Is Selling Allowed on Social Media?

There has always been a thin line between marketing and spamming, between being social and social selling. That line has been getting broader in the last couple of years for a few reasons, most notably because businesses and marketing companies are simply getting better at using social media the right way.

Selling and marketing are allowed on social media. In fact, businesses that try to hard to “be social” without applying appropriate business-relevant messages to the mix are missing the boat. Sure, it’s good for branding, but action does not stem from branding. More importantly, it’s very easy to promote branding while still getting the bang for the buck that proper social selling, lead generation, and calls-to-action bring to the table.

The key is targeting. This has been the most powerful aspect of social media for a long time. Now that Facebook and other social sites have so much information about us, we can apply that information to put the right message in front of the right people at the right time. That’s the way to use social media properly.

The reason for it is relevance. When a message can resonate because its targeting is righteous, you can find tremendous results. In our industry, the car business, we see this applied so beautifully that it’s a wonder why more dealers don’t utilize it. Through targeting, we can find high-potential car buyers interested in specific makes or types of vehicles and put a message in front of them that matches their needs. The social media user likes it because they get to see something that matches their current needs.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no illusions that people love to see ads on social media. However, when the ads hit home and bring the appropriate message that matches their current needs, the ads become much more powerful for them. In fact, the average consumer will view such ads as serendipity rather than intrusion. They don’t know (or are willing to accept) that Facebook and other social media sites know so much about us that the targeting is often spot on. They sometimes consider it a wild and fortunate coincidence that they see an ad for a Honda Accord while they’re in the market for a Honda Accord.

Blanket messages and inappropriate targeting are the things that drive consumers crazy. In fact, they should drive businesses crazy as well because bad marketing makes it harder for good marketers to get the word out.

Use the targeting. It’s the most powerful and effective portion of a proper social media strategy.

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