Social Selling at Scale

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Social Selling at Scale | Sociabble

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Social media in the enterprise has predominantly been a haven for
marketers, who use its power to engage target audiences along
multiple points of the conversion funnel, while being able to
track the eicacy of messages and content in a very precise
way.
The level of sophistication in marketing has evolved because of the
ability to ind and target audiences within a known digital context,
and nurture them to the point of an eventual conversion.
The underlying secret in this evolution has been data availability,
and marketers’ ability to put it to use in order to be more effective
in the messages they send at any particular point of the nurturing
process.
In a marketing scenario, social media data is used in on ongoing
cycle that helps marketers adapt and evolve their nurturing
strategy.
the
Modern
marketing
cycle
SOCIALSELLINGATSCALE:MakeaComplex,Challenging
TaskasSimpleasPossible

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The rich data obtained from social media can be applied
to scenarios beyond marketing, as its traceability and
segmentation capabilities means it lends itself to much
broader business applications.
One of social media’s more recent evolutions is its
application to sales prospection, transforming the way
commercial teams prospect, nurture leads, and close
deals. Much like in a marketing application, social selling
requires:
1 - DATA INSIGHTS
on target audiences in order
to better engage prospects.
3 - TRACKING AND
MEASUREMENT
not only for individual
performance, but also for end-
user audience engagement
metrics.
4 - KPIs
which help content creators
to adapt and improve
messaging.
2 - CONTENT
that is relevant and that can
be personalized according
to the sales person’s context.
S
i
m
u
l
t
a
neous Marketing Nu
t
u
r
i
n
g
the social
selling cycle
Personal Pipeline
Social Listening
Reinforced through
utility, gamification,
recognition
Prospect
Targeting
on Social
Networks
Aggregate
and Adapt
Messaging
Relevant Content
Sharing, Expert Positioning
and Network Development
Target Audience
Engagement Metrics
Personal
Performance
Tracking (Influence,
Extension of
Network, Lead Gen)
Developement
of Network and
Business Leads
Listening Tools
CRM Insights
e.g. LinkedIn
Sales Navigator
What Is Social Selling?
Social selling is redeining the role of commercial teams. It involves
listening to social media conversations in order to identify new
business and prospection opportunities, enter into conversation
through the provision of thought-provoking content and
personalized exchanges, nurture leads and, ultimately, close deals.

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The framework for social selling mirrors the processes involved in marketing. But because of the nature of both activities, they
each have separate requirements in order to make these processes feasible for their respective users, involving a network of
different tools for different types of utility. We have established the following three social selling pillars:
Business
Needs
the challenge the solution
Operational
Needs
Engagement
needs
1. Multi-device ready and environment agnostic
2. Language customization and local social network
support
3. Integration with curation, listening, and CRM tools
4. Simple UI for intuitive navigation
5. Segmentation and user-controlled personalization
the3pillars
ofsocialselling
1. Engagement and return use
mechanisms
2. Simple and natural user experience
for sellers
1. Tracking and traceability
2. Clear ROI monitoring
3. Personal performance tracking
The challenge most companies face today with their social selling program is that they address only one or two of these
three groups. On the Sociabble platform, we have developed technology around these three pillars in order to address the
business, operational and engagement needs of social sellers.
1. Rewards and gamiication
2. User experience: simple and integrated in the
existing user journey
3. Personal performance development dashboard
1. Lead gen tracking
2. Individual performance metrics
3. Overall team and company performance
monitoring
1. Accessible to users regardless of technology
context
2. Address language and regional sales needs
3. Ability to connect to other existing platforms
4. Easy to use to support adoption
5. Relevant content based on user context

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Measuring Performance at an
Individual and Company Level
Every social selling program needs to be measured as much at
an individual level as it is at a company level. This is the most
concrete way to attribute a clear ROI to your program, but also
to assess the efficacy of certain strategies, such as a particular
kind of messaging, or a particular kind of content format (video
vs. white paper for example). Global data needs to be made
available to program administrators in order to track evolution and
improvement, but certain sets of data also need to be made available
to the individual sellers in order for them to track target audience
engagement.
Target Audience Engagement
In order to measure individual performance, social sellers must
be able to understand how their actions on each social network
Business needs
concretely engage their prospects and clients. Which content
generated the most clicks towards enterprise assets? Which social
networks saw the most engagement for which type of content? As
well as being able to track how they are improving from week to week
in terms of their activity, social sellers must be able to pinpoint
the leads that are generated thanks to their daily social activity.
On Sociabble, social sellers have access to a complete personal
dashboard. This dashboard provides details concerning their Social
Selling Index (SSI) and Klout Score, as well as a complete history of
their activity on different social networks, with information such as
clicks generated on each piece of content. By activating lead tracking
features, social sellers are able to identify which leads they have
generated via Sociabble. For example, when they share a piece of
content that contains a link to a page with a contact form, social
sellers will have access to information detailing which leads illed out
that contact form thanks to their actions.

