Elijah Masek-Kelly — July 10, 2019 — July 10, 2019
Social media is undoubtedly the great marketing tool of our generation. With over 3 billion people active on social media, it is essential to learn how to best use this vast resource to increase traffic, promote your product and grow your audience. Obviously, having a presence on various social media outlets is necessary, but it takes much more than a basic Facebook page to set yourself apart and generate useful leads. Which methods work best for you will depend on the specifics of your business, but these tactics have proven to be among the most successful overall:
Original Content
Sure, this method is often touted as the best way to market online but there is a reason for that – it works. Producing compelling, coherent content that users find useful and informative sets you and your business up as leaders in the industry. Consumers trust sources they view as knowledgeable and competent. Providing regular, relevant content accomplishes this.
Jide Alufa of Sophiads explains, “Generating more leads from social media boils down to the 3c’s; Content, Context, & Consistency! When you release consistent content about your industry or expertise and help your audience frame their perspective on vital subjects in your industry, more leads begin to flow your way in an automated way as if you’re going viral.”
Contests
Done properly, online contests can be extremely effective. As well as establishing your site and brand as fun and interesting, they also promote user interaction, a key component in creating leads and increasing loyalty. Photo contests can be used to generate traffic, especially if participants are incentivized to share the contest on their own social media sites. It is best to offer prizes related to your business to help narrow down the entries to those who have a genuine interest in your product. Sure, a lot of people will enter a contest for a free trip to the Caribbean, but how many of those people are actually potential customers?
Segmentation
Just because you have set up a killer Facebook page and are generating plenty of traffic and user interaction, that doesn’t mean you should stop there. Designing multiple pages within each social media platform allows you to segment your target audience and further tailor your marketing strategy to closely match each group.
One page could be used mainly to promote awareness and increase the exposure of your brand, while another could focus more on in-depth content and industry news. Each of these will appeal to a very different set of potential leads and broadens your overall reach. Marco Hernandez of Kaizen Social suggests that businesses “Start mapping your sales process and your lead generation system online. Word of mouth is powerful but automation is scalable.”
Hosting
The more user involvement you can generate on your site and social media pages, the more engaged your audience will become. There are many types of event hosting that can be used to bring in the crowds and each appeals to different segments of the population. Finding the right ones for your business can be tricky but the payoff can be huge.
- Webinars are seen as a fundamental tool among those who use social media as an information source.
- Hangouts follow different protocols on different mediums but are great for targeting users looking for social interaction and a human touch.
- Video hosting can be used to promote live events, illustrate product usage or simply to entertain.
Links to Gated Content
In order to access gated content, users typically have to provide some personal information. Often this is just an email address, but it can also include age, location or preference details. Obviously, the contact info is the key lead generation component, but the other information can be used to narrow your marketing focus and target your content more effectively. The most important thing here is producing valuable content that can entice users to share their information. This is also an excellent way to separate the truly interested users from those who were probably never going to buy anything.
Conclusion
Learning how to efficiently convert leads into actual sales is an entirely different discussion, but one that is irrelevant until you actually have the leads to work with. Simply having a social media presence is no longer enough, it is imperative to explore every available method to determine which strategies do the most to help you grow your business.
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