How to Use Social Media Marketing for Lead Generation

Generating leads for your business is the first and primary step towards gaining new customers and sometimes retaining old ones. Adequate and proper marketing strategies encourage and initiate interest and inquiry of consumers in a companies’ product. It is a very efficient process of attracting and converting potential customers into your interested customers through blog posts, coupons, online content, and more.

But the use of social media marketing for lead generation is incomparable. It is more of a necessity in today’s world instead of just a technique. Since social media has become an added fragment of the human community, the business industry is making the best use to promote their product and increase brand awareness. Companies are investing a lot of capital in lead generation strategies through social media because they see better results throughout the process. From creating brand awareness and converting the potential customers to achieving higher sales and generating more revenue. All of this, along with creating a community and building brand loyalty. And it is a well-known fact, be it B2B or B2C, consumers feel more valued when there is a good connection between them and the company. So let’s see how you can use social media for lead generation:

1. Create EBooks

Content creation is a primary focus of marketers these days since the audience’s interest has shifted from moving images to informative texts and infographics. And eBooks have proven to be a very efficient source of transmitting knowledge regarding a subject to the customer. It is also an impressive technique to build the interest of customers towards the brand. You can make your eBook through an eBook creator; you can click here for more information. EBooks present customers with their desired knowledge and link them to the company through social media buttons at the end of the book.

You can post these eBooks as a link on your company’s social media accounts. People will download them in exchange for the emails or phone numbers – hence, lead generation.

2. Video Marketing

In the past decade, video marketing has experienced rapid growth and has shown incredible ROI results. More than fifty percent of brands worldwide are now using video marketing on social networks to gain customers’ interest. Video content on social media varies from stories on Instagram and Snap-chat, profile videos on Facebook, or updates and comments on viral social posts in the form of a video. It is another way of lead generation through social media.

Marketers can generate several small or large video clips and share them from time to time on their social platform to gain the targeted audience’s attention. To create a successful video marketing strategy, make sure that you and your team know the strategy’s objective and what your video needs to accomplish. Then wisely choose a platform to start with, it must be a well-known one like Facebook or Instagram, and it should support video content. Then select the type of video you are interested in making; informative, demo, event-based, DIY, etc., whatever suits your brand the best. Then complete the process by planning out its production, keeping in mind the time and money constraints.

3. Build and Manage a Community

One of the most common and most effective ways of lead generation through social media is building and managing a virtual community. It requires details and patients, also regular updates, so that your members can stay a part of an ongoing discussion. Marketers create Facebook groups or Instagram profiles where people can interact through the internet.

Suppose, if an event-planning company decides to use it for lead generation – they’ll create a Facebook group and invite people from the city. People will put in questions regarding their event planning, and others will answer through their previous knowledge. Hence, when the time comes, the company can suggest to them the events they can manage. Community building is essential, as it is an added benefit of social media.

4. Take Help From Social Media Influencers

Social media influencers are rapidly growing in number and strengthening in terms of fame because of their number of followers. They portray their ‘true selves on the internet and make themselves relatable to the people, allowing them an upper-hand as an influencer. People who follow them tend to copy their style and life choices. Businesses can make great use out of it, and they are doing so while being extremely successful at it. You can start by sending out a small package of your product or offering a small service of yours to the chosen influencer. They will unbox, review and recommend it on their page via Facebook or Instagram. Amongst thousands of their followers, many would realize that they also need such a product or service. This way, the influencers will be a source of lead generation to your business, as their followers will visit your website or page and surf through your product. Even if they don’t buy immediately, they will surely be impressed by the review.

Also, you can pay these social media influencers a commission for holding giveaways for your brand on their profile. Since they already have many followers, they’ll build brand awareness to a much wider audience.

5. Online Selling

One of the best features of the internet is e-commerce, and it has proven itself helpful time-to-time for decades. People love to swipe and scroll through hundreds of homogenous products before choosing one for themselves. They feel valued and respected because they have such freedom and choices to select their favorite brand. Businesses can use social media to incorporate online selling, especially with new Facebook and Instagram features, to add products and their price for customers’ convenience. What you’ll need to do is add a picture of your product, its cost with shipping charges, and a few good reviews. The Google algorithm will use the Big Data to shorten the audience interested in those products and then lead them to your page. You will also be able to see analytics of how many people, of what demographic region, and which age group is interested in what you’re selling. It is how online selling will help in lead generation.

Conclusion

There are many ways to generate leads through social media, and the platforms to do so are increasing every day. Even a five-minute-long video on YouTube now comes along with a short video advertisement from a local brand. These small clips and video cuttings intrigue people into looking more into the product. If it piques their interest, they may even buy it. So, marketers must improve their strategies and incorporate social media in them for the business’s success.