7 Tips to Enable Your Sales Team to Share Marketing Content
Darren Westall
November 22, 2020
Marketing
All marketers know and have known for quite some time now, that content is one of the core marketing functions in the digital world we live in. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, or how big or small your business is – a huge part of executing an effective marketing strategy is to produce and share good quality content.
We all know how funnels work, the different types of marketing content that goes with each stage of the funnel, and why they are all equally important in working towards conversions. However, that does not mean that sales teams within our businesses will necessarily know what all this means. In fact, it’s unlikely that they will, simply because it’s not their remit – meaning it’s the marketing team’s responsibility to educate them and help them to understand how marketing and sales go hand in hand.
1. Make The Content About Their Customers
If you’re struggling to get your sales team to share marketing content, find a way that’ll get them interested enough to share it. Ask all members of the sales team some questions about who they are specifically targeting, then provide them with some new or existing content that ties in with what they’ve told you. The more it applies to their customers and demonstrates how it’ll help generate leads, the more likely they are to share the content.
2. Make The Content Visually Appealing
This may sound a little patronising, but it’s actually the opposite. People are far more likely to want to share visually appealing content online than something that looks bland and uninteresting. If, for example, you are looking for your sales team to share a whitepaper, make sure it has been professionally designed and looks eye-catching. Then, after they have seen it, explain to the sales team how the content is used to generate leads for them, and how it benefits them if they share it.
3. Ensure The Content Is Personalised
Have you stopped to think about who the “author” is of your marketing content? It needs to be individual members of the sales team. Not only will this encourage them to share the content, but it also helps to strengthen their customer relationships by personalising their engagement. Build up banks of content for each sales team member, that way not only will they be more eager to share their own, but also to engage with their colleagues’ content, thus expanding your reach even further.
4. Have Regular Conversations
Don’t just assume that as a marketing professional, you know what’s best in terms of content. There needs to be an ongoing conversation with marketing and sales teams, whether that’s weekly, fortnightly or monthly meetings. When the sales team dives deeper and gives you more information on what they are looking for, what they’re struggling with and what’s worked for them in the past, you will be able to provide more useful content. This is the type of content that will not only help them generate the kind of leads they need but as a result, will mean more salespeople will share the content. Everyone wins, in this scenario!
5. Always Analyse The Data
No matter what it is you’re creating, whether it’s a blog, an infographic, a social poll, a video – you need to analyse the results of all marketing content, otherwise you’ll be screaming into the abyss. The more statistics you have to show to the sales teams in your meetings that demonstrate how content can generate leads, the more likely they are to share the content. This actually benefits both the marketing and the sales teams – you’ll work out what type of content works best, and they will want to share the more content you provide when they see that it helps their sales.
6. Create Micro-Content
If they feel like they are sharing ten blogs, three videos and 20 social posts a week all on different topics, the sales team might feel a little overwhelmed – and rightfully so. Don’t forget to create micro-content to get the most out of your social sharing. For example, if you’ve produced a video and have it hosted on your website, create between five and ten mini-clips to share on social media, all linking back to the same page. This gives you enough time to inform the sales team in your regular meetings about what they’ll be sharing this week (or month), and the topic behind it. When content is manageable from both sides, it feels far more effortless when it comes to sharing.
7. Streamline The Entire Process
Social sharing doesn’t mean the sales team constantly clicking in and out of LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to like, share, retweet and repost.
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