Social selling in 2025 isn’t about cold pitches or flooding inboxes with templates, changing the name and pretending this is personalisation.
Buyers are smarter, more skeptical and more precious over their time than ever before. They want value up front with no strings attached—and the sellers who provide that will win.
That's right - blank connection requests followed by a good old pitch slap is out. It’s time to evolve.
Success on LinkedIn starts with having a social selling strategy that builds trust early. That means creating content that earns attention, showing up consistently, and building a personal brand that makes prospects want to engage before you ever reach out.
Don't worry, we've got you.
We’ll walk you through a how-to guide to social selling and help you create a strategy that works—backed by expert insight from top social sellers Tom Boston, Nia Woodhouse and Chris Van Praag, and grounded in what prospects want now, not five years ago.
We’ve broken it down into two parts: first, how to build a social selling strategy that gets attention for the right reasons, and second, social selling best practices that help you stay consistent, human, and effective.
Let's dive in!
This article is part of sales prospecting 'How to Win at Prospecting in 2025'. Learn all about how to win at video prospecting, cold calling, and mastering cold email.
Social Selling Strategy
1. Understand the Three Pillars of LinkedIn Engagement
A smart social selling strategy rests on three main pillars:
- Personal content creation – This is how you get on people’s radar without asking for anything. Share free advice, spark curiosity, give opinions. Good content gets noticed.
- Indirect engagement – Commenting effectively on your prospect’s posts is the most underrated move in social selling. More on that later.
- Direct engagement – Think voice notes, videos, or casual DMs—done right, these are powerful.
Too many sellers are jumping into LinkedIn trying to sell. Stop. “All we’re doing on the platform as sellers is trying to find the magical thing: time.”
Use your content and engagement to earn that time. That’s how to do social selling well.
Nia Woodhouse, SDR Leader at MySalesCoach highlights the opportunity here:
Direct engagement—voice notes, videos, and chat—is our second most successful prospecting tool.
2. Social Selling Isn’t Selling on LinkedIn
Let’s clear this up: social selling doesn’t mean selling on social.
LinkedIn isn’t your closing tool. It’s the stage where your buyer gets to know you. You’re building credibility, not pitching. The actual sale? That happens later, off-platform.
When someone connects with you, your job isn’t to pounce on them—it’s to be useful.
Chris Van Praag nails it:
“The key to social selling is to forget about the selling part. You have to have patience.”
Social selling techniques that work are rooted in giving. Give without asking. Share, engage, support. Eventually, the right people will come to you.
“It might feel like a one way journey for a while, but once you’ve done it for a few weeks or months, your prospects will WANT to speak to you.”
That’s real influence.
3. Build a Brand by Being Yourself
You don’t need to be a thought leader. You just need to be a real person with something useful to say.
Tom Boston put this perfectly:
“The best way to build connections is to be unapologetically yourself.I never tried to be a thought leader. I was just Tom the SDR, talking about sales.”
This approach is your brand. It’s not about buzzwords or polished pitch decks. It’s about being someone your prospects want to hear from because you’re relatable and honest.
This is personal branding for social selling—it’s real, and it works.
4. Master the Art of Commenting
Here’s one of the most effective yet underused social selling tips: leave real comments on your prospects’ posts.
Not “Love this!”
Not “Amazing!”
Definitely not “Inspirational!”
Tom Boston, a huge advocate of commenting to drive engagement, spills the tea:
“Why are we putting prospects on a pedestal?
Another big one is actually read the post before commenting on it. So many sellers don't actually read it before commenting!”
Then say something thoughtful, helpful, or funny. Make the prospect smile. Add to the conversation. Show you’re paying attention.
This is how you start indirect engagement that feels natural. It’s also how you stand out.
5. Personalise Sometimes, But Relevance Wins
Let’s talk connection requests.
The jury’s still out on personalisation. Sometimes a well-timed blank request works better.
But if you do personalise, don’t make it about you—make it about them.
“If you do personalise, make it about them, not you—reference a post, not a pitch.”
If you’re going after a high-value account and you’ve done your homework, a personalised note showing clear value can help. But for most, it’s about relevance more than personalisation.
The takeaway? Match the method to the moment.
6. Use LinkedIn Video and Voice Notes—Properly
LinkedIn gives you tools most reps aren’t using. That’s your edge.
Voice notes. Vertical video. Casual video messages. These tools cut through the noise if you use them to give, not just ask.
