Social selling index, or SSI, has become a pivotal metric for business brands and owners to enhance their sales and marketing strategies in the digital era. Platforms like LinkedIn, which has more than 1 billion users, continue to dominate when it comes to professional networking and lead generation.
For business owners, not utilizing the platform means missing out on a huge potential audience, as well as connecting with other leaders.
But how do you now if a post will resonate with the right target audience? How can you get a leg up in terms of content when compared to others in the industry? What can help grow your network for the business?
This is where social selling index comes in, gauging how a brand works in order to utilize tools and platforms to help it reach its potential.
In this article, we’ll guide you through what SSI actually is, its importance, and how you can start utilizing it to boost your business today.
Table of Contents
1. What is social selling index?
2. The four business pillars of SSI
3. Why business should take SSI seriously
4. Tips for improving and utilizing SSI in the long term
5. Conclusion
What is social selling index?
Social selling index (SSI) was introduced by LinkedIn in 2014 to offer a better understanding of its users’ “social selling performance.” The score is measured from 0 to 100 and is made up of four pillars to help build high-quality relationships, establish a brand, identify potential prospects, and improve overall business conversion.
The tool helps businesses to understand their overall digital presence, highlighting its strengths and areas where digital sales strategies could be improved.
In effect, a business’s SSI score ensures that its social selling efforts are moving in the right direction. Anything over 70 out of 100 is considered a good score, demonstrating that a business is successfully engaging with all four pillars on LinkedIn.
However, it should be noted that only 1% of businesses have a score of more than 75; on average, SSIs range from 40 to 50.
To check your score, visit Linkedin’s dedicated SSI page and navigate to ”Get your score.” This will redirect you to your business’s personalized dashboard, providing your data, rank, and score.
To understand what your score means, consult the chart below:
| SSI score | Business profile rating |
| 100 | The profile is absolutely perfect |
| 90-99 | The brand is crushing the LinkedIn game |
| 80-89 | The business has created a solid network of connections |
| 70-79 | The profile is doing great, using LinkedIn as a powerful tool for marketing |
| 60-69 | The business profile is doing good |
| 50-59 | The profile often provides valuable and engaging content |
| 40-49 | The profile is set and covers the basics |
| 0-39 | The business is required to step up its game |
The four business pillars of SSI
The SSI score is based on four basic pillars, and it’s crucial that businesses work on these areas to ensure the best result for their social selling efforts. These key components include:
Establish a business brand
Having a strong brand presence is extremely important. Over 80% of consumers say they must first trust a brand to consider buying from them. Since a brand’s LinkedIn profile is the direct representation of a business, it must leave a professional and meaningful impression.
Once a brand reaches a certain level of success, it may come to be considered a leader in the industry, bringing more sales and opportunities. However, this is unlikely to happen if it presents itself unprofessionally.
Find the right audience
When it comes to a business’s LinkedIn SSI score, the basic formula is to focus on quality over quantity. Rather than reaching out to more and more professionals, try to identify and connect with the right audience and people.
The aim is to connect with people and businesses that are relevant to your industry and clientele. This will help to build a solid audience to profit from in the long run.
Engage with people and collect insights
The next pillar is engaging with people on LinkedIn to build a professional brand and overall SSI score, which should not be restricted to simply connecting.
It may start with engaging with a related business’s or individual’s post, demonstrating your expertise and credibility, and enticing professionals who are connected with the profile.
Collecting insights and data will further help you identify areas to improve when it comes to future engagement.
Building relationships and connections
Once you establish your brand’s business profile, the next step is to build and nurture relations to ensure long-term success. In order to build meaningful relationships, you must spark genuine, honest conversation, which is why relying on generic and automatic messages is unlikely to work.
Remember to keep building on your relationships, stay active when it comes to networking, and celebrate professional milestones.
Why businesses should take SSI seriously
SSI is not just a metric – it reflects a company’s success in the digital world. A business that prioritizes improving their SSI shows they have effectively attracted business prospects and built long-lasting relations.
As per LinkedIn’s stats, 45% of businesses with higher SSIs have access to better selling opportunities than companies with lower SSIs.
This helps to boost sales, stimulating social selling and effective lead generation. Companies that attain a good score are therefore more likely to meet their sales quotas.
SSI also helps enhance performance metrics, collect valuable insights, and leverage the LinkedIn platform to meet goals and objectives.
Tips for improving and utilizing SSI in the long term
Improving SSI unlocks significant opportunities for a business. However, to ensure effective improvement and utilization of their score, here are a few tips to follow:
Invest in proper training
Businesses should invest in training their sales team so as to follow social selling best practices, whether it’s understanding ways to optimize the business’s LinkedIn profile, creating or sharing relevant content, or engaging with the audience on the platform.
Prioritize creating a content strategy
A clear content strategy can help a business to increase its visibility and boost engagement. Focus should be placed on encouraging employees to post industry news, provide insights, participate in discussions, and enhance their authority in the industry.
Engage using the right tools
LinkedIn provides advanced search features such as sales navigation for businesses to find and connect with their potential clients and audiences. Using these tools helps to utilize the platform for sales, growth, and profit.
Conclusion
SSI is an invaluable tool for businesses to measure and improve their ability to leverage LinkedIn. By focusing on building their profiles in accordance with the platform’s four key pillars, growing their digital presence, and engaging with the right audience, businesses will be better equipped to establish long-lasting and profitable relationships.
Finally, keep in mind that in the digital era, it’s no longer optional but crucial for brands to use digital tools and measures like SSI to maintain an edge in a competitive world.
