How to Post Like a Human and Still Build Pipeline

In the vast digital wilderness of LinkedIn feeds and Twitter threads, there’s a peculiar species that’s becoming increasingly endangered: the authentic human voice. Like a rare orchid struggling to bloom amid a field of plastic flowers, genuine communication stands out precisely because it’s so uncommon. The corporate world has developed a curious ability to transform perfectly normal humans into jargon-spouting automatons the moment they log into their professional social accounts.

This strange metamorphosis – not unlike watching your charming, witty colleague transform into a corporate zombie at the mere sight of the LinkedIn composer box – has created a paradox for modern sales professionals. How does one maintain one’s humanity while still achieving those all-important pipeline goals? It’s rather like trying to dance at a wedding while simultaneously filling out your tax return – theoretically possible, but rarely executed with grace.

Human-like social selling isn’t rocket science, though you’d be forgiven for thinking so given how few people manage it successfully. At its core, it’s simply the art of engaging with potential customers on social media as though they’re actual humans rather than walking wallets with convenient “buy now” buttons attached.

The fundamental principle is disarmingly straightforward: foster genuine relationships first, sell second (or third, or seventeenth). It’s about shifting focus from the desperate “please-buy-my-stuff” dance to building connections that might eventually – when the stars align and the timing is right – lead to sales conversations.

The Importance of Authenticity

Authenticity in social selling is like a decent cup of tea in America – rare enough to be remarkable and deeply appreciated when found. In a digital landscape where every other post seems to have been written by the same AI prompt (“Thrilled to announce,” anyone?), genuine human expression cuts through the noise like a hot knife through particularly pretentious butter.

The statistics bear this out rather convincingly. Content that feels authentic generates engagement rates up to eight times higher than corporate-speak. Why? Because humans are remarkably good at detecting inauthenticity. We’ve evolved over thousands of years to notice when someone is trying to sell us a dodgy spear or questionable mammoth meat. That same instinct kicks in when we scroll past yet another “I’m humbled and honoured to share” post.

Authenticity manifests in myriad ways: admitting when you don’t have all the answers, sharing genuine challenges alongside victories, or simply writing in the same voice you’d use to explain something to a colleague over coffee. It’s the difference between “Leveraging innovative solutions to optimise customer success journeys” and “We fixed that annoying bug that was driving everyone mad.”

To navigate the treacherous waters of social selling without losing your soul (or your sales targets), consider these strategies that won’t require sacrificing your dignity at the altar of corporate communication.

1. Know Your Audience

Understanding your audience is rather like being a good detective, minus the trench coat and existential crisis. It requires observation, deduction, and a genuine curiosity about what makes people tick.

Begin by listening more than you speak. Spend time in the digital spaces where your potential customers gather. What language do they use? What problems keep them awake at night? What makes them laugh? What causes them to unleash a torrent of frustrated emoji?

Sarah, a software sales executive, noticed that her target audience of IT managers frequently complained about the same integration issue on Reddit forums. Rather than immediately pitching her solution, she joined the conversation by sharing a helpful workaround she’d learned from another client. No pitch, no link, just value. Three months later, two of those IT managers reached out directly when they were evaluating new solutions.

The most effective audience research isn’t found in market reports or demographic data (though those have their place). It’s found in genuine curiosity about the humans you’re trying to help. Ask questions like:

What are the unspoken frustrations in their role that they might not even articulate in a formal requirements document?
What language do they use when they’re talking to peers rather than vendors?
What content do they engage with when they’re not being marketed to?

2. Engage, Don’t Pitch

If social media interactions were a first date, most sales professionals would be guilty of proposing marriage before the appetisers arrive. It’s uncomfortable, inappropriate, and almost certainly doomed to failure.

Engagement means participating in conversations without immediately trying to steer them toward your product. It means asking thoughtful questions, offering insights, and sometimes just acknowledging someone else’s expertise or perspective.

Take James, who sells HR software. Instead of immediately pitching his solution whenever someone mentions recruitment challenges, he asks about their specific context, shares relevant articles (even from competitors), and occasionally admits the limitations of technology in solving human problems. His pipeline grows not despite this approach but because of it – people remember the helpful person, not the pushy one.

Practical ways to engage without pitching include:

Responding to questions in your area of expertise without mentioning your product
Sharing third-party content that your audience would find valuable
Asking thoughtful follow-up questions that demonstrate genuine interest
Connecting people who might benefit from knowing each other, even when there’s no immediate benefit to you

Remember that building a sales pipeline on social media is more marathon than sprint. The person you helpfully engage with today might not need your solution for months or even years – but when they do, you’ll be the first person they think of.

3. Use Storytelling

Humans are hardwired for stories. Our ancestors weren’t gathering around the primordial fire to share quarterly sales projections or feature comparison charts. They were telling tales of hunts and heroes, triumphs and tribulations. That same storytelling instinct remains embedded in our psychology, like a fossil preserved in digital amber.

Good storytelling in social selling feels like sitting in a pub with a friend who happens to know a lot about a particular subject, rather than being trapped in a lift with someone desperately trying to meet their quota before month-end.

