Social selling: how to incorporate it for your business in the UAE

Social selling, also known as social commerce, is a new trend in digital marketing. It involves using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to promote products and services.

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, including for businesses and customers in the main cities of the UAE, such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Hence, businesses are redefining their sales strategies to adapt to changing consumer behavior. Social selling goes beyond using social media for promotion. It's about building real connections, understanding customer needs, and providing customized solutions.

Businesses can strengthen trust, credibility, and customer loyalty by actively engaging with prospects, sharing valuable content, and exchanging meaningful social messages.

In the context of social selling, a "social message" refers to any communication or interaction between businesses and potential or existing customers on social media platforms. This can include direct messages, comments, replies, or any engagement that helps businesses convey information, offer assistance, address inquiries, or build relationships with their audience.

Social messages are crucial in the social selling process because they enable personalized interactions, allow businesses to showcase their expertise, and help establish meaningful connections with customers.

This guide aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of social selling and offer practical insights on how to effectively incorporate it into your business in the UAE. We'll cover everything from understanding the concept of social selling, to creating a winning strategy, along with exploring the benefits, tips, and tools to help businesses thrive in the competitive UAE market.

What is social selling

Social selling is the practice of using social selling platforms to build meaningful relationships with potential clients, nurture leads, and ultimately drive sales.

It goes beyond traditional sales tactics by fostering engagement, trust, and personalized interactions with potential customers. With social selling, the focus shifts from pushing products or services to providing value, addressing customer pain points, and building a brand that resonates with the target audience.

One way to achieve that is to learn how to integrate social media into your website. By doing so, you can improve your business by accessing a wider audience, tap into valuable insights, and cultivate a community of engaged followers.

Moreover, social selling aligns with the changing buyer's journey, where consumers increasingly rely on online research and peer recommendations before making purchasing decisions. By strategically positioning yourselves on social media, you can meet customers where they are, be part of their decision-making process, and guide them toward making informed choices.

Traditional selling vs. social selling

Social selling and traditional selling are two distinct approaches that businesses employ to drive sales and connect with customers. Traditional selling, characterized by one-way communication and transactional interactions, often relies on advertising, direct sales pitches, and mass marketing tactics. It prioritizes closing deals quickly and moving on to the next customer. 

On the other hand, social selling embraces a relationship-focused approach by harnessing social media platforms for interactive conversations, trust-building, and nurturing lasting connections. Consequently, it provides businesses with the chance to forge genuine relationships, gain insights into customer needs, and drive sales in a more dynamic, customer-centric manner. The table below outlines the distinctions between these selling methods.

It's important to note that while the benefits of social selling are greater than traditional selling, it doesn't necessarily replace all traditional sales methods. The two approaches can complement each other, with social selling augmenting and enhancing the effectiveness of traditional sales techniques in the digital world.

Why Social Selling is important

Source: Data Reportal

Social selling has transformed the way businesses connect with customers and drive sales in the UAE. With its vibrant digital landscape and tech-savvy population, the UAE presents a compelling opportunity to leverage the power of popular social media platforms and incorporate a social message in business interactions. The country boasts high social media penetration, with a significant portion of the population actively using platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 

With over 7.3 million users on Facebook, it was recorded that the potential of Facebook Ads to reach the whole population in the UAE is approximately 77%. This widespread adoption of social media platforms further highlights the immense opportunity for businesses to leverage these channels for effective engagement and sales. Below are some of the benefits of social selling that businesses can enjoy when they incorporate social selling tools:

• Enhanced customer engagement: Foster meaningful conversations and build trust through personalized interactions.

• Targeted marketing: Utilize social media data to create focused campaigns that reach the right audience.

• Brand building and awareness: Humanize your brand and increase visibility in the competitive UAE market.

• Real-time customer feedback: Receive instant feedback, address concerns, and enhance products or services.

• Competitive advantage: Stand out from competitors and establish your business as a leader in the digital landscape.

• Cost-effective marketing: Utilize social selling as a budget-friendly alternative to traditional advertising methods.

• Sustainable growth: Cultivate valuable connections, drive customer engagement, and achieve long-term success in the UAE.