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Global Performance Metrics
For measuring company performance,
multiple dashboards are available to
administrators, which present both the
individual performance of their social
sellers and global, consolidated statistics.
Companies can analyze the performance
of content targeted for social sellers, the
number of external clicks on content
shared via Sociabble pointing towards
landing pages with contact forms (white
papers, events, etc.), and the leads that are
generated as a result of these clicks. The
ability for administrators to see which pieces
of content produce the most engagement
helps to provide marketing insights for
content that is prepared speciically for sales
prospection.
Language and Regional Sales Needs
(including local social networks)
For social selling, LinkedIn is an important social network, but it is essential to have a
multi-channel strategy: on Twitter, of course, but also on localized social networks
in each country: Xing in Germany, VKontakte in Russia, etc. All social selling features
offered by Sociabble can be implemented on these different social networks.
Facebook is also an inluential social network for social selling. Our clients have
noticed that highlighting know-how, expertise or references to clients with whom
they have a close and even friendly relationship (Facebook connections), can be
extremely effective.
Sociabble continues to research and integrate new and relevant social networks,
including WeChat, a popular and widely used social network in China. Moreover, the
platform interface is available in 8 languages.
operational needs

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content organization
However, too much information can also have a negative impact on the
information provided. The interaction with content must remain
very simple for social sellers, so that they do not ind themselves
overwhelmed. On Sociabble, social sellers have access to channels
organized by themes, making it easy for them to access the most
pertinent information for them.
Social sellers can conigure which channels they have easy access
to, by subscribing or unsubscribing in one click. Depending on the
channels selected, each social seller’s Sociabble homepage is modiied.
The channels they subscribe to will also influence the newsletters
they receive, which contain ready-to-share content, as well as push
notiications received via the Sociabble mobile application (available on
Android, iOS and Windows Phone).
Account administrators can also create a non-shareable “Competitive
Watch” channel that can be open to all or some users. This is a great
way for social sellers to easily keep an eye on what the competition is
doing, whether it be from their mobile application, the Sociabble web
app, Oice 365 or Salesforce.
Content Availability
content variety
Content plays an essential role in social selling; the ability for social sellers to easily share
content that is pertinent to their audience is imperative. It is the main factor that will
allow sellers to develop their expert status on social networks, and to increase the
positive response rate of InMails sent via LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
The success of this strategy relies on the capacity to aggregate not only company content,
but also more neutral third-party content, for verticals that relate directly to the work
of social sellers. It’s an engagement factor for the audience of social sellers, but also for
socialsellersthemselves.Togetherwithourclients,wehaveobservedthatthecombined
presence of company and third-party content doubles the level of engagement for
social sellers who share content via Sociabble.

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integration with other tools
As we have highlighted, a varied pool of content types is critical to
successful social selling, and it so follows that the platform used for
social selling must be able to connect to various types of content
sources in order to provide the necessary insights for efective
prospection.
In the initial research phase of the social selling cycle, for example,
listening to keywords and mentions is crucial for a seller targeting
speciic prospects.
Ease of Deployment, Scalability
and Administration
The Sociabble product team has prioritized one thing since the very
beginning: ease of use. Sociabble has been launched for tens of
thousandsofusersinover60countries,predominantlyforuserswho
have had little to no training on the platform. Sociabble is incredibly
easy to use, whether it be on the web or the mobile application.
The Sociabble user interface (UI) is designed to be as self-explanatory
and easy to use as possible - not only for social sellers, but also for
administrators who manage content and data on the platform. The
ability to export data and easily toggle between Sociabble user and
Sociabble admin roles, together with super admin functionalities
that allow certain administrators to manage multiple instances of
Sociabble through a single account, facilitates transparency and
consistency. These functionalities are particularly relevant when
deploying multi-region or multi-country social selling programs.
The ability to standardize, and to provide local adaptations and languages, makes the Sociabble platform highly scalable. Moreover, the
platform’s focus on eliminating usage barriers such as the need to create passwords and other authentication processes, through single
sign-on (SSO) and active directory integration, helps companies overcome software adoption challenges, while preserving the security and
integrity of enterprise environments.
This information, provided by a specific listening tool, can be
connected to content on Sociabble, in order to allow social sellers to
browse information as they toggle between channels that provide
ready-to-share content, and insight-only channels. Sociabble is able
to connect to a wide array of applications and sources of content,
including:
Social media feeds
(LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook,
Xing, VKontakte, etc.)
Listening tools
Content curation tools
(Curata, Scoop-it, Trapit, etc.)
Entreprise social networks
(Yammer, Chatter, etc.)
RSS feeds
(newsfeeds, blogs,
news sites, etc.)

