How to do Social Selling in an Inbound Way

Published on 14.03.2026 by Chizoba T

Social selling involves using social media to find and connect with your leads and nurture them. That means you leverage social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to find people who may be interested in your products or services, build trust with them, and ultimately sell to them.

With inbound marketing embracing the need to create valuable customer experiences, it can be a good option to combine with social selling, especially in an era when social media impacts brand reputation. In this article, we guide you on social selling to increase trust and sales in an inbound way.

What is Social Selling, the Inbound Way?

Social selling, the inbound way, combines the principles of inbound marketing with social media to build genuine connections, position yourself as an expert, and nurture leads into customers. It can, therefore, be a good strategy in an era when cases of social media cancel culture are rising.

Inbound marketing focuses on attracting, engaging, and stirring customers' interest. You can use the strategy to share insightful social media content, engage authentically with your audience, and attract the right customers who are already interested in your products. You can engage with them in a meaningful way and build better relationships, resulting in trust and, eventually, sales.

The Role of Social Selling in Inbound Marketing

Social selling can be a handy tool for improving your inbound marketing strategy in different ways, such as:

  • Extending your reach. Social selling can be an excellent strategy for expanding reach, as it enables you to leverage social media platforms to connect with your potential customers.
  • Real-time interaction. Through social media platforms, brands can engage with their target audiences in real-time, responding to inquiries, participating in discussions, and building stronger relationships.
  • Personalized engagement. Social selling can ensure a direct, personalized interaction with your prospects, resulting in a higher engagement rate than traditional inbound methods.
  • Enhancing credibility. You can use social selling to position yourself as an expert in your niche by ensuring that you are consistently sharing valuable social media insights and content. This can foster authentic connections and build trust with potential customers, making them more likely to choose your brand over a competitor.
  • Cost-effective conversion. Social media platforms are free, making them a cost-effective lead generation strategy. When you build a long-term relationship, your leads are more ready to buy, which translates into a shorter sales cycle and a higher conversion rate.
  • Use insights and data. Social media platforms provide users with a range of insights and data to better understand their audience and tailor interactions and content to their needs.

How to integrate Social Selling in Inbound Marketing

When you integrate social selling with inbound marketing, you can create a strategy to effectively engage your customers. Here are ways to combine social selling with inbound marketing:

  • Content creation. You can share a wide range of content, such as videos, ebooks, blog posts, infographics, and webinars, to address your audience's pain points. You can use social media to spark discussions and answer questions related to your industry.
  • Provide social proof. Reviews and testimonials can be great tools for helping people trust your brand. You can use them to gain your audience's trust. Combined with case studies and success stories, add a new level of credibility and gets new leads from people who see your value.
  • Engagement. Instead of just broadcasting content, you can engage with your audience by answering their questions and providing helpful advice. If you have interested followers, you can give them gated content, such as demos and white papers, in exchange for their contact details.
  • Nurturing lead. You can offer valuable insights through email campaigns and ensure your leads stay up to date.
  • Check performance and improve. You can leverage social media analytics tools to identify the types of content that resonate most with your target audience. Use the details to determine which content is generating the most leads and engagement. You can then use the data to refine your strategy and create content that has the greatest impact.
  • Leverage targeted ads. Social media ads can be a great tool to reach your targeted audience. Personalization can make your ads more relevant and effective. You can use the advanced targeting features of social media platforms, such as custom and lookalike audiences, as well as interest-based targeting.

How to Build an Effective Social Selling

A good social selling strategy that focuses on inbound marketing involves understanding your audience and engaging them meaningfully. Here are ways of building an outstanding inbound marketing strategy:

Understand Your Target Customers

Before you start posting, understand who your target audience is. Create a detailed buyer persona that outlines your audience's demographics, online behavior, and pain points. Doing so will enable you to tailor the content to their interests and needs. Remember, the buyer’s persona is ever-evolving, so you should keep updating it as you gain more insights to ensure it remains relevant and accurate.

Use Customer-Centric Content

Make sure your content is customer-centric, focusing on educating, entertaining, and helping your audience solve their problems. Provide your target audience with a mix of content, such as videos, infographics, case studies, and blog posts, to address their needs. Maintain a dedicated, consistent posting schedule to keep your target audience informed and interested.

Drive Engagement 

Remember that posting content your audience is interested in is just the first step. You should also actively engage with your audience by commenting on posts, participating in discussions, and providing helpful advice. Make sure you show your audience genuine interest and provide feedback. Authenticity is important. You need to stay true to yourself and connect with your target audience.

In Conclusion

Social selling, the inbound way, involves leveraging the power of social media to build some meaningful relationships with your customers and prospects. When you combine social selling with inbound marketing, you can increase your reach, become more credible, generate leads, and bring more sales. If you are wondering how to integrate social selling into inbound marketing, the steps above will be helpful.