How to include social selling into your influencer marketing campaigns?

Social selling was initially reserved for B2B, in other words business to business. However, its functionalities, which by definition aim to sell through social media, quickly became of interest to influencer campaigns, particularly with the advent of live shopping. Different factors come into play here to trigger the act of purchase among consumers: the attractiveness of the products, the strength of the partnership between the brand and the influencer and the quality of the content.

Definition of social selling in influencer marketing campaigns

Social selling, in its original definition, is a sales technique that consists of using social networks to find new customers. In B2B sales, it is an additional means of closing a contract in the long term, and less intrusive than cold calling. 

In B2C and influencer marketing, this can be likened to the difference between cold calling and buying a product following an influencer’s publication. In the latter case, the customer has not been contacted directly, it is he who has chosen to look at the publication and, eventually, to buy the product. The approach is therefore more effective, as it is not based on forcing a purchase. The subscriber may or may not be tempted, but the objective is to do everything possible to ensure that they are.

The benefits of social selling in influencer marketing

Sell at any time

The health crisis was one of the main factors that triggered online sales via social networks for those who were not yet used to this type of e-commerce.  Previously, the principle was only to go to the address of a site or to an application. Through influencer campaigns, social selling has become a habit. A piece of clothing on an influencer that clicks? Click on the link to buy it. 

This is made even easier by the fact that payment methods are now fast. With Apple Pay, for example, you only need to identify yourself to pay and be delivered to the right address, without even having created an account on the shop’s website.

Boost your conversion rate

As in B2B, B2C social selling within influencer campaigns reduces the cycle between contact with a potential customer and the purchase decision. The influencer is thus directly the vector of the purchase act, without having to negotiate anything. Only his way of presenting things and the quality of the partnership lead to the sale. The latter is multiplied by the number of targets viewing at the same time (or replaying) and the possibility of conversion into actual purchases. 

Improve your visibility

For a young brand or the revival of a brand, the important thing is to obtain wider visibility in a more rapid manner. With social selling, the possibilities are twofold: 

• It improves brand awareness among an audience the brand has chosen to reach (by targeting influencers, as the SKEEPERS Octoly and Hivency Influence Group solutions do).
• It encourages engagement with its brand and products and, similarly, a better conversion rate and faster purchases.

How to include social selling in your influencer marketing campaign?

Choose the right social media

According to Emarketer, Instagram and its stories remain a prime location for influencer campaigns and, as a result, online sales, at 93% according to marketing professionals. However, TikTok has made an explosive breakthrough. At 16% in December 2019, the social network has risen to 68% in March 2021. Moreover, knowing that this application favors qualitative content that is likely to generate buzz, rather than content from already established accounts, it is a good choice for a niche product for example.

Opt for live shopping

Popularised in China, live shopping has in a way taken advantage of the confinements in France to make itself known. The principle is the same as tele-shopping, a live sale and a demonstration. But instead of being presented by presenters whose job it is, this time it is influencers who take the reins, or even television stars, on social network lives. In this way, a relationship of trust is already established between them and their audience. This allows for a faster engagement, while humanizing the relationship with the brand.

To be relevant, live shopping :

• Usually takes place in a studio, with an effort on the scenography to make it an event;
• Leave it to the influencer to integrate the products into their own use and remain consistent with their style and community;
• Offer to click on the links to make purchases in seconds;
• Make a replay available (and extracts to be broadcast at other times, which is also a way of enhancing the value of video content during a given period);
• Provide time-limited offers to speed up the decision.

Organize a contest with influencers

The principle of the contest through influencers’ posts is first to win the prize at stake. But it is also a vector of visibility for your products. Consequently, a contest leads to social selling for the unlucky and especially the most hurried who still want to try your product. 

Reuse UGC created by the influencers

User Generated Content (UGC) brings more authenticity to brands that integrate it in their communication with their audience. By using posts from your influencer campaigns on your own social networks, whether in a post or a story, you showcase your products and their features in a more concrete way.

Many brands use UGC in their social selling strategy such as Cluse watches whose Instagram feed resembles a digital shop window, or Code Eve. The latter collaborated with micro-influencers on Instagram to promote its watches and its strong values such as women’s empowerment. The influencers also shared promo codes on their Instagram accounts to encourage purchases. Very satisfied with the quality of the posts, the brand then reused content from its campaigns with the micro-influencers in its own communication media and social network accounts on Instagram and Facebook.

To integrate the marketing lever of social selling into your influencer campaigns, the SKEEPERS Group’s influencer solutions such as the Hivency and Octoly influencer platforms put you in touch with influencers adapted to your offer.  To do this, several hundred criteria are evaluated in order to create partnerships that lead to conversions and purchases. Benefit from the support of our influencer marketing experts to guide you in your campaigns and your strategy.

Photo credits: Christine Slay via Unsplash