

• Lead Generation: 56% of salespeople leverage social media to discover new prospects.
• Self-Service Tools: 64% of B2B sales professionals offer self-service tools to empower informed buying decisions, with 85% attesting to their effectiveness (HubSpot, 2024).
• Content as a Sales Enablement Tool: Social media content ranks among the top five most effective sales enablement tools, aiding salespeople in closing deals.

Identifying High-Value Leads

• Social Media Prospecting: LinkedIn and Facebook are the most effective platforms for B2B salespeople to find new prospects, as per HubSpot’s 2024 State of Sales report.
• Decision-Maker Targeting: LinkedIn boasts over 65 million business decision-makers, making it a valuable platform for B2B sellers targeting high-level executives.

Platform-Specific Best Practices

• Content Strategy: Tailor your content strategy to each platform. Consider short-form video content like TikTok Reels and Instagram Stories for maximum engagement.
• Personalization: Personalization is key. Leverage audience insights to craft targeted messages that resonate with your ideal customer profile.
• Publishing Schedule: Align your content calendar with optimal posting times for each platform. HubSpot and Brandwatch’s 2023 Global Social Media Trends report suggests peak engagement times for major platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Conclusion

Social Selling – A Strategic Imperative

• 87% of sellers confirm social selling’s positive impact on their business (HubSpot).
• 59% report increased sales through social media compared to previous years (HubSpot).
• Social selling complements other channels, with 94% of social sellers using their website or third-party marketplaces (HubSpot).
• Over 50% of social sellers value audience targeting as a key benefit.

Social selling is no longer a fad; it’s a strategic imperative for businesses of all sizes. By leveraging the insights and best practices outlined in this guide, businesses can cultivate a robust social selling strategy, connect with their target audience, and achieve sustainable sales growth.

Social Selling Effectiveness:

Building Trust and Relationships:

• User-generated content (UGC) fosters trust in social shopping:
  • 87% of businesses report increased sales with UGC.
  • 92% say UGC enhances brand awareness.

Social Media Platforms:

• Social media ranks as the fourth most effective sales channel (HubSpot, 2024 State of Sales).
• LinkedIn outperforms for businesses that prioritize social selling (78%, according to LinkedIn).
• Businesses that prioritize social selling are 51% more likely to reach their sales quota (LinkedIn).
• Strong social selling indexes on LinkedIn lead to 45% more sales opportunities.
• Audiences exposed to brand messages on LinkedIn convert six times more often (LinkedIn).
• 31% of sales reps using LinkedIn closed deals exceeding $500,000 without an in-person meeting (LinkedIn study).

Social Commerce:

• Platform Trust and Preferences:
  • Facebook is the most trusted social shopping platform overall (HubSpot, 2023).
  • It also offers the best in-platform shopping experience (HubSpot, 2023).
  • YouTube ranks second in trust and boasts the third-best in-app shopping experience (HubSpot, 2023).
  • Instagram comes in third for trust but offers the second-best in-app shopping experience (HubSpot, 2023).
  • Gen Z prefers TikTok, despite it being the least trusted platform for in-app purchases (HubSpot, 2023).
• Engagement and Conversion:
  • Interacting with customers via Instagram DMs converts 70% of the time.
  • Product tagging on Instagram increases sales by 37%.
• Growth Potential:
  • Pinterest users are willing to pay 40% more per month than those on other platforms.
  • Facebook boasts around 1 million monthly product purchases.
  • Facebook Shops have approximately 1 billion monthly active users and over 250 million shops globally.
  • Social spending on TikTok is surpassing $250 million USD.
  • 92% of TikTok users are inspired to make purchases after watching an ad.
  • Global social commerce sales are forecast to reach $8.5 trillion USD by 2030.

Customer Engagement:

• Importance of Social Media:
  • As of January 2024, there are 5.04 billion social media users globally.
  • 71% of consumers prefer self-directed research before purchasing (HubSpot, 2024 State of Sales).
  • 96% of sales professionals encounter prospects who have already researched the product or service.
  • 75% of B2B buyers utilize social media for buying decisions (LinkedIn).
• Social Media Search Trends:
  • A growing number of consumers search for brands on social media more often than search engines:
    • Gen Z (36%)
    • Millennials (22%)
    • Gen X (21%)
  • Social networking sites are preferred by 34% of buyers in Asia Pacific for seller outreach (LinkedIn, 2022 data).