One of the most misunderstood parts of business is marketing and sales. Two distinct roles that influence each other greatly. There is good reason for this misunderstanding as they often overlap each other. The recent development of digital marketing and sales only serves to cloud this confusion.

Fret no more. Below are two very quick descriptions of how social media could be divided into marketing and sales. Please comment at the end of the blog and let me know your thoughts.

Social Media Marketing

Marketing is your timeline, profile picture, cover image and description. It is the overall narrative of your business. A living, consistent story about who you are, what you believe in and what you are up to on a daily basis.

Your timeline and profile should tell your target market what services you offer. It should tell them why you are better than others and why they would benefit from choosing you. How these messages are conveyed is down to your overall marketing strategy and day to day activities on social media.

Think of it as the pull. The gravitational force that draws in your target customers. Content that evokes a positive emotion that is then applied to your brand and business. An emotion that is remembered. When you achieve this they go from being a cold prospect to a warm prospect.

Now it is time for the sales part to take over

Social Media Sales

Sales are your direct messages, individual interactions and move from social media to calls or emails. Now your messages change from broadcasting to the greater audience (those whom follow you), to individual interactions. Messages for specific users that you are communicating with.

These individual conversations, often private messages, inform the prospect about the features of your product or service. They personalize the service to their needs and encourage signup or purchase.

Think of this stage as the push. The gentle nudge into becoming a customer. The ‘let’s go for it’ moment when they decide to give your product or service a try.

So your overall profile, its timeline, photos, videos, bio, cover image and profile image pull the greater target market towards you. The individual private messages, email or calls are the push to purchase.

Is your social media marketing working well? If so how do you know? Have you made any sales via social media?

If you have enjoyed this post, please share it with others so they too can learn the difference between marketing and sales. Thank you for reading and good luck with your digital marketing and sales.