Social media has come a long way from once being just a place to play to a more serious outlet for marketing. It’s one of the best places to generate leads because you can so easily nurture relationships there. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, you’re going to find a demographic that fits the type of business you’re promoting.
The question is, which social channel is the best when it comes to generating leads? It’s better to focus on just one or two social channels rather than assume you’ll find audiences on all of them. A decade or more ago, using all might have worked to some extent. Now each channel has their own segmented demographics best suited to your business style.
Here are some tips on how to generate leads from a few of the top social media channels.
Generating Leads From Facebook
The content possibilities on Facebook are just as tremendous as you’ll find on Twitter or even Snapchat. One of the most effective ways to generate leads is to use Facebook Ads, which has already helped many businesses capture more customers.
You have three different types of ads to choose from, and you can use specific targeting to make them more personal to the demographics you’re attracting. As HubSpot notes, boosted posts are very effective because you can turn your general Facebook content into an ad. These boosted posts give you the ability to show content to larger numbers of fans to gain more readers.
Also, consider Facebook’s right-hand column ads and news feed ads. The former is the most standard ad appearing to the right side of the site’s news feed section. Many in the industry call Facebook news feed advertising “dark posts” thanks to their excellent engagement rates. Newsfeed ads work well on mobile because they blend in well with the page’s content stream.
Some other Facebook lead generation techniques:
- Posting landing pages directly on Facebook can generate a lot of leads, even if you should indicate exactly what the lead is going to see.
- Videos are now one of the best content choices on Facebook because the site’s algorithm favors it above other media. Native Facebook videos also achieve more reach than any other form of content posted.
Generating Leads From Twitter
As the alternative to Facebook, Twitter is still a major social metropolis with many potential leads for your business. It’s a shame, though, they shut down their lead generation cards this last February.
You can still generate leads there through more practical means. Starting one-on-one conversations through hashtag searches is still an effective way to generate new friendships. You can bring in new followers this way while proving your clout and nurturing good relationships.
Don’t forget about promoted tweets as well, which are still going and expand the reach of any content you post. By including landing page links here, you can drive major website traffic.
Generating Leads on YouTube
Unlike Twitter that did away with their lead generation cards, YouTube has their own. These cards allow you to add more interactivity to your YouTube videos. One great aspect to this is it’s designed well for mobile users. It allows leads to visit your website through embedded links as the video plays.
End screens also have popularity on YouTube. You’ve perhaps seen these with a call to action in a standalone frame at the end of each video. It’s possible to make the CTA visible for up to 20 seconds, giving plenty of time for leads to click on your links.
It’s worth noting lengthier video descriptions on YouTube also help you rank higher on places like Google. Use eye-catching lines in the first few lines, and always include a link to your website in those lines to capture immediate attention.
What are you focused on when it comes to social media lead generation this year?