You’ve heard it before: social media networks are a marketing platform that provide an opportunity for businesses to connect with their customers. And you may have questioned how to turn those engaging conversations into dollar signs. You’re in luck. In this blog post we will show you how.
In their annual report, HubSpot noted that social media produces almost double the marketing leads of trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail or PPC. It definitely works. But how?
The secret to turning your fans into leads and customers is through valuable content. Create content for social media to attract new customers and generate leads for your business. It’s also important to engage your Facebook Fans or Twitter Followers to carefully guide them through your sales funnel.
So how do you know what content to create and share? Here are three best practices to help you get started:
- Identify your target audience. In order to increase your number of customers through social media, you need to reach the right audience and understand how to reach them.
- Quantify your goal(s). Having set numbers allows you to track and analyze your results.
- Create a content strategy that will help you reach that audience and accomplish your goals.
Some other things to consider: Your social media marketing campaigns should go hand-in-hand with your other marketing efforts and must be consistent with your brand image and voice to resonate with your audience. You will also want to measure your content to understand what your social audience finds valuable. By monitoring the conversation you will be able to change your strategy to help nurture leads and help you reach your goals. Let’s look more closely at how content and social media can help you attract leads.
Quality Content to Draw In Leads
People are inundated with messages on their Facebook newsfeed and Twitter feeds. Make your brand stand out by providing quality content that makes customer’s thumb stop when scrolling through on their phone. When creating content, use these tips to help make your content grab the user’s attention.
- Include a link to drive people to your blog or website or use a link when sharing third party information.
- Use data when appropriate to give your brand authority. Infographics work very well on Facebook to visually share data.
- Share industry articles or news as it is relevant to your audience.
Listen to your audience and write about what they are seeking. Look at your frequently asked questions and create content that answers those questions. Solving their problems and giving them what they desire will lead to customers. Continue to provide them with quality content and they will continue to engage with your brand on social media, most likely influencing others by recommending your brand, product or service.
Attracting Customers with Facebook
The first step in generating more leads through Facebook is to increase your reach. These three tips will help you reach a larger number of people.
- You must create relevant, valuable content. When it comes to social media marketing, quality over quantity will help you lead to success. Keep in mind that timing of your content is important. The frequency of your content and when to post will help with your reach. Look at your Facebook page’s analytics to understand these optimal times.
- Use photos to make your content visually interesting. Images should be used to complement your message and draw attention to your post when it shows up in newsfeeds. Facebook is becoming a more visual platform and posts with photos tend to receive higher engagement.
- Boost your post in a strategic way. Get your content in front of your desired audience by boosting your post. Make sure to have a clear call to action and a reason to pay for people to see your message.
Social Listening Through Twitter
Twitter offers a unique opportunity for businesses to connect with current and potential customers. This social media network is more “open” than others in terms of privacy settings. Users tend not to have as strict privacy settings, which opens the door for businesses to connect with them. Through various tools, you can monitor keywords and phrases that are relevant to your brand, product or service. This allows you to hear (see) what people are saying about you specifically even if you are not connected with them or them with you. It also provides an opportunity for you to reach out to them.
Three things that are important when using Twitter as a lead generation tool:
- You’re limited to 140 characters or less so your message must be clear and valuable to the recipient.
- Be authentic. Your tone should match your brand voice but also be consistent with the Tweet you are responding to.
- Don’t sell. Help them solve their problem or join the conversation.
With the number of active Facebook and Twitter users, these networks provide a huge opportunity for businesses to reach potential customers. The key to reaching and converting them with your social media strategy is providing valuable content that is timely, relevant and quality.
Fusionfarm is a digital marketing and creative agency devoted to solving the problems that small and medium sized businesses face. We’re excited to be a part of the Social Brand Forum again this year. We’re looking forward to learning from some of the best experts in the industry and chatting with other marketers.