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Multi-Device & Environment
Agnostic
In addition to simpliied sign-on options, the Sociabble platform
is available in a variety of environments. Mobility has always
been a key focus, particularly for social sellers, since they are often
out of the oice, on the road or at client meetings. Available natively
on Android, iOS and Windows Phone, Sociabble enables any social
seller with a mobile device or tablet to scan their Sociabble account
for insights and sharing activity at any moment.
Moreover, technology ecosystems vary between companies
and industries. Whether commercial teams are using Oice 365,
SharePoint or Salesforce to carry out their daily activities, it’s
important that their social selling platform be integrated into this
environment - not only because it increases the exposure of the tool
within their daily worklow, increasing adoption, but also because it
simpliies the user journey.
Sociabble can be fully integrated into Salesforce and Office
365, meaning users don’t need to leave their day-to-day work
environment to access the platform. Widgets of different sizes
can also be embedded on the most visited pages of SharePoint, in
order to keep social sellers engaged and aware of the latest content
available on Sociabble.

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A Simple and Natural User
Experience for Social Sellers: An
Integrated User Journey
Launching a social selling program means successfully
implementing digital transformation among a population that
is often overloaded and under pressure. It’s essential that theuser
experience be incredibly simple: no need for multiple passwords,
with an engaging, visual and intuitive interface and integration with
existing tools.
On Sociabble,social sellers haveinstantaccess to content thatis
tailored to their vertical or sector, or based on their proile. They
can choose to share content immediately or schedule it for later, in
order to optimize posting times. Thanks to SSO, social sellers can log
onto the platform from connected devices without having to enter
passwords or login credentials. They therefore have direct access to
the platform, according to the rights they have been granted.
This combination of technology considerations, from UI and
multi-device ready to SSO and environment-agnostic ecosystem
integrations, creates a user journey that facilitates social selling
by streamlining the experience. These elements are key to user
access and run-mode adoption.
engagement needs
ByactivatinggamiicationfeaturesonSociabble,it’spossibletocreate
challenges for sales teams, with acknowledgement and rewards for
those who participate, share content, and generate leads. These
rewards can take the form of LinkedIn Sales Navigator licenses, for
example. Gamiication is, of course, not the only motivational factor
for social sellers, but it can be a strong component. And for the more
naturally competitive sellers, being well-positioned on a leaderboard
or winning a challenge will encourage them to engage even more.
Sociabble administrators have the ability to configure these
gamification settings as they like, and may activate mobile
notiications and newsletter alerts which, along with very speciic,
time sensitive, or valuable prospection information, will inform social
sellers when a new challenge is active on the platform.
Motivate and Encourage Social
Sellers with Gamification and
Other Return Use Mechanisms
Social selling is often seen as a kind of digital transformation, but
involving a sales team in a transformation program may not be
as simple as it seems. Simply providing a LinkedIn Sales Navigator
account will not transform a sales person into a social seller. Even
when trained, many social sellers don’t necessarily understand the
beneits of a social approach from the get-go. They often believe that
the business development techniques used in their prior experience
is enough, or still the most effective way.

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user-generated content (ugc)
Social sellers may also earn points by suggesting a pertinent piece
of content to be published on Sociabble and shared by all users. The
total number of points earned for this content will be determined
based on the level of engagement generated, and actions carried
out by other social sellers. Users can identify and propose existing
content that is pulled from the web or created from scratch, for
example by posting a photo with a comment directly from their
mobile device. Gamiication encourages them to do so, though the
fact that they can become key stakeholders in the content made
available on Sociabble also plays a crucial role in their motivation.
Moreover, these user-generated content (UGC) functionalities
provide a great way to recognize and value expertise within social
selling teams, enabling insights to be shared with other members for
their own prospection beneit.

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Personal Performance
Development Tracking
In addition to tracking engagement among target audiences and
resulting lead generation, an additional but important function that
encourages sales teams to embrace social selling is having the ability
to develop their proile, expertise, visibility and professional
acumen on social networks.
On their Sociabble account, individual social sellers have access to
additional, personalized metrics that help them track their evolution
with respect to their company and colleagues, through their Social
Selling Index (SSI) and Klout Score as well as badges and network-
speciic evolutions.

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At Sociabble, we are invested in accompanying our clients’
social selling initiatives, by making what is a complex
and challenging task as simple as possible. We’re currently
implementing a machine learning mechanism, which will help to
make the content available for social sellers even more adapted
to their sales pipeline in the CRM system. It will be possible to post
content at the most engaging times throughout the day or week,
based on the performance of shares carried out by other social
sellers. Moreover, social sellers will have access to recommended
content based on their proile and settings, or actions made by
others that had positive results.
For more information about how Sociabble can contribute to the
success of your social selling program, contact us at
welcome@sociabble.com.
what next?

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Disclaimer
The data and information in this publication originate from sources believed to be reliable. Nevertheless, no warranty expressed or
implied is made regarding the completeness, accuracy or use of the information, and the authors of this document shall have no
liability for errors, omissions or misinterpretations. References made to speciic products and vendors by trade name, trademark or
otherwise do not constitute or imply their endorsement, recommendation or favoring, and shall not be used for advertising or product
endorsement purposes. The opinions expressed in this publication are subject to change without notice.

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