Many buzzwords stop us in our tracks and make us question, “Do I need to adopt a new method for my business?“

Truth be told, you are probably using social selling to an extent, but maybe you don’t know you are. Either way, it can help you gain more in the world of recruitment. Let’s break it down a bit. Social selling is just the process of developing relationships as a part of sales and can be seen mainly through social networking like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

This means more than just making a few posts occasionally on your company pages or sharing job postings. This is all about relationships.

There are a few differences between social selling and social media marketing. Social selling focuses mainly on sales to other professionals within your field. Social media marketing cultivates and builds those one-on-one relationships rather than casting a large net to capture anyone and everyone.

Just like you get to pick your friends, you are picking your professional relationships. This process is more than just using social media. That may be your starting point, but the relationship-building can be both on and offline.

Now for the fun – how to use social selling to improve your recruitment strategy.

Research

Like any great relationship, you will spend some time getting to know the person (or organization) you are pursuing. The great thing about social media is that most people are already using a social channel of some sort. It is a great way to learn more about interests and find how best to connect.

Be Real

You have done your research, so you know what your potential contact likes to read and who they follow. You have identified some common ground and now you can create some dialogue and establish a connection. All of us learned in elementary school how to make friends and – well – how not to. It comes down to being yourself. If you showcase who you are you will make a bigger impact and get your message to stick to your target.

Cultivate

You have spoken to your target, you have bonded over some common ground and your friendship starts to grow. Now you need to deepen it. People invest in people they trust. As you deepen your professional relationships, give them confidence in who you are. Show up to the meetings, offer to buy them a coffee and just chat (no strategy), let them know you’re listening.

These basic communication and relationship building tools will help your target become your client and possibly even make you professional friends.

Businesses want recruiters they can trust to get the job done. By using these three steps to build a social selling relationship with companies, your clients will know that they can trust your effort and that you will deliver.

You now know the basics, but there is another side. Know that if you are doing your research, your target will too. Having an established website and social media channels that reflect your business principles, branding and messaging is important. Again, it all comes back to being real. At Recruiters Websites, we specialize in creating stunning websites and managing branding, content and social media. We are just a call away from helping you improve your brand and helping you land that next major client.