In just a few years, the advent of social media has completely changed the way we communicate and interact with people in our lives. Combine this with the coming of the smart phone and all of a sudden everyone is online, all the time. Words such as 'like' and 'share' have taken on a new meaning and a whole new world of communication has been opened up to us.

As well as a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, social media also brings new choice, new opportunity and new ways of businesses keeping in touch with their customers. Every major brand now has a Twitter feed and a Facebook page, whether this is for the purposes of customer service, brand awareness or in an effort to generate sales leads.

Even small and medium businesses are popping up on social network channels in an attempt to keep their finger on the pulse of this rapidly shifting environment. In fact, the social channels are seen as so important to the successes of businesses both large and small, a greater proportion of businesses' marketing budgets are being allocated to the development of this media year on year. In 2009, the average spending on social media for the purposes of lead generation was around 9% of the total lead generation budget. That figure had almost doubled in the following year to an average of 17%.

Corporate websites more effective than social media
So, is this money well spent? Are companies seeing a return on their investment in social media? Unfortunately it would seem, following recent research by business consultants, Demandbase, that despite the efforts being made to move sales away from the homepage, the majority of companies' trade is still conducted primarily through the company website. In fact, the study showed that a company's corporate website is around seven times more effective in generating sales leads than any type of activity involving social media.
» Read more: Website sales leads vs social media sales leads

Sales Question: "I'm doing my best to take advantage of "social selling" with LinkedIn but I'm having a hard time getting prospects to accept my connection requests. Any suggestions?"

Answer: LinkedIn is a powerful social selling tool that can help you increase sales - if used correctly…

For the full story please visit the Eyes on Sales website.

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1st March 2012, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire

The messages delivered through TV & magazine advertising, junk mail, telesales and every other marketing channel have led our prospects to run away. They now hide behind spam filters, voicemail and gatekeepers so they are all but unreachable with our ‘unique’ offerings. Even if we do get through to them they won’t be paying attention.

It can however be different. Instead of you selling, it could be them buying. Instead of you shouting to be heard, it could be them listening.

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With the advent of social networking, online social forums are becoming the best and most popular way to keep in touch with friends and colleagues. There are few people who don't have an account on at least one social networking site. For the casual user who wants to keep in contact with relatives and friends, Facebook is usually the medium of choice, but in the professional world there is a dark horse that is fast becoming so much more than just a networking site.

LinkedIn has seen exponential growth in the professional world over the past few years, with 54% of professionals now rating their LinkedIn accounts as more important than their Facebook accounts in 2011 compared with just 42% in 2010.

Such is the influence and self-promotion opportunity that LinkedIn allows, some US based companies have even been asking prospective job candidates to submit their LinkedIn profiles as part of their recruitment process. More and more employers are researching their candidate's connections and work history on LinkedIn, so a good profile with recommendations is essential in the job market today. For many people LinkedIn acts as a live, working business card and once your profile is up to date and well organised you will be able to attach a link to email signatures and blogs to help increase your credibility.

However, while many lower level employees primarily use LinkedIn to increase their employment opportunities, middle and senior management are increasingly using the network to promote and expand their business as well as to find potential business partners and organisations with services they will find useful. For sales professionals, LinkedIn offers unlimited opportunities for networking and increasing sales, if you know how to use it well. Sales people looking for a promotion or a new position will be head and shoulders above the competition if they have a good working knowledge of how to use LinkedIn to generate sales leads. Increasingly, employers are coming to expect this of their candidates, so make sure you are on top of this useful tool before applying for any jobs.

Using LinedIn to generate new business. So, how do sales people use LinkedIn to generate new business? One of the top tips for any sales person is to use your existing network to find prospects by subtly and intelligently identifying useful contacts. For most, users their first degree connections will be made up of 90% old colleagues, employers and school friends they are keeping in touch with. The 10% that could be potential prospects can be approached in subtle ways to create new opportunities, either through using In Mail, joining their discussions in groups or sending your company information to their desk.

If you don't find any prospects in your immediate network, make the most of your connections. Using the 'advanced people search' tool, you can search the connections of your contacts (your second degree connections) by industry, job title or well thought out keywords. When you identify a prospect, use your shared connection to get introduced to them, although be sure to explain to your first degree connection, why you want to speak to the person and what you think you can do for them, otherwise they may refuse your request.

Using this technique means the number of first degree connections and more importantly, the number of connections they have is essential to maximising sales opportunities. With this in mind, be sure to offer a LinkedIn request to any clients, colleagues or peers you connect with at conferences or in meetings. Once you have connected with them, it can be a good idea to look through their contacts list not only for prospects, but also for 'super-connectors' in their network. This means people with hundreds of connections. By getting introduced to these super-connectors, you can quickly expand your second and third degree network, thereby increasing your chances of finding sales prospects through LinkedIn.

Find out who’s looking at your profile It is also possible to see who has viewed your profile and the profile of your company. People looking at your profile may well be in the market for the type of services or products you offer, so follow these up through LinkedIn or by sending out a prospectus to their offices. LinkedIn also makes it easier to find the decision makers within an organisation, so if you think a company is interested in your services, actively seek out their directors and send them further information.

Another way to find out who may be interested in your business is to check which companies have been visiting your company website. This is easy enough information to obtain from your web provider, so make sure you have access to this information and use your knowledge to research these companies on LinkedIn and find the decision makers to follow up with. If you travel a lot for work you can use your extended network to find contacts in locations you will be visiting. This will enable you to make arrangements to meet up with these contacts, thereby maximising the benefits of your travel.

LinkedIn is also a good place to build your online reputation, through participating in relevant groups and discussions. Try not to use these as places to tout your business. Instead, it is better to make some educated and well thought out contributions to discussions, demonstrating your knowledge and intelligence on the subject matter and thereby enhancing your credibility within your industry. As well as joining groups that deal with your industry, join those that deal with your target market. Even if you don't contribute to the discussions, you can keep your finger on the pulse of trends, concerns and issues with your target market, giving you more to talk to them about and keeping you in the loop for new opportunities.

With all this in mind, it is absolutely essential you nurture your first degree contacts. Asking to be introduced through a connection you only met once five years ago may be viewed as somewhat utilitarian and could damage your reputation. Sending them the odd weblink that might be of interest to them from time to time is enough to maintain your relationship and make that contact request easier to make.

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While the current economic gloom may have seen unemployment rise in the UK, research from Simplysalesjobs.co.uk has provided some good news for those looking for a new sales position.

» Read more: Sales vacancies strong despite economic downturn