Consider how Mark, a cybersecurity consultant, approaches this. Rather than posting generic warnings about security threats, he shares specific stories: “Last week, I worked with a manufacturing firm that had been using the same password for their main system since 2003. The password? ‘Password1!’ What happened next cost them £42,000 and a very awkward call with their biggest customer.” The story is specific, relatable, and subtly demonstrates his expertise without explicitly selling his services.

Effective business storytelling typically includes:

A relatable character (ideally a customer similar to your target audience)
A genuine challenge or problem (the more specific, the better)
An honest account of the solution process (including setbacks)
A resolution that feels earned rather than magical
A lesson or insight that provides value even to those who never buy from you

The best stories aren’t perfect success narratives. They include complications, unexpected turns, and even failures. Paradoxically, sharing stories about when things didn’t go perfectly often builds more credibility than an endless parade of flawless victories.

4. Be Responsive

Social media, despite its many flaws and occasional tendency to devolve into digital gladiatorial combat, is fundamentally about conversation. And conversations, as any British person trapped in an awkward lift interaction can tell you, require response and acknowledgment to avoid crossing the line from “slightly uncomfortable” to “existentially horrifying.”

Being responsive means treating comments and messages as the beginning of a dialogue rather than the end of a broadcast. It’s the difference between shouting your message from a digital mountaintop and actually sitting down for a chat over a virtual cuppa.

Take Emma, who sells accounting software. When someone comments on her post about tax preparation challenges, she doesn’t just like the comment and move on. She asks follow-up questions, offers additional insights, and sometimes even connects the commenter with specific resources. Her response rate is nearly 100%, and her conversion rate from social engagement to sales conversation is three times the industry average.

Responsiveness doesn’t always mean immediate replies (we all have lives beyond the screen, after all), but it does mean thoughtful ones. A response two days later that actually addresses the person’s point is infinitely more valuable than a generic “Thanks for your comment!” within seconds.

Consider implementing these responsiveness practices:

Set aside specific times each day to check and respond to social media engagement
Use the person’s name and reference specific points they made
Ask genuine follow-up questions that demonstrate you’re interested in continuing the conversation
When appropriate, move conversations to more direct channels (DM, email, call) if they’re becoming detailed or specific to that person’s situation
Express gratitude for thoughtful engagement, especially when someone takes time to challenge or disagree with your perspective

5. Leverage User-Generated Content

There’s something wonderfully circular about user-generated content – rather like a digital ecosystem where the content feeds the community which feeds the content. It’s the closest thing social media has to renewable energy.

User-generated content serves as social proof that’s infinitely more credible than your own claims. It’s the difference between saying “Our product is brilliant!” and having a customer voluntarily declare “This thing saved my sanity on a Tuesday afternoon when everything else was going pear-shaped.”

James, a project management software salesperson, built an entire community around user-generated content. He created a hashtag for users to share their most satisfying project completions, then regularly highlighted these wins on his own profile. The result? A steady stream of authentic testimonials that he didn’t have to solicit or script.

Effective ways to encourage and leverage user-generated content include:

Creating specific hashtags that make content easy to find and share
Hosting challenges or competitions that inspire users to create and share
Regularly highlighting user content on your own channels (with permission)
Asking thoughtful questions that prompt users to share their experiences
Building in public and inviting customers to do the same

The beauty of user-generated content is that it creates a virtuous cycle. When potential customers see existing users sharing their positive experiences, they’re more likely to become customers themselves – and eventually share their own stories.

Building a sales pipeline through social media is rather like growing a garden in sometimes unpredictable weather. It requires patience, consistent attention, and the understanding that not every seed will sprout – but with the right conditions, the overall harvest can be quite remarkable.

1. Monitor Your Interactions

Monitoring your social media interactions shouldn’t feel like surveillance, but rather like keeping notes on a series of ongoing conversations with friends. It’s less Big Brother and more “remembering what your mate Tom told you about his holiday plans so you can ask about it when you next see him.”

Effective monitoring goes beyond counting likes and shares. It means understanding the quality and direction of conversations, noticing patterns in engagement, and identifying which topics or approaches resonate most deeply with your audience.

Consider creating a simple tracking system that notes:

Which topics generate the most meaningful conversations (not just the most reactions)
Who regularly engages with your content (potential warm leads)
Common questions or challenges that arise in comments
Content formats that spark the most thoughtful responses
Times of day or days of week when your audience seems most receptive

Rachel, a B2B consultant, noticed through careful monitoring that her Tuesday morning posts about industry challenges consistently generated the most thoughtful comments and direct messages. She adjusted her content calendar accordingly and saw her meaningful engagements increase by 40% within a month.

Monitoring also means paying attention to shifts in the conversation. Topics that resonated six months ago might fall flat today. The language your audience uses evolves. The problems they face change with market conditions. Regular, attentive monitoring helps you stay relevant in a constantly shifting landscape.

2. Follow Up

The art of the follow-up is delicate indeed – like trying to pick up a conversation at a party without making it obvious you’ve been thinking about what to say for the past fifteen minutes. Too eager and you seem desperate; too casual and the opportunity slips away.

