Social media for business, generally, is used primarily for increasing brand awareness, engagement and as a means to communicate with audiences in a more informal manner.
What it isn’t as used for, though, and what isn’t as discussed, is to improve lead generation. In this blog post, I want to show you the top 5 ways that you can use to improve your lead generation with social media.
1. Find Leads With Monitoring
One of the most effective ways of finding leads on social media is to use monitoring. Monitoring is also a great way of building up your audience and following and of finding more engagement opportunities.
In order to start monitoring your social media opportunities, you first need a tool for this. There are several options including specialized monitoring tools like Brandwatch or Brand24.
Brand24 is a more affordable option because it doesn’t also provide historical data. You can also use a social media management tool, as many of them also provide monitoring features.
Examples of social media management tools that provide monitoring are Agorapulse, Hootsuite, or you can browse through more using this tool).
Now that we’ve talked about tools, it’s time for the actual monitoring.
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First, start by monitoring your business name
Not all of the people talking about your business on social media will also use your handle, so it’s useful to keep track of mentions this way, as you might find leads that would otherwise be lost.
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Next, start tracking different industry keywords
Set up tracking for keyword phrases your audience would use when searching for products or services similar to yours. As an example, if you are a weight loss coach, you would monitor keywords such as “lose weight” or “lose extra pounds”.
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Exclude irrelevant keywords
As you start doing this, you’ll probably notice that many mentions are irrelevant to your search. Not to worry though, as you can easily rectify that.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Most monitoring tools will offer an option to exclude certain words and phrases from your search. ” quote=”Most monitoring tools will offer an option to exclude certain words and phrases from your search. “]
Go through your results to see what types of keywords these mentions use, so that you can then exclude them from your monitoring.
When setting up a monitoring search, make sure to also select the location (or language), in case that is relevant to your business.
For local businesses, another useful way of generating leads is to monitor your specific location on Instagram. That way, you can find people in the area that you can target and engage with.
2. Create a Facebook Contest
Contests offer a great way for businesses to generate leads on social media, as well as to boost their followers and engagement. Facebook offers a great platform for this. Make sure to check their guidelines first, before posting your contest).
There are several tools that you can use to create and hold a contest, such as:
- Facebook’s own tool
- Heyo
- Woobox
- Or test your first Facebook timeline contest with this free tool from Agorapulse.
There are all kinds of contests that you can create, such as quizzes, photo contests and sweepstakes. Not only are they fun, but they will also get you more engagement and more emails for your list.
3. Use Social Media Influencers
Connecting with social media influencers can be of big help with generating leads. As they have bigger, more involved audiences that care about their opinions and tips and advice, having the support of several social influencers can help you get more leads.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Relationships can lead to product reviews or recommendations of your services.” quote=”Relationships can lead to product reviews or recommendations of your services.”]
First, start by collecting a list of relevant influencers that you want to connect with. Keep in mind, though, that you can’t always go directly for the big guns, and if you have a smaller following, it’s best to stick with smaller influencers as well.
There are several tools that you can use to find influencers easily, such as Buzzsumo and Followerwonk.
Next, start building up a connection and relationship with them. These can take some time to build. Do this by:
- following
- liking
- sharing their content
- engaging with them on a regular basis
The results speak for themselves, if you keep at it and are consistent.
As these relationships grow, so will the results. It could be something as simple as sharing your content (preferably to a page or post that also has a form so that people can sign up).
4. Create a Twitter Chat
Twitter Chats offer you a way of sharing your expertise with audiences and of generating leads.
If you’re not familiar with Twitter Chats, they are basically conversations held on Twitter, led by a moderator, and using a specific hashtag. Think of them as a Q&A of sorts – only, on Twitter.
Twitter Chats can be a great source of leads, as you’re not only reaching the people who participated directly, but also their followers who see the tweets with your Chat hashtag.
If you’re worried about the number of attendees and potential leads, you could include a giveaway for the Twitter Chat to maximize that number.
You can also use different tools to hold the Chat, mainly to help you filter through all of the updates on Twitter so you only get the relevant ones. Some of the best tools are Tweet Chat and Tchat.io.
5. Use Lead Generation Ads
Another way of generating leads on social media is to use lead generation ads.
Several different social networks have these kinds of ads that allow you to collect information from your audiences directly within the social platform, for example on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
They work like regular social media ads, only they also let you add a form where people can enter their information, name and email address, in order to sign up to your newsletter, get access to a good deal and so on.
What’s great about these ads (apart from the lead generation, of course!), is that they are highly targeted and you can easily control how much you want to spend on them.
Ready to Improve Lead Generation?
Social media can be a great platform for lead generation when used right. It’s cheap, it’s efficient and it’s something that you’re likely already using to promote your business online and connect with your audience.
What other methods are you using to generate leads on social media?
Let us know in the comments.
Lilach Bullock
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Hi Lilach,
Do you recommend using these tactics for B2B Lead Generation Companies? I find it a bit tricky to reach business owners this way as the market is much complex.
Thanks
Phill
I use social media to increase the awareness. Whenever I need exposure and leads I rely on running a paid advertisement. the reason was the recent algo change. If I talk about Facebook alone, a post on facebook only reaches 4% of the total audience of a page. And I think facebook groups are more powerful in comparison to a page.
I mean a lot of graphics, content creation efforts, optimization and you are only reaching 4%. sometimes it was frustrating.
The tool you shared in this post like facebook contest, twitter chat, polls are used to engage but in the end, you have to go for paid ads.
