For every growth strategy you develop, you also need a plan to acquire fresh and relevant leads. This can sometimes be the most challenging part of marketing your business.
The good news is social media can be your most valuable lead generation channel if you know how to use it right. It’s only a matter of using the right tactics at the right time.
SOCIAL MEDIA LEAD GENERATION: WHAT IT IS AND WHY YOU NEED IT
A lead refers to any information that you can use to identify someone interested in your products or service. This could be anything from name and email address to occupation and employer details. So social media lead generation is the process of collecting new leads using social media.
Generating leads on social media can benefit marketers as it helps you identify the social media audiences that are interested in your business. This gives you the necessary leverage to target them with relevant content and offers and then convert them into paying customers.
HOW TO GENERATE LEADS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
1. LAUNCH COMPELLING LEAD MAGNET OFFERS
The right incentive can often compel people to freely share their information with you. For this, you’ll need to create enticing lead magnet offers that people want. This could be anything from a research report to a free tool. You could also offer discount codes, case studies, webinars, whitepapers and more.
2. SHARE TESTIMONIALS AS SOCIAL PROOF
Customer stories and testimonials can give you the social proof you need to acquire new leads. Showcasing how clients have benefited from your products and services to demonstrate your brand value.
3. CREATE TARGETED ADS WITH SPECIAL OFFERS
A paid social media advertising strategy is highly effective for generating leads on social media. With this strategy, you can use the highly specific targeting options of paid social ads to show your audience offers that are tailored to capture their interest. Try promoting content on specific subject matter, special discounts and limited-time offers on your products and services through these ads.
4. MAKE THE MOST OF LEAD GENERATION ADS
Take your social media advertising one step further with lead gen ads. These are ads that come with pre-populated forms so people can easily finish signing up without spending too much time entering their personal information. This saves time, speeds up the lead generation process and can significantly boost your conversion rate.
5. SET UP SEQUENTIAL RETARGETING ADS
Retargeting can further amplify your social advertising and lead generation strategy by helping you reengage lost prospects. Say someone clicked on your first ad and scrolled through the landing page but never submitted a form. You can retarget them with ads that encourage them to finish the signup process.
6. LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA SPONSORSHIPS
Instead of using paid ads, you could also attract leads from the social media content that your target audience is already consuming. Consider sponsoring shows, content and YouTube channels that are popular with your target audience.
7. HOST A VIRTUAL EVENT OR SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE
Virtual conferences and events are a great way to attract a highly relevant audience while establishing your expertise and authority in the field. That means they are also great for generating leads on social media, especially since people will need to provide their info to sign up or join the conference.
8. LAUNCH A REFERRAL CAMPAIGN
Referral campaigns can be highly effective in doubling your sales leads. These campaigns provide an incentive to your leads for referring their friends and/or colleagues. That means the referred people will get to learn about your products or services and potentially become additional leads. The simplest form of this is a competition in your social channels.
9. MAKE THE MOST OF SOCIAL LISTENING
Look for lead generation opportunities with effective social listening. Monitor social media conversations and see what people are saying about a certain topic or a competitor brand. This will help you identify any opportunities to generate high-quality leads for your business.
10. THE POWER OF CONTENT
Always generate valuable and honest content for your end user. Your target audience will not follow you because you advertise your products or services. They will follow you because they see value in what you share.