Effective follow-ups acknowledge the previous interaction, add new value, and open the door to continued conversation without applying pressure. They recognise that relationship-building is rarely linear.

Michael, who sells manufacturing software, keeps a simple spreadsheet of meaningful social media interactions. When someone engages thoughtfully with his content, he makes a note to check their profile again in two weeks. He then finds a relevant article or resource to share directly with them, referencing their previous conversation. This approach has led to a 35% conversion rate from social engagement to sales calls.

Practical follow-up approaches include:

Sending a brief, personalised connection request that references your previous interaction
Sharing a specific resource that addresses a challenge they mentioned
Asking a thoughtful follow-up question about their situation or perspective
Inviting them to relevant events or webinars that align with their interests
Introducing them to others in your network who might provide value

The key to effective follow-up is personalisation. Generic “just checking in” messages are the digital equivalent of cold calls – annoying and rarely effective. Each follow-up should demonstrate that you remember the specific person and conversation.

3. Offer Exclusive Content

Exclusive content is rather like having a secret handshake or knowing the password to a hidden speakeasy – it creates a delicious sense of being “in the know” that humans find irresistible. It transforms your audience from passive consumers into members of a select group.

The most effective exclusive content isn’t necessarily the most polished or produced. Often, it’s the raw, behind-the-scenes insights that feel like being invited into the kitchen of a favourite restaurant.

Sarah, a marketing consultant, creates quarterly trend reports for her general audience. However, she offers an additional “director’s commentary” version exclusively to her social media followers, where she shares her unfiltered opinions on which trends are overhyped and which are underappreciated. This approach has doubled her qualified leads from social channels.

Effective exclusive content approaches include:

Early access to new research, tools, or features
Behind-the-scenes looks at your processes or decision-making
Raw, unfiltered analysis that might be too pointed for general publication
Q&A sessions where you answer specific questions from your community
Templates, frameworks, or tools that simplify common tasks

The exclusivity doesn’t need to be permanent – content can start as exclusive to your social followers and later be released more broadly. The key is that your social audience gets it first, creating an incentive for others to join your community.

4. Host Live Sessions

Live sessions create a curious alchemy that’s difficult to replicate in any other format. They combine the immediacy of conversation with the reach of broadcast, creating moments of genuine connection at scale. They’re rather like digital campfires – gathering places where stories are shared and communities form.

The beauty of live sessions is their inherent humanity. When the dog barks in the background or you momentarily forget what you were saying, these “imperfections” actually increase relatability rather than diminishing authority.

James, a financial advisor, hosts monthly “Ask Me Anything” sessions where he answers questions about personal finance without pushing his services. These sessions regularly attract 200+ live viewers and generate an average of 15 direct inquiries each month. The key to his success? He’s willing to give genuinely helpful advice without expectation of immediate return.

Effective approaches to live sessions include:

Regular Q&A sessions where you answer audience questions in real time
Live demonstrations of processes or techniques (not just product demos)
Panel discussions with other experts in complementary fields
“Office hours” where people can drop in with specific challenges
Behind-the-scenes tours or explanations of your work

The most successful live sessions prioritise interaction over presentation. They’re conversations, not lectures, with at least 50% of the time dedicated to audience questions and discussion.

Conclusion

Human-like social selling isn’t merely a tactic; it’s a return to the fundamental truth that business, stripped of its digital veneer and corporate jargon, remains a deeply human endeavour. Like an experienced bartender who remembers your usual order and asks about your day before mentioning the new special, effective social selling balances genuine interest with strategic awareness.

The path to building pipeline through authentic social engagement isn’t always the quickest or most direct. It meanders like a country lane rather than shooting straight like a motorway. But the scenic route often leads to more interesting destinations and certainly to more meaningful connections along the way.

By focusing on genuine interactions, valuable content, and patient relationship-building, you transform social media from a noisy broadcasting platform into a powerful tool for connection. The resulting pipeline isn’t just fuller – it’s filled with prospects who already know, like, and trust you before the first sales conversation even begins.

Ready to amplify your authentic voice? Start by identifying one area where your social presence could be more human. Perhaps it’s responding more thoughtfully to comments, sharing more specific stories, or simply writing in a voice that sounds more like you and less like a corporate press release. Your audience – and your pipeline – will thank you for it.\n\n## Explore Across Our Network\n\n- Master Stakeholder Mapping for Direct PoV Project Success (proofofvalue) - Learn how effective stakeholder mapping directly shapes your PoV outcomes. Essential tactics for technical sellers and GTM leads.\n- Why PoCs Fail: Ensuring Success Through Strategic… (proofofvalue) - Uncover why PoCs often miss the mark and master strategies to ensure your project thrives. Tailored insights for technical sellers and GTM leads.\n\n\n## Explore Across Our Network\n\n- Master Stakeholder Mapping for Direct PoV Project Success (proofofvalue) - Learn how effective stakeholder mapping directly shapes your PoV outcomes. Essential tactics for technical sellers and GTM leads.\n- Why PoCs Fail: Ensuring Success Through Strategic… (proofofvalue) - Uncover why PoCs often miss the mark and master strategies to ensure your project thrives. Tailored insights for technical sellers and GTM leads.\n