We love social media, but it is not just about viral videos and sharing photos of the office. Lead generation seems to be the newest buzz word, and we are beginning to find out why. Social media may help you reach higher quality leads that stick around. 

Facebook

We are all quite familiar with the idea that content is king. So excellent content will spread the word about you and create leads, right? Well, with Facebook, advertising PAIRED with excellent content would be my first pick to reach leads. 

What I love about Facebook is PowerEditor, which really isn't fair. It is like loving someone because they have a really awesome dog that they take everywhere. We hangout with Facebook mostly, because we just want to play fetch with fluffy.  

Why Use Ads?

• Website conversion ads will get your potential leads onto your website
  • Offer something nice like a free e-book
  • This style of ad may also get you a list of email addresses which are next to gold when it comes to marketing
• Facebook tracking pixels will remind people who visited your website with ads. 
  • This will also allow you to specifically target depending on which part of the website they visited 

Targeting, whether it is a post or ad, will make or break your campaign. Remember to focus also on the industry that you want to convert, not just the industries that you have the most in common with. 

Twitter

We cannot have a social media lead generation post without mentioning Twitter cards. Twitter cards in general are a way to bringing a visual, detailed element that surpasses the 140 character restriction. 

Using the Cards

• Write a short, enticing description to highlight your offer they will be receiving by sharing their contact information
• Add a strong visual with a call-to-action
• You can collect the leads in an excel document or have it instantly updated to a CRM system. 
• You may select your targeting options
• Once everything launches, your new card will appear on your timeline to those previously targeted. 

LinkedIn

LinkedIn seems obvious in terms of lead generation due to the nature of the platform. However, many businesses still struggle with getting results from LinkedIn to the point of making some of us wonder if it really does work. What can be done to improve results?

Groups

This brings us to LinkedIn groups. The platform itself can be difficult for a business to interact directly in a group, however, employees should have no problem. If you have in-house social media, this would be the ultimate tactic. Your social media team will need to vamp up their profiles and begin posting on your behalf to the group.

Posts:

• Create sharable, interesting posts that will encourage conversation within the group
  • This may consist of original content or shared content
• Comment and discuss other posts
  • Become an overall active member, not just a promoter 
• Do not limit yourself to just industry groups. Think about what industries your clients work in too. 

Connections

You can utilize your connections with a few techniques. First off, you can use the "Who Viewed Your Profile" feature to reach out to potential clients and offer a service. Remember, your social media team will need to be using personal profiles for this. 

The second option would be to search companies that you are specifically targeting, and then connect with their employees. 

Ads

Despite being less organic, advertising on LinkedIn is a solid way of building an appropriate, targeted fan base. 

Lead Generation

Social media presents a great opportunity for lead generation if used appropriately. Most of it depends on proper targeting, budget, and some big effort when it comes to getting ingrained in the community. See what works for you.

If you've had more success on a platform that we didn't mention, let us know or Tweet at us, and we will cover it!