How to use social media to generate B2B leads?
Social media and lead generation are two complete antithetical concepts. Obviously, social media isn’t the first thing that flashes in your mind when you think of a lead generation campaign.
Before you possess the thought of generating leads through social media you must ensure that you have established yourself as an authority in whatever industry you are. It could be through your company’s website, blogs, e-newsletters, business practices etc.
Whenever we think of social media, something least expensive and powerful is unveiled in our head.A lot of professionals think that social media is just a way to make people aware of their brands, products, and services and channel platform to connect with customers. However, social media is much more than that. Be it any news, good content or anything interesting and entertaining it spreads on social media just as the fire in the forest.
According to a research by Statista, 81% of US population is on social media, 1.96 billion social media users have been found worldwide in 2017 whereas the number was expected to grow to some 2.5 billion by 2018.
Social media can be very effective in lead generation process if used properly. Many B2B lead generation companies are merrily employing this channel to generate leads.
Tips to use social media in the lead generation process
A stat says that 24% of businesses that utilized social media for lead generation has observed an increase in revenue. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn etc. can be very effective in generating leads if used properly.
Therefore, with social media, lead generation becomes cost-effective as well as easier. Let’s see what tactics B2B lead generation companies follow to generate quality leads:
1.) Foster gated content
Social media could be the best way to generate leads through gated content such as white papers, articles, and videos etc. If developed posts are directed to the landing page where users are asked to fill out a form, new leads can be generated and existing ones can be nurtured in the marketing database.
One of the most fascinating parts of this method is to ensure that your social posts offer contents that captures the follower’s interests. You can use images, gifs, or stats to make the story of your content more imagery as visuals creates a great impact on the human’s brain.
2.) Organize contests
Organizing contests are one of the best ways to capture the attention of people capable of and interested in buying your products or services. When you organize a contest you must keep a prize for the winner. If your prize and the contest is interesting, people will definitely rush to participate in. But ensure that the prize you kept for the winner should be valuable and related to what your organization offers.
3.) Polls and surveys
It’s better to do things openly and in the light rather than shooting an arrow in the dark. If you want to know your customers’ interest, their pain points, what they actually care about, what they want to see in your products or services, and what things do they really find good then polls and surveys could be the best way to do so. Through polls and surveys, you can know how many customers are actually happy with your offerings and where you need to improve.
You can also offer incentives if you want to increase the response rate from audiences.
4.) Avail benefits of social media advertising
a.) Facebook Lead Ads
One of the greatest advantages of Facebook Lead Ads is that it automatically populates the lead form with the user’s contact information. The form is designed in such a way that marketers can easily get connected to their potential customers with just a few clicks and taps.
It’s up to the marketers how much information they want, they can ask for. But asking for more can make your customers sway away. Therefore, ensure to keep limits on the number of questions asked.
b.) LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms
Since LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, the chances of generating ample leads on this dais are also high. LinkedIn is populated with various kinds of details of every individual be it educational or professional, school, grades, the field of study, any job detail, company, and seniority. You get an extremely rich data of the industry professionals on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms make it easy for potential customers to share their information and easy for vendors to get their patrons’ details. A study reported that LinkedIn has helped 45% of business officials to gain customers through this channel.
5.) Host a hangout, webinar or live video
The best way to interact with your audience and followers is to go live and engage with them in real-time. Live chat or live video gives you an opportunity to answer questions instantly, gather feedback, and generate brand awareness about your products or services among a large audience. Additionally, this provides you an opportunity to mark your brand as an expert in the industry.
Takeaway
It’s highly recommended to respond to all comments and messages that your social media posts receive. You can even cross promote i.e. add social sharing buttons on your websites and linking it to your Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus or LinkedIn pages etc. Therefore, if social media is used effectively, then ample leads can be generated through it.
