The Best Social Networks for Online Prospecting
30 November 2010
Read by 1968 persons
These platforms are excellent tools for making yourself known and finding clients. Provided you use them smartly.
Social networks are powerful commercial prospecting tools. Viadeo, and also public platforms like Twitter or Facebook, can improve your online visibility and multiply your contacts. The right tactic involves using several, in order to obtain a network capable of reaching prospects at all stages of the purchasing process. To get the most out of these tools, you must use them wisely and follow certain rules.
Viadeo: Contact the most relevant prospects
Among professional networks, Viadeo is the most suitable for prospecting in France: it has 3 million registered users (mostly middle-management executives) and all sectors are represented. Avoid the free version, which has limited functions. The paid version (around 80 euros per year), however, allows access to all members' profiles and to visualize the chain leading to a contact. The results obtained on the search engine are also more complete: you will be able to, for example, identify all the purchasing managers in the Brittany region who are members of the network.
Flooding Viadeo with solicitations is however not advisable. According to Louis-Serge Real del Sarte, consultant and author of "Social Networks on the Internet" (Alphée), beyond 60 unanswered invitations, the site will classify you in the "spammers" category and will sanction you by restricting your ability to "invite." And if a large number of recipients report your messages as spam, your account will be blocked.
For any direct solicitation, it is better to target prospects well. In this case, your message should be short and transparent: "I am sales manager at X. As part of your development, we have an offer that may interest you..." On average, the response rate in a direct approach reaches 30%. A percentage that will increase considerably if you are recommended by one of your contacts.
Another way to attract clients: participation in communities or hubs. The former are similar to clubs and include many alumni networks. More open, the latter are created around a specific theme (finding partners in China, for example). Subscribe to four or five of them. Don't spread yourself too thin: omnipresent generalists are not very credible. Focus instead on your areas of expertise and only intervene wisely.
Twitter: Monitor your partners
There are approximately 600,000 Twitter subscribers in France, many of whom are not regular users. But if the use of this network is developing around you, it may be interesting to belong to it. Once you become a "follower" of your professional contacts (clients, suppliers, partners, prospects) and experts in your field, you will regularly receive their messages (maximum 140 characters). This is useful information to exploit.
You learn that your competitor is launching a new fast-drying cement? Among your prospects, some will necessarily attend the presentation of this product. And those you follow on Twitter will probably send messages the same day about what they have learned. Valuable data to prepare your response. Twitter can also help you maintain a link with prospects already contacted (by an invitation to an event, news about your sector...).
LinkedIn: Find clients abroad
With 60 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the ideal network for hoping to find clients abroad, especially in North America and Western Europe. Its competitor, Xing, is more suitable for the German and Central European markets. The subscription ($249.50 per year) allows you to access all the information provided by members and to have a powerful search tool. It is advisable to write your profile in English given the high proportion of senior executives and international business leaders.
On this rather high-end social network, the quality of training and careers is valued. By providing as much information as possible about your experiences, you will therefore increase your visibility among members. Be aware that with the basic paid version, you will only be entitled to three direct connections per month.
To avoid unnecessary steps, use the "contact organizer" function. You can then classify the solicited profiles by sector or degree of maturity in the sales process. The members of this site will be sensitive to the richness of the information you provide about your market. To this end, use the SlideShare application to share documents such as summaries, conferences, or presentations of your activity. These high-level prospects will also pay attention to the recommendations highlighted on your profile. This is why it is preferable to be supported by two influential members with extensive networks, rather than by ten perfect strangers.
Facebook: Reach the younger generation
With 400 million users worldwide, including 15 million in France, Facebook is the largest private social network. Some consumer brands have created fan communities there. In B to B, its usefulness is less obvious. However, professional networking is easier there than elsewhere, and more direct.
Why not prospect there if you are targeting the communication or new technologies sectors? Especially since many young executives and freelancers have a profile there. Take inspiration from Gautier Girard, a business creation consultant, who uses an account dedicated solely to the professional sphere. To generate new contacts or spontaneous requests, he regularly shares his information (articles, events...), as well as all the posts published on his entrepreneur's blog.
Private networks: Approach VIP targets
Alongside generalist networks, more confidential platforms are emerging. They can target a specific sector (real estate, for example, such as ImmobWebpartner, which brings together architects, developers, asset managers...) or bring together a small population with specific needs. Networks that are all the more interesting to approach as you have to show your credentials to rub shoulders with their members. InterNations, for example, brings together expatriates from all over the world by invitation only. Even more elitist, Asmallworld and Qube attract the happy few of the planet: two beautiful hunting grounds for luxury professionals. But beware: to join these upscale clubs, you need to have a nice bank account!
