Remember those delicious Girl Guide Cookies? Or the Avon and Mary Kay representatives that used to come door to door – with their catalogs back in the day. They would have a bag of samples of products for you to try, you could leaf through their catalogs make your selections and then your representative would come back to your home and hand deliver your order. None of those things have disappeared – but like everything the methods for which some of those salespeople are now not only finding new customers, but communicating and engaging with their current customers is via social media online.

Like anything – for some – the internet can be a place of wonder and for others too much information can ultimately be confusing. Yet the sharing of information with the people who have the same interests, values and passions – is easy with social media – to zero in on the things that YOU want or need and even those things for which you may have forgotten and wish to remember…like the rows of vanilla and chocolate Girl Guide cookies!
My go to resource for case studies and great, yet simple info. on the topics I decide to write about Mashable.com and its author for this article – Zachary Sniderman, posted an article that shows how some of these savvy sales people and small companies are using social media with success. From Twitter to geo location tools like Foursquare – these companies are finding ways to get the most out of their social network efforts and communities and best of all seeing great results!

Being authentic, remembering how you build relationships offline and using those same thoughtful gestures to build transparent and honest relationships online are – ways to leverage the traditional sales techniques with greater success via social media!

Best Nicole

The days of door-to-door salespeople might be drawing to a close, but that doesn’t mean that people have stopped selling things. The Internet is a great resource to get your goods into the right hands, but it can also be a confusing mess of options. How do you find the right people online? How can you get your products to them?

We’ve found a collection of small companies and websites that can help you get the most out of your social media network. Whether you’re a tiny Italian ice shop, a regular seller, or a seasoned vet – these resources can help you get real results.

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Online Vendors

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One of social media’s greatest benefits is how easy it is to get brand exposure. Your products aren’t limited by having to set up a physical shop or take out ads in the local newspaper. However, with so many online vendor websites (such as eBay or even Craigslist) available, it can be difficult to find your customers through all the noise.

Craigslist and eBay are expansive platforms that reach a huge swathe of customers. While this is great for reaching a large market, it can be difficult for individual salespeople to get their products featured, or noticed. Instead, look to niche online markets that suit the kind of products you’re selling.

Imagine you’re a local farmer selling honey. Selling a jar on eBay might be tricky, however, sites like Foodzie or Foodoro that focus on selling goods from small food producers is a more focused way to get exposure and sell your product. A quick search can turn up other niche online vendor hubs.

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Creating Updates

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Once you’ve found a place to sell your goods, you need to let people know about it. Facebook fan pages and Twitter accounts are two great ways to let existing or potential customers know about your product. Food carts across the country have already jumped on the wagon in order to let their customers know where they’ll be parked. For example, New York’s Rickshaw Dumpling Truck regularly tweets its location for the day with light-hearted updates and customer service.

But what if you don’t have a food cart? Twitter updates are still a good way to build buzz and excitement and create a community of customers.

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Group Buying

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Group buying (or mob buying) is becoming increasingly popular as a win-win for businesses and customers alike. Sites like Groupon, Deals for Deeds, Buy with Me, and Social Buy provide its users with large discounts on businesses. While there is an expected discount in the transaction, group buying sites allow salespeople to reach new customers and draw in large chunks of profit. Most group buying sites (including the three listed) have a section where buyers can sign up to be a featured vendor. Some sites, like Deals for Deeds (based in Washington D.C.), include an option for buyers to donate their savings to charity.

Sellers beware: Because of the nature of group buying, most sites are regionally based so make sure you find a site or group that is around your area or willing to sell your products online.

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Foursquare Specials

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Foursquare is more than just an invasive new technology for young folk; it’s a powerful tool for salespeople to share their products through social media. Sellers now have access to a small business dashboard that allows them to offer rewards and special deals to their most loyal customers. One such example is Rita’s Ice in Bellmore, NY. The Italian ice shop was able to attract customers over its competitors because of its specials and offers – some of which were only accessible via Foursquare.

Foursquare is a good way to both find new customers and reward long-time patrons for their loyalty.

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The Dangers

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Yup, even the Girl Scouts – long-known for their door-to-door cookie drives — have turned to social media in order to sell their strangely addictive cookies. The Girl Scouts previously shunned the online world for safety reasons but are just now experimenting with a new, safe online outreach to allow customers to buy their favorites. You can find corporate accounts for Girls Scouts on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. But more importantly, you’ll find Girl Scouts everywhere sending Facebook messages to their friends and family members, inquiring on cookie orders.

While they are reaching a much larger audience, the Girl Scouts illustrates the danger of tarnishing a traditional brand image through selling via social media. They are so associated with door-to-door sales, that some see the turn online as a step backwards for the Girl Scouts’ image.

Branding is just as important for any other business or salesperson. Define your brand and decide how you can market it online without compromising your authenticity. With a little bit of forethought and tenacity, you can use social media to sell your goods with real results.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 7:11 pm and is filed under Online Marketing. Tagged: AVON, CRAIGSLIST, EBAY, Facebook, FLICKER, FOURSQUARE, GIRL GUIDE COOKIES, MARY KAY, MASHABLE.COM, NICOLE MCKINNEY, SHARE BLOG, SOCIAL MEDIA, TWITTER, WWW.BCADGROUP.COM, Youtube, ZACHARY SNIDERMAN. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.