I always cringe a little when I read the word, social media trainer. Even though I am one, it makes me a little afraid about what I’m going to hear. That’s not fair to the many wonderful speakers and trainers, people who drive the industry forward and seek out new ways and technologies, but I see it so much that it’s like a street taco. When you get it, you don’t know if it will be really good, incredibly bland, or ruin your afternoon. So I did a video. But Youtube kept crashing on the desktop, so I did it outside, which is why the lighting is bad, and the sound had too much wind. And for that, I apologize.

But the content is good.

It breaks down to this. Social media research and Instagram views used in sales and recruiting aren’t about personal details. The idea that you can form a bond with a person by researching their social profile is silly, and if you try, you’ll come across as a creep. If it does work for you, it’s because the person wants to talk to you, not because you figured out they like double-stuff Oreos more than regular Oreos. Social media in sales is good for three things.

1) It leads you to relevant information (business information).

2) It allows you to showcase your value which leads to more interest from your prospect.

3) Social media are often less cluttered than phones and email. Not always, but sometimes, and they can serve as great messaging tools to move to phone, email, and face-to-face meetings.

That’s it.

It’s sales research and sales enablement. If you’re looking at social for cues to connect with candidates, I’m not going to believe that you do it very much. It sounds like one of those things that we want to believe, but no one does.