Let’s face it – social media is a massive part of the world we live in. Even the least tech savvy folks out there have at least one social media profile. It’s super useful for fast communication, for sharing a joke or big milestone and keeping up with all your family, friends, favorite brands, movie stars and influencers.
It’s no wonder that this culture of virtual social interactions has made digital marketing professionals take notice. These days whether you’re a big corporation, a little bookstore or a writer you need to have a social media strategy.
Social media is the way of the future in digital world. With the help of a killer social strategy you can you connect with customers, improve your visibility and brand awareness and even generate leads.
1] What Exactly Are Leads?
Before we talk about generating leads on social media, let’s take a moment to fully understand what a lead actually is. Simply put, leads are people (or potential customers) who have shown an interest in what your brand or business has to offer.
They have also given you contact information in order for you to follow up and give them more information. With this customer information you can either engage with the person directly or pass on the information to your sales team.
2] Why Are Leads Important?
Any business, big or small, can’t survive without customers. Every marketing strategy and business plan that companies come up with are created with the sole purpose of finding potential customers / leads.
Without these leads your business will surely fail. To prevent this from happening your marketing team has to work hard to create leads and hopefully convert those into sales.
The best way to create leads is to interact with your customers. Since cold calling doesn’t really work anymore (because unwelcome calls are very unpleasant) social media has become the preferred method when generating new leads.
3] Creating Leads On Social Media
Social media is the dream playground of any digital marketing team. With three billion social media users scattered across the globe, who can blame them for wanting a piece of the action. Social media platforms are a convenient and effective way to reach and interact with your audience.
So how exactly do you use social media to create leads? We have the some of the best tips for you right here.
1) Hashtags
Never underestimate the power of hashtags. Create brand specific, personalized hashtags to use across all your social media pages. These hashtags will set you apart from the competition, increase brand awareness and create leads. Just keep in mind that your hashtags should be simple and easy to type, read or share. Overly complicated hashtags won’t work very well.
2) Contests
The Contests are a great way to create leads on social media. Contests get people excited and therefore get a lot of attention from your audience. I mean, who doesn’t love free stuff?
Always make sure your prizes include you products or services and not just promotional merchandise or vouchers that can get forgotten. Products give people an opportunity to try out your stuff. If people like what you have to offer you will gain loyal customers going forward.
3) Live Videos
Although live videos are rather new to social media they are extremely popular with users. Facebook and Instagram are two of the most popular social sites with the live video option. Videos can give your audience an inside look at your brand so your audience finds you more relatable.
Hosting live Q&A videos are a great way to learn about your audience too.As a brand, live videos are a fun way to connect /engage with your audience and generate leads.
4) Special Offers
No one can resist a special offer, discount or sale – especially when it comes from their favorite brand. Offering special offers and discount codes to your social media followers is a great way to create leads. It’s also a cool way to improve brand awareness because your followers are very likely to share these posts with their friends.
5) Social Media Advertising
Using social media advertising is a sure fire way to generate quality leads. Most social media platforms offer paid advertising options (think Facebook Ads) that target your specific audience. This type of social media advertising is more effective than organic targeting because your posts are less at risk of getting lost in the shuffle.
