In the thriving world of online marketing, there are plenty of terms; too many words that seem like jargon, but are anything but that. Lead generation is one of such important Internet marketing terms.
Leads are potential customers who have shown or declared some interest in your product or company. This interest is clear when they provide their contact details, importantly their email, so they can get more information.
https://twitter.com/thekaushalsoni/status/997107015800541184
Lead generation helps you get the understanding about your customers’ interest; what products they want and how to convert their interests into sales.
However, lead generation does not equate sales; there are simple things to do to get the attention of people who may become customers.
With the amount of business I get done over WhatsApp, I almost feel like that’s the government I should be paying tax to.
— Moe (@Mochievous) May 16, 2018
In the digital age, social media has become a very important source for lead generation. For instance, Facebook and WhatsApp boast over 1 active billion users. While Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter have a combined user base of over 1.2 billion. It is obvious then that the most important place to generate leads for your business is on the social space.
So below, we discuss 5 interesting tips to get you generating leads on social media in no time.
Select the Right Social Media Platform for your Business
On a lot of occasions, Internet marketers make the mistake of creating social media accounts on all platforms. Irrespective of what the popular perception is, this is not always advisable. It is not “bad” per se, but it could be difficult to manage them when you consider how different each platform truly is.
For instance, Bleacher Report, a popular sports website, switched its main focus from Facebook to Instagram when it discovered that it was getting better engagements on Instagram.
Long form articles may work on Quora, Facebook and LinkedIn, but it certainly will not work on Twitter. Plus each social media platform has different concentration of users. It is easier to do Business to Business (B2B) lead generation on LinkedIn than it is to do on either Facebook or Instagram.
So for your lead generation, it pays to have a narrow selection of platforms.
Don’t Always Be Formal; Be Social
Just because you run a business doesn’t mean all your social media activities have to be bland, formal and uptight. Doing so makes you boring and would, most definitely, chase potential customers away.
To address this, switch from the usual formal-only engagement style. It’s social media, so try to have some fun with your audience. Try running contests and being spontaneously social with your audience. This gives you greater exposure and better customer reach.
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Just take a look at banks and how they engage their audience, especially on Twitter. Recharge card giveaways, Valentine’s Day specials, videos, articles and even contests are few ways you can use social media to generate leads.
Use Social Media Stories for Leads Generation
Facebook, Whatsapp, SnapChat, Instagram and Twitter all have a unique feature called story or moments. This popular social feature is not for individuals alone. Businesses now use them to promote their products to customers in a fun and likable way. The best part is that Stories can be viewed by non-followers on platforms like Instagram.
Share Links to Gated Contents
People are naturally curious and this is a good thing for your business. Sharing snippets or summaries of contents is a good way to whet the appetite of customers.
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— Get B2B Leads (@getb2bleads) May 16, 2018
Infographics are also hugely popular when you want to get the attention of users. Once their appetite is aroused, link to a landing page that gets interested users to commit before gaining access to the rest of the material. This is a popular lead generation strategy and it continues to work great even on social media.
Use Social Media Ads
Social media ads are one of the easiest ways to generate leads.
Fun fact: To get a full centre spread ad space on a popular Nigerian newspaper, you’ll spend at least 800K. But sadly, print media patronage is falling fast. On the other hand, when you advertise on social media, you get to save a huge portion of that amount and still get to reach your desired audience (in their thousands) with ease. It’s really that simple.
In addition, when you combine ads with a fantastic Call to Action (CTA), you get more bangs for the buck. You can ask your followers to download an eBook, like a page, attend your webinar or conference, or read more about your product or business.
Importantly too, do remember that all social media lead generation strategy will most likely stop at the landing page of your website. Ensure that your landing page is well-optimized and interesting, otherwise, all social media effort may not yield the desired outcome.
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