If generating leads in the end goal of your marketing strategy, then it should involve social media. Social media is that one platform where you can address thousands with just one campaign to drive traffic to your website. They could be people who are actively looking for more information on you or are those interested in making a purchase.
Making social media monitoring, content creation, advertising and networking a part of your core marketing strategy will help you bring in leads like never before. So here are 50 ways of generating leads from the social platforms:
Building a strong network
To be able to generate leads, the first step is to build a strong network and start interacting with your target audience. Here are some ways of doing so:
1. Follow your prospects on Twitter
2. Make friends with prospects on Facebook
3. Conduct live chats with industry experts
4. Host an industry specific webinar
5. Analyse and choose the platform your prospects engage on the most
6. Host an AMA on the most preferred social channel
7. Use Periscope for live streaming your views on a trending topic
We asked Alex Stojkovic, the Founder of FollowRocket and a Twitter influencer, his take on social media (Twitter) and networking for lead generation. Here’s what he has to say:
Sharing thought provoking yet relevant content
Today, publishing and sharing content online is the best way to increase the lead generation rate. So here are some ways you make the most out of content:
8. Blog about useful information and not just your products and services
9. Use visual content more often than textual content (also use Pinterest to promote it)
10. Encourage user generated content and give due credits for it
11. Create compelling slide decks on trending industry topics
12. Invest time in writing an ebook and promote it on social channels
13. Share relevant content with prospects based on their interests
14. Retweet all the tweets that promote your content, product or service
15. Reshare existing content along with your views on it
16. Optimize your website and blog for mobile devices
17. Link together relevant content to make the most out of inbound links
Keep monitoring social channels
Listening is a skill that doesn’t come easy to everyone. But to build your social presence in the right direction, you need to hear what people are saying more than focussing on what you have to say to be able to pitch them the right product/service at the right time. Here’s how to monitor social channels for lead identification:
18. Monitor online behaviour of your target audience
19. Create a social community to keep an eye on what’s being said about your products/services
20. Encourage all users and prospects to use a unique hashtag that is relevant only to you when talking about you socially
21. Keep an eye on your competitor’s social activity to find loopholes that can be cashed in on
22. Engage in conversations around your products
23. Look for reviews and recommendations from your audience, and be sure to acknowledge them
24. Seek industry questions from prospects and answer them
25. Monitor the changing industry trends to keep up with the pace
Invest in paid social advertisements
While some might feel social advertisements are just click baits, a better targeting strategy can help you reach out to the right set of people. Before investing in a paid campaign, identify and segment your audience based on their interests and purchasing history. Here’s how you can use social advertising:
26. Promote your website from your Facebook page
27. Promote a Tweet to drive traffic to your website
28. Promote your Facebook page with a compelling cover picture
29. Make your social ads visually appealing – for Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram
30. Create an advertisement on LinkedIn that links to a lead generation form
31. Promote dedicated landing pages for maximum conversion
32. Promote a strong call to action like ‘Get 80% more conversions on your website today!’
33. Promote appealing offers and discounts
34. Create events and share them in the right circles
Focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Organic searches can be the biggest drivers of traffic to your website. So make the most out of your keywords by placing them modestly on all social channels and your website. Here are a few ways to keep Social Media Optimization (SMO) and SEO going hand in hand:
35. Use keywords in your tweets
36. Promote all your blog links on Facebook
37. Ask your reviewers and followers to link to your website instead of any social platform
38. Ensure your LinkedIn company page description uses all major keywords
39. Make use of keywords in blog post headlines and body
40. Categorise your blog posts according to keywords
41. Tag, name and include proper Alt text to all your images
42. Use a YouTube channel to promote your content (it is the 2nd largest search engine)
43. Share content frequently on G+ and encourage others to do the same
44. Stay consistent with your social media efforts
45. Use different keywords for different segments of your audience
Turn your website visitors into social followers
Grow your social following faster than ever by targeting abandoning website visitors with tailored messages.
Over to you
Have you used social media to generate leads? What’s your way of making the most out of social channels?
Also read: 5 Reasons Why Your Social Media Traffic Isn’t Converting.
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Vanhishikha Bhargava
Content Marketer at Exit Bee. Most of the times found trying to create compelling copies for blogs and digital campaigns, keeping a watch on what's happening on social media or ranting on Twitter. At all other times, not found.
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