By integrating a social selling platform into their sales strategy, businesses can provide personalized experiences, gain insights into customer preferences, and unlock growth opportunities in the vast marketplace of the UAE.

No time to manage your social media posts? Learn to automate comment and chat replies on Facebook and Instagram.

How to create a social selling strategy for your business in the UAE

Creating an effective social selling strategy is a crucial step for businesses aiming to maximize their online presence and drive sales.

By implementing a well-defined social selling strategy, businesses can establish themselves as trusted authorities, build strong customer relationships, and ultimately boost their sales and revenue in the digital marketplace.

Consider the steps below when you plan to utilize a social selling platform for your business.

• Set goals: Define what you want to achieve through your social selling process.

• Identify target audience: Understand who your ideal customers are and where they are active on social media.

• Develop buyer personas: Create profiles of your ideal customers to tailor your approach.

• Create a content strategy: Plan valuable and relevant content to engage your audience.

• Engage and build relationships: Actively interact with your audience, answer questions, and provide value.

• Use social listening: Monitor conversations and gain insights into customer preferences.

• Leverage social selling tools: Use tools for efficiency in content scheduling, lead generation, and analytics.

• Measure and optimize: Track metrics, analyze results, and adjust your strategy for better outcomes.

Need a highly effective social messaging channel to generate real results? Explore WhatsApp Business API.

Social selling tips and tools for UAE businesses

With the right social selling tips and tools, businesses can use social media to increase brand awareness, drive sales, and build relationships with customers. To make the most of social selling, consider implementing these social selling tips:

• Learn how to integrate social media into your website and utilize multiple platforms when to maximize your reach and engagement rates. 

• Leverage automation tools to streamline your social selling process and save time.

• Cultivate a consistent and authentic brand voice across all social media channels.

• Collaborate with influential people in your industry to expand your reach, boost brand visibility, and increase credibility.

• Take advantage of analytics tools provided by social media platforms to understand how your content performs, engage with your audience, and learn about your audience demographics.

• Participate in industry-related groups, forums, and communities where your target audience is active. 

• Ask satisfied customers to share their positive experiences on social media, which can help build your credibility and attract new leads.

• Keep up with the latest features, algorithm changes, and best practices on social media platforms to adapt your social selling strategy.

Bear in mind that these social selling tips do not guarantee immediate success. Social selling is a long-term strategy that requires consistency, patience, and genuine engagement. 

Start your omnichannel social selling strategy on SleekFlow

Wondering how to integrate social media into your website? Consider SleekFlow’s omnichannel messaging platform. Centralize your social media accounts on one platform to streamline your sales, customer support, and marketing workflows.

Boost your social selling strategy and create customized customer experiences using SleekFlow's full suite of features, including SMS, live chat, and integrations with popular social and messaging apps, to boost your social selling strategy and create customized customer experiences.

The platform's smart rules and tailored messages make customer interactions smoother and more personalized, leading to increased engagement and conversion rates.

SleekFlow also helps businesses save time and effort through automation tools that streamline the social selling process. You can simplify your work with SleekFlow's Social Selling automations. These tools help you schedule messages, manage responses, and generate leads. This way, you can concentrate on building relationships and boosting sales.

Furthermore, SleekFlow's social CRM capabilities enable you to label and segment customers based on their preferences, enabling you to deliver targeted and relevant social messages. This level of personalization helps increase customer engagement and boosts the effectiveness of your social selling efforts.

Still feeling unsure? Have a look at the success story of TKD Lingerie, a renowned boutique located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and see how they achieved 40X ROAS using SleekFlow.

Successful social selling example for businesses in the UAE

To stay connected with customers, TKD Lingerie uses WhatsApp as their main communication method and adopts WhatsApp Business API to manage their conversations. With the help of SleekFlow's social CRM feature which labels their customers based on preferences, they were able to launch a successful broadcast campaign to promote a promotion which resulted in a high message open rate and online-to-offline sales. TKD Lingerie's success story is a testament to the power of social selling and its ability to convey a social message effectively while driving business growth.