Think marathon, not sprint: turning social media into business growth

Social selling, it isn’t about pitching. Well it is, sort of. Just not in a salesy way.

This sounds counterintuitive, but bear with us.

A great LinkedIn post isn’t going to result in an instant lead. Nor are the people posting it going to become influencers overnight.

Social selling is about building familiarity, credibility, and trust before someone enters a buying journey.

For B2B businesses, that means consistently demonstrating expertise, engaging with your industry and helping prospects solve problems. So that when they eventually need your services or products, your company is top of mind.

The biggest mistake companies make with social selling is assuming it’s all about creating content. In reality, successful social selling is a combination of publishing, engaging, and building relationships over time.

Here’s how to approach it.

Firstly, share content that helps buyers make better decisions.

No one wakes up looking for a product or service update. They do however want insight into their industry, solutions to problems and evidence that you understand the challenges they’re facing.

Some of the most effective content types include:

Educational content

Explain how something works, simplify a complex subject or answer frequently asked questions. Think practical advice rather than theory such as:

Industry explainers
Step-by-step guides
Common mistakes to avoid
Regulatory or technology updates

Customer stories and case studies

Nothing builds credibility like demonstrating results.

Instead of simply saying your solution works, show how your organisation overcame a challenge and what changed afterwards. And if you can collaborate with your clients on this, this adds weight to your claims.

Opinion and commentary

People listen to and follow people, because they offer perspective beyond the clinical company line.

Share your thoughts on industry news, emerging trends or changes affecting your customers. Don’t be afraid to take a position if you can support it with data and experience (within your company’s guidelines, of course).

Behind-the-scenes content

Buyers increasingly want to understand the people behind a business.

Content showing project work, team collaboration, events or even lessons learned helps to humanise your organisation.

Personal experiences

One of the strongest performing formats on social media is personal storytelling.

What have you learned recently? What surprised you? What would you do differently? These posts attract meaningful conversations because they’re authentic, rather than promotional.

Original research and data

If your business has access to unique insights, publish them.

Whether it’s survey results, campaign data or industry benchmarking, well-researched information positions your business as a source of expertise, rather than simply another service provider.

The ideal content mix

A useful rule is to think less about selling and more about helping.

Around 70-80% of your content should educate, inform or entertain your audience.

Around 20-30% can focus on your business, products or services.

If every post feels like an advert, engagement will quickly disappear.

How often should you post?

Consistency matters far more than volume.

For company leaders or business owners: 3-4 posts each week is enough to remain visible, without overwhelming your audience.   

For team members: 1-3 posts per week with 3-5 comments on posts is a good balance.

For ambassadors, partners or external agents: 1-2 posts per week and participating actively in relevant campaigns is fine.

Equally, spending time engaging with other people’s content by commenting thoughtfully on customer posts, industry discussions and partner updates is good practice for everyone. Social selling is a conversation, not a broadcast.

A simple weekly / bi-weekly posting rhythm might include:

One to two educational posts
An opinion or industry commentary
A customer success story
One personal or behind-the-scenes post

Alongside this, aim to leave meaningful comments on several relevant posts each working day. Often, comments generate just as much visibility as publishing your own content.

Likes, shmikes

Many businesses stop at counting likes.

While this dopamine hit of peer-to-peer validation can be addictive, it’s only a small part of the picture.

A more useful measurement framework looks like this:

Visibility

Are more people seeing your content? Aim to track:

Impressions
Reach
Profile views
Follower growth

These metrics tell you whether you’re increasing awareness.

Engagement

Are people interacting with what you’re saying? Oversee and monitor:

Comments
Shares
Saves
Meaningful conversations
Connection requests

Comments and shares generally indicate far greater value than likes, because they require more effort and can lead to meaningful conversations.

Website and lead generation

Once awareness starts to grow, it’s time to look at more commercial outcomes by tracking:

Website visits from social media channels
Content downloads
Webinar registrations
Contact form submissions
Video views

Pipeline and revenue

Ultimately, social selling programmes should impact lead generation. Monitor and report on:

Opportunities influenced by social activity
Pipeline value
Revenue generated
Win rates where social engagement occurred

It’s worth remembering, social media activity doesn’t necessarily create a straight line between post and a signed contract. Instead, assess reach and engagement over weeks and months. Prospects may consume dozens of posts before eventually visiting your website or responding to a message.

Social selling is a long-term investment

The most successful social sellers aren’t necessarily the loudest or the most prolific.

They’re the people who consistently share useful ideas, contribute to industry conversations and build genuine relationships over time.

For B2B organisations, that means shifting the focus away from selling products and towards helping buyers make better decisions.

Do that consistently, measure the right outcomes, and social media becomes far more than a marketing tool. It becomes a reliable source of trust, conversations and, ultimately, revenue generation.