I know what you’re saying to yourself...when is the last time someone purchased something because they saw a filtered picture on Instagram or read a well-crafted 140 character tweet? Besides growing your brand and talking to your current customers, what is social media really good for? The truth is many businesses are using social media to generate leads. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn can be tools to grow your business.
Social Media Lead Generation 101
If you think of the basics of lead generation, a lead is someone who is potentially interested in your product or service, in some way, shape, or form. Lead generation is adding that lead into your sales funnel. I’m not talking about selling, I’m talking about gathering information on your potential customer. Learning what they're interested in, what product or service you could sell them, what are the problems they are trying to solve, and how to eventually turn them into a paying customer.
The internet and digital media have completely changed the game when it comes to lead generation and customer information gathering. It has become a content game: videos, emails, offers, etc. One of the most popular forms of gathering a lead is by building a list of email addresses. Digital media has made this process more cost effective, efficient and creates endless analytics and metrics that you can track.
How does using social media to generate leads work? Well, most people on social media are more willing to share their information than ever before. With the sheer number of people on these social media sites, it is a perfect place for businesses to gather leads and learn from their target audiences.
Which Social Media Platform?
First things first, know your customer! Where does your customer spend their time? If you are selling a product that is specific to a web developer, are they on Facebook? Twitter? Google+? Make sure you study your customer and know where they spend their time, so you know what social media platform to spend time cultivating.
Every social media platform has a different specialty. Check out this post and infographic which breaks down the user bases of all of the top social media sites.
The craft and technique used to generate leads for your business will likely differ depending on what social media platform you choose.
Here Are Some Tips To Help Get You Started
- Build a loyal following. Building a relationship with potential customers is a critical first step. Social media connections are really about people-to-people, not always company-to-individual. Get to know your audience online, communicate and share information. In order to generate leads, you need to have human interaction with others.
- Remember, social media is a dialogue. Companies that only use social media to blast out messages about themselves aren’t using social channels effectively. The goal is to interact with others and be helpful. When you share content on social media, don’t always post something that relates to your company. Share links to other interesting things you’ve found online. People will be very thankful you are noticing their work, too!
- Influence your connections to share content. Sharing content by posting links to landing pages is the single biggest lever to increase lead generations in social media. In addition, consider sharing blog posts, discounts, and other great resources.
Social Media Isn’t Just About Brand Awareness
It's time to use social media for something that can actually help build your business. Start trying to maximize the value of your current platforms to generate new leads!
If you are currently using social media to generate leads or you are interested in learning more. Drop us a line, we’d love to hear from you!
