New business. It’s something all companies look for from their marketing efforts. While social media can be a key tool for branding and connecting with your audience, it can also be used as a lead generation method. Once you’ve established your audience and found your voice on social media, the next step is to define your goals. What are you looking to gain from your channels? If your answer is leads, these social media marketing techniques can help you gather emails and contact information for potential leads and new business.
Give Something Away
Think about a baseball game and the crowds of people that fight for a free t-shirt flying from the cannon. Think of your content as the free t-shirt. People love free stuff. The more desirable the item, the more they will be willing to provide for it. Think about what you have that is valuable to your audience that you would be able to give away for free. Use your social media platforms to give away free items – whether it be “swag” from your company, free e-books, or a 15-minute consultation. Require your audience provide their email in order to receive the free item and you will be gathering contact information for potential customers down the line. But remember, don’t offer free stuff to just anyone. You’ll want to be collecting quality leads that will have the potential of becoming future clients or customers for your business.
Hold a Contest
Play to the competitive edge of your audience with a fun, interactive contest. Holding a contest gets your audience involved and attracts quality leads who are interested and engaged enough to dedicate time to your contest. Potential ideas for social media contests include a weekly question to increase social media engagement, photo contests with your product to encourage sales, or fun scavenger hunts for local businesses to get customers in the door. The opportunities are endless. Get creative here. You have the opportunity to build meaningful connections with your audience through contests that can potentially nurture business relationships down the road.
Try Your Hand at Lead Form Ads
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all offer the option of lead generation ads that are often under utilized by social media marketers. While these types of ads cost more per click, they provide quality emails leads that you can continue to utilize through various marketing techniques. Opposed to traditional website traffic ads, lead generation ads require the receiver to input contact information in order to receive an offer. Similar to giveaways, the more desirable the offer, the more inclined someone on the other end will be to provide their information to receive it. The best part? You can use the channel’s targeting capabilities to define who you want to see the ad, and who you think will be the most valuable lead for you and your company.
The greatest thing about social media is its versatility. No matter your goals, there is always a way to use social media marketing for your businesses. For those looking for continued lead generation, the opportunities are virtually endless. Try new techniques and discover what works best for you. For more social media tips and tricks, check out our content marketing blogs here.