“A video should do more than just ask for a meeting—it should provide value, like pointing to useful content.”
Use video to share insights, data, or content your prospect will actually care about. Make it short, helpful, and human.
7. Lean Into What’s Working in 2025
LinkedIn is changing. It’s becoming more human, less formal.
“LinkedIn is becoming less corporate, more fun—it’s becoming like the social platforms we actually enjoy scrolling.”
This matters. Your content doesn’t have to sound like it came from a whitepaper. In fact, it shouldn’t. In 2025, the best social selling strategy includes content that’s entertaining, fun, and full of personality.
“Humorous and fun content is the way to go in 2025.”
That doesn’t mean joke posts 24/7. It means being approachable and real.
Social Selling Best Practices
Now, you’ve built an effective strategy—now here’s how to keep it sharp with these social selling best practices.
Engage First, Then Sell
Always lead with value.
“All we’re doing on the platform as sellers is trying to find the magical thing: time.”
That means your first message shouldn’t be a pitch. Start by commenting. Share a relevant insight. Mention something you noticed.
Then—and only then—can you start a real sales conversation. This is foundational to every social selling best-practice guide.
What Is The RRR Framework
So what does this stand for?
-
Research
-
Reward
-
Request
You should always have these things in mind when reaching out.
Here's a real life example of this in a message:
Subject Line: Your Profile/ Your Website/ Your Announcement/ Your Annual Report
Hi ,
Keeping up to date with , it mentions you are implementing strategy for 2025, specifically with a focus on growing – RESEARCH
Please find a case study [HERE], on how {{Competitor}} are currently using a gamified approach to secure their coding (I feel page 3, Paragraph 4 would be most interesting for you) – REWARD
How does this resonate with your plans for this year? – REQUEST
Kind regards,
SDR Name @ CompanyName
Make Every Engagement Count
Social selling techniques that work always come back to relevance.
- Add value in every comment.
- Reference something timely (a “trigger”) happening in your prospect’s world.
- Don’t force the conversation. Let it happen.
If you’re consistent, prospects will start the conversation with you.
Keep It Real
There’s no prize for sounding “professional” if it means being forgettable.
“The best way to build connections is to be unapologetically yourself.”
No one wants to talk to a walking LinkedIn buzzword generator. Drop the corporate tone. Write like a person.
And please, skip the “leading industry expert in synergistic solutions” nonsense.
Embrace Video and Voice
Don’t just send a calendar link. Send a 45-second video with something useful.
“A video should do more than ask for a meeting—it should provide value.”
And voice notes? Criminally underused. They’re personal, quick, and they get replies.
These are easy social selling techniques to stand out fast—because most reps aren’t using them.
Avoid What Doesn’t Work
Let’s list the red flags:
❌ Generic praise (“Love this!”)
❌ Cold pitches right after connecting
❌ Text-only outreach that offers nothing
❌ Overly polished, buzzword-heavy intros
❌ Treating LinkedIn like it’s still 201
The most important social selling tip: Don’t be that seller.
Final Thoughts
A strong social selling strategy doesn’t start with pitching. It starts with showing up, giving value, and building relationships before you ever ask for a meeting.
Mastering how to do social selling in 2025 means understanding what your prospects actually care about—and meeting them where they are with content, conversation, and consistency.
So stop selling. Start engaging. And watch what happens next.
TL;DR: Social Selling Strategy in 2025
Social selling in 2025 isn’t about cold DMs or pushing for demos—it’s about value-first engagement. The best social selling strategy builds trust before the first conversation.
Key Moves:
- Create personal content that sparks curiosity.
- Engage indirectly by commenting with insight, not empty praise.
- Use direct outreach (voice notes, videos) to stand out—but lead with value, not a pitch.
- Be authentic—drop the buzzwords and polished nonsense.
- Match your tone to the platform—LinkedIn is more fun and human now.
LinkedIn Strategy Best Practices For 2025
Do:
✅ Personalise with relevance
✅ Engage before you sell
✅ Use creative formats like video
✅ Be real and consistent
✅ Let your personality show
Don't:
🚫 Avoid generic comments and pitches
🚫 Don’t sell too soon
🚫 Skip the corporate-speak
🚫 Stop treating LinkedIn like it’s 2015
Bottom line?
Stop selling.
Start engaging.
That’s how you build pipeline in 2025.
