As corporate social media usage has become mainstream, individuals within organizations want to know how it can benefit them directly. Below are five ways social media makes the salesperson’s job easier and more efficient.

1. Social media speeds up the relationship building process. People like to do business with people they know. In years past, this meant that sales people had to spend long hours making phone calls, scheduling in-person meetings and attending events. But now, social media has made it possible for salespeople to engage with their customers and prospects much more frequently. Social media interaction should not replace human interaction; it should simply be used as another meaningful avenue for communication.

2. Social media allows salespeople to be more knowledgeable than ever before. By doing some basic social listening, salespeople can get a clear vision of all aspects of their market. They can get feedback from their customers, gather intelligence on competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and get insights on trends in their industry.

3. Social media can help build trust with current and potential customers. Regularly sharing content that is relevant, interesting and important to customers and prospects can help salespeople become a “go to” source for information within their industry. Information about their own products and services should be included in the mix, but salespeople should also strive to share other content that will draw people back to their profiles time and again. It is also important for salespeople to like and share the content of the people with whom they are attempting to build relationships.

4. Social media allows for deeper engagement with customers. When customers choose to opt in on social channels, they become more personally engaged with the brand itself and with the salesperson that represents it. Social can also help salespeople capture important information about customers, ranging from their birthdays to important life events, which can lead to more personalized discussions.

5. Social media helps salespeople generate leads. Social is a great place to find leads. Likes and comments on LinkedIn posts, people who have liked or re-tweeted Tweets, and Facebook page followers are some obvious starting places, but the big three social media networks are certainly not the only sources for real sales leads. Blogs, live chats and comment sections on websites are also great places to engage with prospects that are already engaging with the brand.

When used correctly, social media can be an important tool for the 21st century salesperson. Sharing industry knowledge that is interesting to current and potential clients in an engaging, non-salesy manner will allow for faster and more meaningful relationships to grow organically. And that will benefit everyone’s bottom line.