With over five billion users worldwide, social media remains a powerhouse for lead generation. By using the right tactics at the right time, businesses can pinpoint and captivate potential leads on social media effectively. According to research, nearly 70 percent of marketers have successfully harnessed social media marketing to boost their lead acquisition.
You may be wondering which tactics are the most effective for generating leads through social media. Understanding current marketing trends can be crucial in this context. By analyzing data, trends, and relevant statistics, businesses can validate and refine their marketing strategies.
In this post, we’ll discuss how to get social media leads in 2024 by convincing people from just browsing the mindset to being “ready-to-buy”. We’ve also highlighted some real-world brand examples who are doing it the right way. So, without any further ado, let’s dive in!
Why social media lead generation is important to your marketing strategy
Social media lead generation is a key component in propelling your business forward, nurturing prospects, and driving conversions. Here are some reasons why social media is important for your business growth:
- Increase your reach and audience engagement: With a massive user base, social media helps businesses target a broad and varied audience. Connecting with potential customers enhances your website traffic, brand visibility, engagement, and attracts more attention to your brand.
- Foster your leads: 68 percent of customers who follow a specific brand on social media expect new products or service updates from the brand. Further, 46 percent of them want access to premium deals or promotions. By delivering engaging content, promptly addressing inquiries, and resolving issues, you cultivate enduring relationships with your audience.
- Focus on reaching your target audience: Understanding who your ideal customers are allows you to tailor your content and offers, converting them into loyal patrons. Monitoring your lead generation efforts also provides valuable insights into consumer behavior and helps gauge the return on investment (ROI), enabling you to refine your strategies further. With that said, let’s explore some practical ways to get more leads.
Best strategies to help boost your social media leads in 2024
There are multiple social media lead-generation tactics—however, you need to figure out what works for your business. Some of the top strategies that can improve the results of your social marketing efforts are:
1. Social listening
Social listening works great to boost sales for your business. It revolves around finding online discussions that are relevant to your business and analyzing them to make informed business decisions. For instance, you can gather feedback about your products and services and enhance them to align with your buyer’s needs.
Businesses can use advanced social listening tools such as Buffer, Sprout Social, and Hootsuite to get actionable insights.
Starbucks, a leading coffee chain uses social listening to understand its customers better, improve where needed, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.
It continuously monitors all conversations about its brand on social media, responds to customer queries and concerns, and improves its brand reputation. Here’s an example:
Lia Donnelly asked if the flavoring in the coffee was dairy-free through a Facebook post. Starbucks responded and advised to check the menu for dairy-free drinks and reach out with any further questions.
2. Testimonial advertising
This strategy uses customer reviews and testimonials to showcase brand authenticity and acquire new leads on social media. It demonstrates how existing customers benefit from your products and services, reflecting your brand’s value and commitment.
Sephora, a beauty brand, operates a division, Sephora Squad, a community of artists, storytellers, and beauty enthusiasts. On its lookout for new community members, the brand showcases testimonials from existing members on its social channels as a promotional strategy. These testimonials are quotes given by the Sephora Squad community members, expressing their love for the brand. Isn’t it a cool way to get new members to the Squad?
3. Giveaways and contests
These are a great way to get people interested in your business. If you can afford them, giveaways give back huge returns. Set your giveaway goals, budget, and prizes, followed by knowing your audience, plan and run your giveaway. Finally, measure the outcomes to see what works and what doesn’t.
Dominos, a global pizza chain ran a Twitter giveaway “Sweepstakes” on National Pizza Day 2023. The content was open only to legal residents of 50 United States and the District of Columbia who were at least thirteen years old at the time of registration. The participants had to retweet the sponsor’s Sweepstakes post with #NationalPizzaDay and #WinDominosPizza and abide by the official rules.
4. Lead generation paid ads
Paid ads is a paid online advertising model that allows brands to showcase ads to their target audience. You can run paid ads on social media channels with careful planning to find potential clients with the help of a virtual assistant. They help you roll in traffic as soon as your ads go live. Ad quality, bid amount, and user engagement are some of the important factors that influence the impact of paid ads.
Quick steps to start with paid advertising:
- Set clear SMART advertising goals
- Identify and know your target audience
- Choose an appropriate advertising platform
- Create engaging ad copy and visuals
- Estimate your budget and bid strategy
- Run and track your paid ad campaign
- Measure performance and ROI
HappyOrNot, a customer feedback management company demonstrates a perfect example of lead generation ( for webinar) for retails via Facebook lead generation ad.
In the above ad, the copy and image convey what the webinar is about. The “Sign Up” button offers a convenient way to register for it. Additionally, the “Display Link” contains the website address.
Another interesting thing is that you can use Facebook to gather leads and update your database automatically when more people register. When people enter their details and click the Sign Up Button, the details are included in your webinar tool, facilitating real-time communications.
5. Start referral campaigns
Referral campaigns enable brands to identify and reach out to potential prospects to share their message, or promote their products and services with an exchange of reward.
Getaway, a vacation rental company, has an impressive referral program that allows you to refer others. They offer $25 off for the first stay of the referred person. And when you book, you get a discount of $35.
Tips to create a referral program:
- Ask your customers to refer you.
- Pick a moment when you want them to refer to you. For example, post-purchase, upgrade, or after getting positive online reviews.
- Understand your audience and choose the most loyal and satisfied customers.
- Ensure the fonts, tone, colors, and messaging resonate with the brand.
- Include a compelling CTA.
- Offer valuable rewards and give a choice too.
- Pay as easily as you can to encourage your referrers.
- Increase your reach, analyze, and make improvements.
Conclusion
Ready to crush your social media lead generation goals?
By using social media lead generation tactics in the right manner, you can connect with a wider audience. Always remember to be social on social media. Use the tactics that we’ve mentioned earlier to build a strong relationship with your customers.
Strive to deliver value. Address their pain points. Measure the impact. This will ultimately bring leads and help your business grow over time.
