To sell things on social media you really need to value people’s trust. That is, of course, the long and the short of it.
So, as you’ll see, when promoting products and such, the tips and tricks I’ll mention (mostly) stem from the place of earning the respect of your lifers/followers.
How To Sell Things On Social Media
My first tip: Don’t change when you sell.
By this, I mean your:
- energy
- tone
- delivery
- content
All of the above — when altered — are a total dead giveaway for people that something fishy is going on.
- “Oh yeah, she’s pushing something here, for sure.”
- “Here comes the sale, wait for it…”
- “What’s he offering this time? So predictable.”
We’ve all seen it!
All of a sudden X influencer’s usual chill vibe and visual does a 180. Like, they’re:
- talking differently
- no longer holding their phone (it’s clearly propped up on a tripod)
- lit with perfect ring light lighting
Hence, it’s jarring and very clear to people that they’re in for a sell.
Bottom line: stay in your lane and do what you normally do, talk the way you normally talk, deliver the way you normally deliver.
My second tip: Be clear and not robotic.
Technically on instagram, you do have to, by law, disclose when you’re making an advertisement or a sponsored post for another company.
Side-note: You don’t have to do so if it’s your own company.
But yeah, if someone else is paying you to talk about a product or service, you legally have to disclose it.
That said, a lot of people disclose this information in a very robotic way. For example, they’ll put:
- hashtag ad in the caption
- add titles (of the ad) in their content that look like a warning sign
- tags of the sponsor all over the caption and comments
Again, there’s no need to be super robotic about it. Simply be upfront and tell people (in the post or caption),
I’m getting paid for this ad. But, this is something I truly love and would promote, anyway.
That way people can trust you. They know it’s a sponsored/ad post and that you’re not trying to trick them.
My third tip: Selling is best in the direct messages.
Whether it’s on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram — the best place to sell is in the DMs. And there’s three reasons for that.
To find out what they are, plus:
- why people buy things
- thoughts on reaching out to brands
- the importance of focusing on benefits rather than features
Then, you must check out this episode of Build Your Tribe:
And don’t forget to subscribe to BYT for weekly episodes aimed at your social media and business growth!
