In this week’s episode of Rogue Creators, Nathan Otwell joins Bryan Fittin and Loren Lewis to discuss everything you need to know about social selling. Nathan is the CMO at Shopanova, and he is a self-proclaimed Social Advertising Mastermind and Paid Traffic Ninja. His knowledge about social marketing and advertising is unmatched, so you don’t want to miss out on what he has to say about social selling, ad creative, and much more. Check it out!
Shownotes (1:57) What are you obsessed with (5:01) Introducing Nathan Otwell (8:31) Breaking down social selling (12:20) Facebook and Instagram allow you to compete with big brands (14:59) Selling services through advertisement (19:02) Ad creative that sells (24:20) Live social selling (30:51) How to get started with social selling (34:45) What’s next for Nathan and Shopanova?
Links
Bryan Fittin
Loren Lewis
Nathan Otwell
Shopanova
Rogue Creators Episode 83 with Shopanova
“Americans are digesting more media than ever before, and they’re digesting it on this little device that’s in everybody’s pocket. No matter where you’re at, you always have access to media now…We can get on our phone every 30 seconds and see a new product, see a new service, whatever the case may be.” (8:59)
“If you know that 10% of the people that fill out your form always become a customer, then it’s easy to do the math. Like, I need this number of clicks to get this many forms filled out to get this money to get this many clients.” (11:54)
“Facebook and Instagram are by and large the best way to compete in any industry or any space because the big boys are oftentimes doing traditional marketing…So, if anybody’s trying to compete with the big boys, big brands, stuff like that, Facebook and Instagram is honestly the best place for it.” (12:36)
“Facebook and Instagram really pioneered this way of making what I call a personal shopping experience, whether that’s for a physical product or a service…You can actually get your brand out there in a creative way, and it’s something that is very unique out there in the marketplace right now.” (16:28)
“I will say for the top of the funnel, video is always the best. I really don’t even use images until retarget levels simply because you can’t retarget somebody that sees a picture. You can retarget somebody that clicks on a picture, but with a video, you can reach out to somebody that watches your videos.” (20:22)
“[When you’re selling services], you really are looking more for the engagement and the conversations that are going to happen from a live video than you are from somebody actually clicking a button, putting the credit card in, and getting a product.” (28:43) At the beginning of the year, we talked about which trends you need to know about in 2021, one of which was social selling. Since then, we’ve received several requests to dive deeper into social selling and how brands can take advantage of Facebook and Instagram to grow and scale.
Nathan Otwell recently joined Bryan and Loren for his third episode of Rogue Creators, this time to break down everything you need to know about why you should be involved with social selling. Nathan is the Chief Marketing Officer at Shopanova and a self-proclaimed “Paid-Traffic Ninja.” In other words, Nathan is a pro’s pro when it comes to digital marketing, and his expertise with Facebook and Instagram ads is unmatched.
In this episode, the trio breaks down social selling, discusses how Facebook and Instagram level the playing field, and much more. Here’s what you need to know!
What Is Social Selling? Social selling is a relatively simple idea – It uses social media platforms to network and sell products and services. While the concept itself is simple, it is an absolutely critical part of marketing your brand. With the technical advancements of the last decade, brands now have direct access to potential customers and clients through social media.
“Americans are digesting more media than ever before, and they’re digesting it on this little device that’s in everybody’s pocket. No matter where you’re at, you always have access to media now…We can get on our phone every 30 seconds and see a new product, see a new service, whatever the case may be.” (8:59)
Leveling the Playing Field As social selling has increased in popularity, it has also created an avenue for smaller, boutique businesses to make a name for themselves and scale to become prominent powerhouses in their industries.
“Facebook and Instagram are by and large the best way to compete in any industry or any space because the big boys are oftentimes doing traditional marketing…So, if anybody’s trying to compete with the big boys, big brands, stuff like that, Facebook and Instagram is honestly the best place for it.” (12:36)
One of the most significant factors in the success of social selling has been the creative opportunities available to brands that are advertising. Online retailers like Amazon heavily limit advertising brands, handcuffing them into bland advertisements that lack the means necessary to engage with an audience.
With Facebook and Instagram, brands have many more options for grabbing a potential customer’s attention.
“Facebook and Instagram really pioneered this way of making what I call a personal shopping experience, whether that’s for a physical product or a service…You can actually get your brand out there in a creative way, and it’s something that is very unique out there in the marketplace right now.” (16:28)
Selling Services Using social selling strategies for B2C companies is relatively straightforward – advertising products leads to add-to-cart opportunities, which lead to sales. Selling services through social media is a bit less direct because services are more difficult to purchase online without a sales call.
Instead of driving directly to a sale, social selling for service-based businesses typically involves driving the viewer towards engagement and a longer-form conversation about purchasing your service.
“[When you’re selling services], you really are looking more for the engagement and the conversations that are going to happen from a live video than you are from somebody actually clicking a button, putting the credit card in, and getting a product.” (28:43)
Ad Creative that Sells Ad creative is arguable the most important piece of your social selling strategy. Even the best strategies fall on their faces when their creative fails to grab their audience’s attention. The key to effective ad creative is stopping the scroll and grabbing the attention of your audience. At the moment, humor is one of the most popular methods for this, and we think it is a great way to introduce yourself to your audience.
You must remember that your sales funnel is a lot like a new relationship. When you meet someone for the first time, you typically introduce yourself and talk about fundamental elements of your life – where you’re from, what your family is like, what you do for a living, etc.
You should treat creative for your sales funnel in the same way. Please do not target a brand new audience with a full-blown pitch. Instead, target this audience with simple creative that
explains who you are and what you do. Once you have an audience that has engaged with this content, you can begin targeting them with more specific content related to your business.
The key here is understanding your audience and who you are targeting. If you don’t track who has engaged with your content, you won’t be able to lead them farther down your funnel. This is why we see videos as a potent tool for the top of your funnel.
“I will say for the top of the funnel, video is always the best. I really don’t even use images until retarget levels simply because you can’t retarget somebody that sees a picture. You can retarget somebody that clicks on a picture, but with a video, you can reach out to somebody that watches your videos.” (20:22)
Beginning your social selling journey can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. We are here to help! Are you looking for more information on social selling or ad creative for your brand? Schedule a call now!