Published September 13, 2010
Posted online November 2, 2010
capital.fr
Social networks are powerful commercial prospecting tools. Viadeo, and also public platforms like Twitter or Facebook, can improve your online visibility and multiply your contacts. The right tactic involves using several, in order to obtain a network capable of reaching prospects at all stages of the purchasing process. To get the most out of these tools, you must use them wisely and follow certain rules.
Viadeo: Contact the most relevant prospects
Among professional networks, Viadeo is the most suitable for prospecting in France: it has 3 million registered users (mostly middle-management executives) and all sectors are represented. Avoid the free version, which has limited functions. The paid version (around 80 euros per year), however, allows access to all members' profiles and to visualize the chain leading to a contact. The results obtained on the search engine are also more complete: you will be able to, for example, identify all the purchasing managers in the Brittany region who are members of the network.
Flooding Viadeo with solicitations is however not advisable. According to Louis-Serge Real del Sarte, consultant and author of "Social Networks on the Internet" (Alphée), beyond 60 unanswered invitations, the site will classify you in the "spammers" category and will sanction you by restricting your ability to "invite." And if a large number of recipients report your messages as spam, your account will be blocked.
For any direct solicitation, it is better to target prospects well. In this case, your message should be short and transparent: "I am sales manager at X. As part of your development, we have an offer that may interest you..." On average, the response rate in a direct approach reaches 30%. A percentage that will increase considerably if you are recommended by one of your contacts.
Another way to attract clients: participation in communities or hubs. The former are similar to clubs and include many alumni networks. More open, the latter are created around a specific theme (finding partners in China, for example). Subscribe to four or five of them. Don't spread yourself too thin: omnipresent generalists are not very credible. Focus instead on your areas of expertise and only intervene wisely.
Twitter: Monitor your partners
There are approximately 600,000 Twitter subscribers in France, many of whom are not regular users. But if the use of this network is developing around you, it may be interesting to belong to it. Once you become a "follower" of your professional contacts (clients, suppliers, partners, prospects) and experts in your field, you will regularly receive their messages (maximum 140 characters). This is useful information to exploit.
You learn that your competitor is launching a new fast-drying cement? Among your prospects, some will necessarily attend the presentation of this product. And those you follow on Twitter will probably send messages the same day about what they have learned. Valuable data to prepare your response. Twitter can also help you maintain a link with prospects already contacted (by an invitation to an event, news about your sector...).
LinkedIn: Find clients abroad
With 60 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the ideal network for hoping to find clients abroad, especially in North America and Western Europe. Its competitor, Xing, is more suitable for the German and Central European markets. The subscription ($249.50 per year) allows you to access all the information provided by members and to have a powerful search tool. It is advisable to write your profile in English given the high proportion of senior executives and international business leaders.
On this rather high-end social network, the quality of training and careers is valued. By providing as much information as possible about your experiences, you will therefore increase your visibility among members. Be aware that with the basic paid version, you will only be entitled to three direct connections per month.
To avoid unnecessary steps, use the "contact organizer" function. You can then classify the solicited profiles by sector or degree of maturity in the sales process. The members of this site will be sensitive to the richness of the information you provide about your market. To this end, use the SlideShare application to share documents such as summaries, conferences, or presentations of your activity. These high-level prospects will also pay attention to the recommendations highlighted on your profile. This is why it is preferable to be supported by two influential members with extensive networks, rather than by ten perfect strangers.
Facebook: Reach the younger generation
With 400 million users worldwide, including 15 million in France, Facebook is the largest private social network. Some consumer brands have created fan communities there. In B to B, its usefulness is less obvious. However, professional networking is easier there than elsewhere, and more direct.
Why not prospect there if you are targeting the communication or new technologies sectors? Especially since many young executives and freelancers have a profile there. Take inspiration from Gautier Girard, a business creation consultant, who uses an account dedicated solely to the professional sphere. To generate new contacts or spontaneous requests, he regularly shares his information (articles, events...), as well as all the posts published on his entrepreneur's blog.
Private networks: Approach VIP targets
Alongside generalist networks, more confidential platforms are emerging. They can target a specific sector (real estate, for example, such as ImmobWebpartner, which brings together architects, developers, asset managers...) or bring together a small population with specific needs. Networks that are all the more interesting to approach as you have to show your credentials to rub shoulders with their members. InterNations, for example, brings together expatriates from all over the world by invitation only. Even more elitist, Asmallworld and Qube attract the happy few of the planet: two beautiful hunting grounds for luxury professionals. But beware: to join these upscale clubs, you need to have a nice bank account!
Published September 13, 2010
Posted online November 2, 2010
capital.fr
