Leveraging Leads for Your Business Through Social Media

When people hear the word 'leads,' they usually don't think of social media, but they should.

Social media is one of the most critical tools in our society today to generate leads, close sales, and build a loyal following.

But before getting into how you can leverage social media to generate leads, let's briefly cover what leads are.
 

What is a lead?

We consider a "lead" to be someone who has shown an interest in what you are offering.

These potential customers have already provided some information, signaling that they're interested in the company's services. It can be personal info such as name, email address, phone number, or business-related info.

Lead generation deals with attracting these interested people or businesses, and the idea is to guide them through the sales funnel to the point where they become paying customers.

Social media content can be a powerful tool for generating leads. You capture prospects who engage with the content and add them to a marketing campaign.

Finding new leads is an essential objective for any business. You need to keep people looking for your services or products entertained and nurture the buyer-seller relationship.

Below are just some pointers on how to generate back-to-back leads using social media marketing:
 

Find the right platform

Selecting a suitable platform for your social media marketing campaign is critical; we cannot emphasize this enough.

Your target audience might prefer one or more social networks, so you'll need to evaluate and understand the channels before picking which is best for your business.

The idea is to start with your audience, consider your industry or niche, research your competitors, understand the difference between the platforms, determine which ones align with your overall business or marketing goals, and consider your available resources.
 

Build brand awareness

This means putting your brand on the map, so you are searchable. One way to do this is by making sure your social media accounts are highly ranked. That will tell visitors where you are and will help you get targeted traffic.

Here are a few tips to help you get started when creating social media awareness around your brand:

1. Create a catchy name

Ensure your profile name includes a keyword that’s searched for by your target audience. You can get more information from online tools like Wordstream, Keyword Planner, or Google Trends.

An example would be when someone is looking for a caterer. If you don’t have the keyword in your name or bio, the probability of your name not popping up is very high—unless you’re already famous. There are so many other catering content creators on Instagram.

Use keywords so that when people search, you will turn up in the search results. You want to make it easy for leads to find you.
 

2. Make use of hashtags

Hashtags essentially act as keywords. They make it a lot easier for potential customers or clients to find your content.

Using hashtags is an easy way to make your business page more visible on a given platform and ultimately generate more leads for your brand. So whenever you post something, try to use a hashtag that your ideal buyer is likely searching for or following.
 

3. Explain your services

People need to not only know your brand; they need to understand what it offers and why. When someone clicks on your profile, you want them to see a clear overview of what you offer.

Also, double-check that the links in your bio are all functional so visitors can find out more information about your business. Link to your products or services, and include a call to action for people who want to check them out.
 

Assemble a social media community

Setting up a customer feedback system is crucial if you want to connect with your audience and get valuable insights into how they feel about your brand, product, or industry. These insights can then be used in future marketing and product development. That's basically free market research.

Your leads, prospects, customers, and advocates can provide valuable input and enlighten you on many things that’ll benefit you in the long run. Learn their wants, needs, interests, pain points, etc., and use this information to find ways in which you could potentially satisfy them.

And since a majority of businesses don’t have a solid social media community, you tend to stand out if you can successfully establish one.


How do you build a solid social media community?

1. Make it about the people

A community is not a one-way street, so don't just talk about yourself.

Ask for advice, encourage them, let them know you value their candid opinions, and use features like Instagram stories to ask the community questions and set up polls, surveys, or quizzes. Celebrate them for voicing out their thoughts, and ask them random questions that relate to your business.

In short, make them feel appreciated and needed.
 

2. Make them feel exceptional

Check out your community members' pages. Let them know you see their tremendous contributions. If they're doing something unique, make sure to show them some love and give a shout-out if they deserve it.

One of the primary things all humans need is love and respect. Trust me - people appreciate it when you make them feel special. And once they like you, they’ll not only patronize but also tell others about you.
 

Convince and convert

Bringing awareness to your brand is one thing; making leads buy from you or invest in your business is another.

Social media lead generation is all about getting in front of the people who want to buy your goods and services. However, they will not purchase if they feel there's any doubt about your brand. So what do we do?
 

Create content that converts

You can overcome customer objections by addressing any fears they feel about shopping at your store. After you have answered their questions and addressed their concerns, the customer will be so much more receptive to your offer.

For instance, I recently took some time to think about becoming an influencer marketer. I stumbled upon this social media expert who told me all about it and showed me the ropes, but I pulled out when it came down to purchasing the course.

I was skeptical at first because of the amount of money involved, but then he sent me a video that helped me see that this business is real. It addressed my concerns and included testimonies from other people who’re successful with influencer marketing.

If he hadn't researched what his target audience would want (fears, concerns, and objections), we might not have seen that video. And with no clip, he would have lost lots of leads, including myself.

Creating high-quality content that answers questions your leads and potential customers might have will attract them even more. It saves time and makes sales easier for you.

When you create content that answers the questions that your potential customers might have, you will be able to attract them even more, and you also decide whether or not they want to work with you.
 

Organize a referral contest

This is one of the most powerful tools when it comes to generating leads. Many companies have done this by setting up referral contests that award participants with prizes for referring people to their business, thus engaging their followers and incentivizing them.

The idea is to organize referral (and other) contests within and outside your community, attaching a big prize for those with the highest referrals. This way, you’re not only engaging your followers but also generating enormous numbers of leads.
 

Final thoughts

Generating leads is tough - it can take a lot of time, effort, patience, and discipline to generate leads consistently.

But by practicing the tips mentioned, you can finally get more social media leads for your business and accelerate its growth.

Cheers and good luck!