Social media is no longer merely a business add-on, but a necessity. If you’re not using social media to drive traffic to your business, and therefore leads that convert
into revenue, then your brand is losing out. You can build your business on social media with leads coming from sites like LinkedIn and Twitter. But how do you start using social media for lead generation? We have some tips to share.
Use Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising takes targeting, and thus the ability to collect leads from focused groups of possible customers to a new level. Much more than simple targeting, social media advertising has evolved over the years to include specific lead generation tools and formats that are designed to help users collect leads directly within social networks. Some examples are:
- Facebook Lead Ads – this is a low commitment way for potential customers to connect with your business without leaving their Facebook account. Usually, the potential customer provides some information like an email address in exchange for something of value, like a coupon. Because Facebook can automatically populate the lead generating form with the user’s contact information, it has an advantage over some other sites. And it’s a low barrier format, since it only takes a couple of clicks for a potential customer to connect with you.
- Instagram Lead Ads
Instagram is owned by Facebook, therefore Facebook lead ads can also appear
on Instagram, as long they meet the Instagram design requirements. But lead ads
behave differently on Instagram, i.e. the platform can only pre-populate the lead
form with email, full name, phone number and gender. The user will have to type
in any additional information, if you want more. Furthermore, Instagram leads
only appear on mobile, and since it takes longer for a form to be filled out over
mobile, you should only ask for additional information if you think it’s really
critical.
- LinkedIn Lead Generation Forms
These forms have made it very easy for potential customers to share their
information, since they are pre-populated with details from the person’s
LinkedIn profile. Being a professional networking website, the details you will get
include details about their job, where they work, their title, seniority,
educational details, etc, making it a very rich source of data.
Links to Gated Content
What is gated content? It’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s content hidden behind a virtual gate. And if it is interesting enough and valuable enough, then people who are interested in learning about it will be willing to provide basic contact information to you in exchange for access. Gated content can be promoted by sharing a link to a landing page, where a potential reader would provide their information, before access is granted. If your content is relevant to your industry or product, and it should be, then these interested readers who provide their information become a valuable lead.
Host A Webinar Or Live Video
Let’s look at a couple of different approaches to generating leads with live videos and webinars. You could present the video as gated content, which as explained above would require any interested viewers to register in advance by providing their information. That is option one. Option two is opening up the video to a wide audience and generate leads from the audience. But how do you do that? There are two ways you can generate leads in this manner.
- You can direct the viewers to offers and contests or other social media lead generation tools on a different platform like you website, while the video is playing.
- You can encourage your viewers to interact with you live, by offering them a reward for participation, and also ensure that you follow up with those viewers who have left comments.
You already have a captive audience. These are people who have expressed interest in your content, and your business. A simple post video reaching out could generate many more leads than you expected.
Run Contests
A lot of companies run contests, but forget the important aspect of it. Any prize that you’re giving away must meet two important criteria. One, it has to be valuable enough so that people are willing to enter the contest. Two, it has to be specifically valuable to the people who have the highest potential to become your customers. Why so? If the prize isn’t valuable enough, then not enough people will want to enter your contest. But it doesn’t help if the prize is generically valuable either, because then everyone who sees the contest will want to enter. All that will get you is lots of contact information, but not qualified leads.
Your company isn’t just made up of logos and fonts, it’s also made of people. Your followers, which also include possible leads, want to talk to you. Creating content specific to your social media channel of choice, like an image, a question, a survey, a video, an insight or a tip, will allow you to reach out to your potential customers and offer them something valuable and relevant in return for their information.
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