Your brand already exists on social sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. but it is not generating traffic from them or more specifically ‘leads’.

The biggest misconception about social media sites is that they cannot attract high-quality visitors. When compared to outbound marketing social media has a 100 percent higher lead-to-close rate.

So, let’s first talk about what lead generation actually means?

According to Google, lead generation is:

“The action or process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for a business’s products or services.”

Therefore, it is not just about selling your product, but it’s more about gathering data of your customers including their priorities, their pain points, their wants or needs, and what helps to make them invest in your brand.

Before the internet, marketers used to send out direct mail-outs and gave out surveys in print publications to gather information from potential buyers.

But thanks to social media, it has become much simpler and convenient for marketers to reach their target customers. As most of their data is available online, all marketers need to reflect on how to uphold the target audience’s attention and convert them into leads.

Be it Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. All four of them make it possible for you to reach quality leads. You may also make use of some social media tips that can revamp your marketing strategy. Here’s a guide to help you maximize qualified leads from social media for your business.

Strategies to Generate Leads with Social Media

Select the Right Channel

The first thing to do at the start is to pick the right channel for your business. Once you find the right platforms right from the beginning, you’ll surely taste the success. Figure out where your target audience likes to hang–the sites where they consume content. Although, it’s easy to assume that Facebook is the right choice with over one billion users but this isn’t always the case. Yet this isn’t always the case. Whatever technique you put into practice to generate leads can partially depend on the social media site you’re working on. It is not about user percentages, it’s about knowing where the customer is, so you can pick the right channels.

Use Customized Hashtags

In order to stand out from your competitors, make use of customized and brand-specific hashtags in the posts. It will allow you to increase brand awareness and produce high-quality leads. However, you first have to make sure that you use hashtags only when they are necessary and relevant. And try not to stuff too many hashtags in your posts just to fill the necessity. Hashtags need to be accurate and targeted. Try creating a hashtag for your brand that should be simple yet unique. It will encourage your potential customers to find you and your posts quickly. Also, encourage your existing customers to use these hashtags for improving your brand’s visibility.

Run Contests

There have been two reasons why businesses are run contests. First, they’re going to get a lot of leads that can profit the business Secondly, this could be shared with more people by the participants of each contest. It tends to increase the reach of the post much further. Although it is an overused way of marketing the brand on social media, it still works. There’s also a negative side to it. The leads obtained through this technique are not always relevant. Therefore, sorting the relevant leads is crucial through lead nurturing.

You can either arrange a brand-related contest or partner with influencers and request them to run contests on your behalf. Influencers will actually benefit you by widening your reach and engage with the relevant audience.

There are, however, a few important considerations while organizing social media contests.

Use simple and clear language to write the rules and instructions.
Don’t forget to mention the criteria for winning the contest.

If you plan to randomly select a winner, mention that in the details. This will help avoid any misunderstanding between the participants of your contest.

Share Quality Content

Through the use of social media, you establish relationships and network with individuals having a similar mindset and sprout your business. But how are you going to build relationships that you can convert to leads?

The simplest rule to follow is to regularly create curate and post quality content that your target market enjoys interacting with. Posting regularly at the ideal time of day will encourage your audience to see and interact with your content, drive traffic to your site, thus generate more leads.

Keep making sure you add value to your target audience and customers by posting well-researched, insightful content on social media on a regular basis. This technique will certainly make it possible for you to generate more social media leads.

Host Live Videos

Live videos are used on social networks like Facebook or Instagram. They made it very easy for marketers to reach their customers and generate leads. It’s largely because videos are fun to watch, and they can be easily understood by all. Usually, people prefer watching a video instead of reading a post Through videos, you can easily connect to your target audience and get their attention. If your live video is persuasive and entertaining throughout, the target audience will consider you for a relatively long time. This implies that it will result in lead generation.

You can utilize this feature to communicate the value and emotions of your brand so that your target audience can feel connected to you. And it’s going to give them an opportunity to interact with you through comments.

Use Targeted Listening

Social media listening is about having a digital eye on the ground to know exactly what is going on in the industry, and who’s talking online about your brand and your competitors. It is an excellent source of actionable insight, containing potential leads that try to engage with businesses like yours. By using search streams to track keywords and handles in your market, you can explore discussions people have about related products and services, or even particular features. You may then reach out to the people who are involved in such conversations to find a connection, exchange information that’s helpful and form a relationship that will shape your brand as an asset when it becomes ready to buy.