Social media marketing is one of the best strategies you can add to your business.
We are all familiar with the success of social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and odds are, you have an account on one or more of these sites. Believe it or not, almost 4 billion people use these sites to talk to friends, buy products, and research brands.
If you look carefully at the numbers, you’ll find that 55% of consumers research brands on social media before making a purchase. Business owners and marketers can accelerate their growth by connecting with users while they are still looking for a solution to their problem.
It’s not always easy to get someone to switch brands, but it’s fairly easy to obtain new leads if the consumer is in the early stages of their journey.
There are plenty of ways you can get explosive lead growth from your social media marketing campaign. Today we are going to focus on four critical pieces of advice you can add to your strategy to get more email addresses and subscribers. These factors lead to more people seeing your product and subscribing, which can translate to additional sales and brand engagement.
Share content that’s packed with value.
Your content is the best way to show potential customers why your brand is worth their time. Sharing blog posts from your website is a great way to add more value to your profile and brand image. A staggering 47% of people read three to five blog posts from a company before buying their product. In other words, companies need to prove to consumers that they know their stuff.
Now, when people browse their feed and spot one of your articles, they are likely to click-through and land on your website. From this point, you have multiple options. You can show the piece of content in its entirety. We recommend using this option for most of your social shares.
It’s also possible to generate leads by gating off valuable posts. For instance, you could share an ultimate guide about a topic in your industry and encourage customers to subscribe by providing their email address to get the full report. If you’re doing a good job reaching your target audience, you will see a boost in engagement and signups at this stage.
Another way to generate leads through your content is to offer value in terms of coupons and savings for people that land on your site from social media. Imagine someone visiting your website through a blog post. They get to the bottom of the article and trigger a popup that gives them 40% off their first purchase when they sign up. You can safely bet that some people will take advantage of this offer and join your lead list.
Get interactive with videos.
Video content is another extremely effective way to get more leads from social media. Did you know that 90% of people reported watching videos on social media at least once a month? Putting out high-quality content, both live and pre-recorded, can help skyrocket your lead list.
Pre-recorded content usually consists of guides and opinion pieces on your industry. While you don’t get to engage directly with visitors while the video is playing, you can interact in the comments section. Thank people for watching your videos, and respond to feedback under crucial comments.
Other pre-recorded videos are platform-specific. For example, Instagram has a feature called Stories, where people can upload videos that are only available for a limited time. A surprising 85% of people watch Instagram Stories until the end. So, if you want to generate more leads through your stories, you can promote special offers for subscribers or simply include a call to action at the end of your video.
Live events are known for getting more engagement but require additional planning. You can choose to host a live webinar, Q & A session, and more, all from your social media platform of choice. The great part about this type of interactive video is you can talk directly to users in real-time.
Use this opportunity to learn from your audience and discover how your product can help them. People appreciate brands that go through all of this effort because it shows that they are committed to building a high-quality product. Throughout the broadcast, encourage people to subscribe so they can get updates about your next big live video event and special offers.
Hold a monthly contest.
Online giveaways are one of the best ways to get more people to invest in your brand. You can host contests on your website and social media. Site-only events are perfect for getting your existing audience excited about a new product or incentive to engage with your brand.
On the other hand, social media contests are designed to go viral and expose your company to as many potential customers as possible. There are plenty of prize options you can choose to award. If you want to offer something unique to your site, you can put one of your most valuable products on the line as a prize. You can also put a $100 gift card for your website up for grabs.
If people are interested in the products you’re offering, there’s a good chance they will enter the giveaway. Here’s where things get interesting. You can create a contest rule that asks people to subscribe to your email list for one entry and share your post for a second ticket.
Using this technique, you’ll grow your lead list from people that decide to subscribe. At the same time, when they share your post, these users are exposing your brand to a broader audience and encouraging more people to participate.
Join online communities.
The most important of social media is the sense of community. People join online groups with like-minded individuals and talk about their common interests and hobbies. There are plenty of industry-focused groups, which means they are the perfect place to find your target audience.
Let’s say you have an online pet shop. You could go to a pet lovers community on Facebook and engage with the customers there. Offer non-promotional pet advice and build rapport with your other members of the group.
The more time you spend in these groups, the closer you’ll get to building trust and brand awareness with everyone who spends their time in the community. After you’ve provided plenty of value and got to know some of the group owners, you can point to some of your products and services if you think they will provide value to your audience.
There’s no question that social media marketing is here to stay. Over 3 million new people signed up for social media accounts between April 2019 and April 2020. The more time you spend on these platforms, the better chance you have at building brand recognition, which leads to more sales and conversions.
If you’re not sure which platform you should optimize first, look over your analytics and review consumer data about each social website. You’ll find that every website has a unique audience that favors different types of content, promotions, and engagement.
Work towards improving your performance on platforms where your audience is prevalent. The tips we outlined above will help you make the most of your social media marketing experience and drastically improve your lead generation efforts on these websites.