What’s your thought on this, @Lilach Bullock
Running Facebook contest is good idea, which helps in lead generation. Thank you for this post. Hope more soon
Thanks so much for your comment, glad you enjoyed the post:) And good luck generating more leads!
Hi, Lilach! You’ve put together quite an extensive list of tips on how to best make use of social media for Lead Generation.
What I like about social media lead generation is it provides a more targeted approached compared to cold calling. Which is also one of the reasons why it has gained a lot of attention from different businesses worldwide. However, it’s not just about posting content and waiting to see if it ends up in all the right places. Like any other strategy, it requires a lot of trial-and-error before you get a good grasp of how it works.
What about LinkedIn? Do you consider it as a platform where lead generation can be exhausted? Most businesses, brands, and companies use it to interact with clients and increase their network.
Thanks for your comment Brooke, glad you liked the post:)
You’re very right, one of the biggest draws of using social media for lead generation is that it allows you to take a more personal approach – which is becoming more and more important to the consumer.
LinkedIn is definitely great for lead generation, especially if you’re in B2B marketing – plus, they’ve recently introduced Lead Gen forms which are quite effective, but you also need to know what to do with the leads you’ve generated and how to properly nurture them into becoming your customers.
Hi Lilach, very good guide!
I’d just like to add that for managing leads it’s actually really useful to have the possibility to sync them with a CRM / email marketing software.
It’s not just that working with Facebook CSV is boring and time consuming, but you actually lose the opportunity to use Lead Ads at their best, for example by sending a welcome email in real time to your new subscribers, or using double opt-in.
I’m from the LeadsBridge team, an app for synching Facebook data with your CRM / email marketing software.
If you’re interested, you can find more about it here: http://leadsbridge.io/leadadsync
Thanks so much Eleonora, glad you enjoyed the guide:)
It’s definitely useful to sync your leads into your CRM software so that you can work at nurturing these leads and turn them into customers. Otherwise, you can lose a lot of opportunities, by not sending them the right emails/messages at the right times.
Your tips are highly usefull. I even tried your facebook contest it helps me in a good direction. 2017 Social Media Apps
Thanks, Austin, so glad to hear the tips helped:) Good luck generating as many leads as possible!
Highly appreciating you . Those tips are very interesting . Congrats Mounika, hopes more interesting write – up from you.
Thanks so much for your comment, Tom, I’m always glad to hear that my tips were useful:)
Thanks for sharing the information and you mentioned conducting facebook contests, I have tried it. It gave me a good results by increasing engagement So,better give a try if you want more engagement.
Hi Sunil, thanks for your comment! Glad to hear my tips worked, Facebook Contests can be very effective for generating more leads and more engagement.
These tips are such a wonderful . i hope these tips Improving my Lead Generation Using Social Media.this is informative & helpful.Thanks for sharing such a knowledgeable & useful article.
Thanks so much for your comment, so glad to be of help:) good luck with your lead generation!
I have tried lead generation ads, talking with influencers in the industry to promote my product and facebook contest. The result was below average. Need some improvement. Will look forward to trying out the other mentions also.
Hi Mahesh, thanks so much for leaving a comment! I’m sorry to hear your efforts haven’t paid off – with influencers though, it’s definitely a long-term effort. Good luck with your lead generation:)
Thanks for sharing five extremely practical tips Lilach!
I must admit, even though Gail is my expert Small business and social media
marketing coach, I’m still pretty clueless, when it comes to effectively utlizing the
vast marketing possibilities, available through social media!LOL!
In fact, even as I was reading your five excellent tips, you mentioned several
new tools, I was not previously aware of.
I find social media marketing in general, and the tools and services which compliment
the industry, are constantly increasing and improving all the time.
Thanks for making us aware, just how potentially valuable, this incredibly efficient
marketing tool and process can be.
Mark would love you to read ..So How Many Small Business Owners Constantly Miss Out Because They Don’t Do This?Part Two
Hi Mark, thanks so much for leaving a comment and for your kind words:)
Social media marketing and digital marketing in general, really, are definitely very complex and they’re always changing and evolving – it’s not easy keeping up.
And as you mentioned about social media tools, new ones are constantly popping up, so I can definitely understand why it would get a bit overwhelming!
Thanks again Mark:)
It’s Wonderful information. In this post give good ideas and explain in deeply that helpful for people. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
Hi Bhavik, thanks so much for your comment and for your very kind words! I’m so glad to be of help and provide value. Good luck:)
Personally, I’ve tried making a facebook contest to get leads, but the results were…. mixed. Let’s say that for settled markets like US and UK, it’s harder to get new leads than in the more niche markets like Germany or Italy. Italians just love facebook and you can get them to engage a lot in the contests…if you make them in the right way and have a proper incentive.
BeckyJo would love you to read ..How to apply eye shadow with glitter
Hi BeckyJo, thanks so much for your comment and for sharing your experience – you’re definitely right that different markets react completely differently to the same things. But I think that there are quite a few different variables to consider, as well, such as the size of the audience, the prize, the promotion of the contest and so on. Thanks again Becky:)
Most of the prizes were similar, with similar audience on DE, IT and UK. There are quite a lot of things to consider there, indeed. Maybe in the next contest I should up the prize to see how the people react. I’ll let you know when I’ll make that experiment 🙂
BeckyJo would love you to read ..Choosing the prom dress
Thanks for giving these tips very helpful for new begineers.those who want inprove there sites.
Hi Mounika, thanks for reading and leaving a comment:) I’m very glad to hear I’ve been of some help, good luck with your lead generation efforts:)