Lead generation is crucial for creating new business.Through advertising and promotion you will build up a database of contacts who are, or may be, interested in your products and services.

Social media is now central to lead generation because of the huge audiences active on these platforms (4.8 billion people, 93% of internet users are active on social media – statista.com). In this blog post we explore you can use social media to generate leads.

1. Create your social media strategy

The key to generating quality leads through social media is creating a comprehensive strategy. To do this you’ll need to:

  • Identify which platforms align with your target audience;
  • Develop content tailored specifically for that audience; and
  • Establish clear goals e.g. to increase likes, comments, shares, followers, visitors to your site subscribers, or sales.

A well thought out plan will help you stay focused and know at all times what you need to do next.

2. Which platform?

Each social media platform offers distinct advantages for lead generation. To optimize your results, you need to consider the relevance and importance of the specific features of each one to your target market. Then tailor your approach accordingly.

  • Facebook has over 2 billion active monthly users. It generates all it’s revenue from advertising so it provides you with powerful tools for custom audience targeting based on demographics, interests and behaviors. Advertising is cost per impression (CPI) (i.e. you pay based in how many times the ad appears) or cost per click (CPC) (you only pay when someone clicks your ad). Targeting allows you to ensure that your ads are only shown to those most likely interested in what you offer. – maximizing ROI! Additionally running contests or giveaways requiring participants share contact information is another effective way to gather valuable lead data while increasing brand awareness among potential customers. who may not have otherwise heard about it beforehand.
  • 12 months ago, I would have recommended Business To Business (B2B) vendors use Twitter to connect with industry influencers and decision makers. Unfortunately, since Elon Musk bought Twitter (now X) the platform is in free-fall and advertisers have fled to other platforms. It may still be worthwhile but as a small business you are far better off fishing where the fish are. If large multinationals cannot generate an acceptable Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) what makes you think you can? Spell it out and run a small test before committing.
  • LinkedIn may be a valuable resource for businesses looking to generate leads through professional networking. You can join relevant groups and engage in discussions related to your niche to help establish yourself as an authority figure. Publishing articles and blog posts demonstrates your expertise. A free account however is of very limited value so you should take a paid subscription and get access to Sales Navigator. This gives you powerful tools for identifying potential leads.
  • Instagram & TikTok have become hugely popular platforms for visual storytelling, making them an ideal choice for businesses whose target market prefer visual media and who can communicate their message quickly. You can leverage your presence to foster connections with your ideal audience. You can also collaborate with recognized influencers to promote your brans and offers.

There are several other platforms with smaller audiences and if you’re in a niche business, it is possible that you may find your people there. But I recommend starting with a major platform – you have access to far more potential customers or clients and you can use the data to refine your strategy.

The single most important aspects of your presence on any of these platforms are consistency and frequency. Your followers will be far more responsive if they see you posting consistently. Once a month is probably not frequent enough but if that’s all you can do, do that. Then increase your frequency while maintaining your consistency.

3. Assess the Success of Your Social Media Campaigns

Measuring how successful your social media marketing is can be challenging. Define and track performance indicators (KPIs) that are relevant to your business, e.g.

  • engagement levels (likes, shares, comments, follows, clicks, subscribers, sales);
  • cost per action (CPA) including cost per click (CPC);
  • metrics e.g. click through rate (CTR), conversion rates; Return on Ad Spend (ROAS); and Return on Investment (ROI).

Monitor these regularly and use the data to guide your decisions on whether your campaigns are performing to expectations, what changes are needed to get a better result, and which campaigns to scale up and which ones to kill off.

Summary

The potential of social media for lead generation is practically unlimited. To capitalize on this, you need to know and understand the comprehend the strengths and limitations of the different platforms and choose the one most likely to put you in front of your target market. Developing a well thought out strategy and consistently and regularly measuring your results will significantly increase your chances of success.