Social media has created endless opportunities for brands, and companies to showcase their products, and services, and sell-in to specific target audience’s.

We know it is enticing… You have a few followers on social media, and you want to show them your amazing products, but this is an unfavourable way to utilise your platform.

Hard-selling was always the traditional way to use social media to your advantage when promoting your products, or services, but this is no longer the case. In recent years, soft-selling has become the most effective way of marketing on social media platforms.

Hard sell VS the soft sell

Hard-selling is when the marketer gets straight to the sales message. They are clearly there to promote their product or service and make sure you know all about it. This type of approach is typically seen with traditional advertising and promotion such as print, display ads, flyer drops, TV advertising or billboards.

Soft-selling is a sales strategy that uses subtle and causal tactics to build a relationship with a buyer over time to eventually persuade them to make a purchase.

For the majority social media marketing is about getting to know your audience, what they like, and building a relationship with them. Consumers are more attuned than ever, and this makes it more difficult for brands, and businesses to effectively use their social media to sell their products, or services.

Soft-selling is now the more favoured way of selling products and services, especially with social platforms such as TikTok, and Instagram, that are statistically proven to be the most popular of all the social media platforms, for example, according to Later, TikTok was, by a landslide, the most popular app of 2021. With 656 million downloads last year alone (over 100 million more than Instagram), the viral video platform solidified its place in the Gen Z zeitgeist.

Main aims for soft-selling:

Building customer relationships
Increasing return customers
Creating brand loyalty
Improving your reputation

In today’s generation, people are more intune with what’s out there to sell, and what is out there to entertain. The customer is more likely to avoid your brand, or business if the product or service is shoved in their face, but instead, react more positively to brands / businesses who entertain, and inform without it being obvious they’re trying to sell a product, or service.

I promise it works!

An example of soft-selling done right…

Greggs:

In 2019, Greggs started a YouTube ad to promote the bakery’s new, fresh item on the menu, the vegan sausage roll. Building traction from the ad which mirrored an ad from Apple presenting a new phone (for humour!). Gregg’s generated even more buzz, and attention by cheekily replying to a tweet from Piers Morgan (see below).

The clever, and viral reply from Greggs gained 131,000 likes, and over 20,000 retweets - whether this was down to the clever marketing and social team or not, but sales spiked shortly after this, so who knows!

Gregg’s continue to use clever tactics, and soft-sell through the use of their social channels, for example, they continue to use their channels for humour, and entertainment purposes which in actual terms is a tactic of soft-selling. Here is another example…

Now it’s just making me hungry…

Another example of clever soft-selling tactics is getting involved in, and starting social conversations, especially on Tik Tok, and Twitter. This is a humorous approach, and entertaining for your audience, who are most likely also your customers, or future customers too!

Aldi UK’s Twitter feed is a great example of this done well, for example…

They also get involved in conversations with their competitors too, see below:

The soft-selling technique is used by many brands, and businesses now as it is the most effective way to utilise your social platforms, and build on your brand.

Move over hard-selling, and make room for soft-selling!

Social media has created endless opportunities for brands, and companies to showcase their products, and services, and sell-in to specific target audience’s.

We know it is enticing… You have a few followers on social media, and you want to show them your amazing products, but this is an unfavourable way to utilise your platform.

Hard-selling was always the traditional way to use social media to your advantage when promoting your products, or services, but this is no longer the case. In recent years, soft-selling has become the most effective way of marketing on social media platforms.

Hard sell VS the soft sell

Soft-selling is a sales strategy that uses subtle and causal tactics to build a relationship with a buyer over time to eventually persuade them to make a purchase.

Main aims for soft-selling:

Building customer relationships

Increasing return customers

Creating brand loyalty

Improving your reputation

I promise it works!

An example of soft-selling done right…

Greggs:

The clever, and viral reply from Greggs gained 131,000 likes, and over 20,000 retweets - whether this was down to the clever marketing and social team or not, but sales spiked shortly after this, so who knows!

Gregg’s continue to use clever tactics, and soft-sell through the use of their social channels, for example, they continue to use their channels for humour, and entertainment purposes which in actual terms is a tactic of soft-selling. Here is another example…

Now it’s just making me hungry…

Another example of clever soft-selling tactics is getting involved in, and starting social conversations, especially on Tik Tok, and Twitter. This is a humorous approach, and entertaining for your audience, who are most likely also your customers, or future customers too!

Aldi UK’s Twitter feed is a great example of this done well, for example…

They also get involved in conversations with their competitors too, see below:

The soft-selling technique is used by many brands, and businesses now as it is the most effective way to utilise your social platforms, and build on your brand.

Are you going to try it?

Copyright © 2023, Down At The Social

Blog

Move over hard-selling, and make room for soft-selling!

Social media has created endless opportunities for brands, and companies to showcase their products, and services, and sell-in to specific target audience’s.

We know it is enticing… You have a few followers on social media, and you want to show them your amazing products, but this is an unfavourable way to utilise your platform.

Hard-selling was always the traditional way to use social media to your advantage when promoting your products, or services, but this is no longer the case. In recent years, soft-selling has become the most effective way of marketing on social media platforms.

Hard sell VS the soft sell

Soft-selling is a sales strategy that uses subtle and causal tactics to build a relationship with a buyer over time to eventually persuade them to make a purchase.

Main aims for soft-selling:

Building customer relationships

Increasing return customers

Creating brand loyalty

Improving your reputation

I promise it works!

An example of soft-selling done right…

Greggs:

The clever, and viral reply from Greggs gained 131,000 likes, and over 20,000 retweets - whether this was down to the clever marketing and social team or not, but sales spiked shortly after this, so who knows!

Gregg’s continue to use clever tactics, and soft-sell through the use of their social channels, for example, they continue to use their channels for humour, and entertainment purposes which in actual terms is a tactic of soft-selling. Here is another example…

Now it’s just making me hungry…

Another example of clever soft-selling tactics is getting involved in, and starting social conversations, especially on Tik Tok, and Twitter. This is a humorous approach, and entertaining for your audience, who are most likely also your customers, or future customers too!

Aldi UK’s Twitter feed is a great example of this done well, for example…

They also get involved in conversations with their competitors too, see below:

The soft-selling technique is used by many brands, and businesses now as it is the most effective way to utilise your social platforms, and build on your brand.

Are you going to try it?