Proven Social Media Lead Generation Tactics

For marketers ready to harness the power of social media for lead generation, using the right tactics is the key to success. Whether you’re new to social media lead generation or have been doing it for some time now, this article will act as your go-to guide on how to drive more high-quality leads. 

Source: geekschip.com

But before we move to how to generate leads through social media, let’s look at some important social media statistics for 2022. 

These numbers indicate why social media is a haven for lead generation, explicitly driving already interested leads. 

• More than half the global population uses social media (58.4%).
• The average daily time spent using social media is 2:27 hr.
• 66% of consumers have been inspired to purchase from a new brand after seeing social media images from other customers.
• The average person bounces between seven different social media networks per month.
• In 2021, TikTok was the fastest-growing social network with a staggering 18.3% user growth rate in the US, followed by Reddit (14.4%) and Pinterest (3.1%).
• 39% of Gen Z consumers say that their purchasing decisions are influenced by what they see on TikTok.
• Facebook remains the most used social platform by marketers worldwide (93%), followed by Instagram (78%).
• As of January 2022, 56.6% of Facebook users globally are male, while 43.4% are female.
• Instagram dominates the social streaming services in terms of engagement (81% vs. Facebook’s 8%).
• Instagram is Gen-Z’s favorite social media platform. Also, people aged 25-34 are the biggest cohort of Instagram users.
• Instagram ads are more likely to reach users between the ages of 18 and 34.
• 38.5% of Twitter users are aged 25-34.

Proven Social Media Lead Generation Strategies to Try Now

Now, let’s move to how to generate leads through social media in 2022. 

1. Give Persuasive Lead Magnet Offers

When it comes to generating high-quality social media leads, gated content works like a charm. In fact, the right content can make people confident about sharing their information with you. However, to do that, you’ll need to understand what resonates the best with your audience. 

For instance, LinkedIn promotes its free Insight Tag tool on its platform. 

Source: sproutsocial.com

However, Forrester shares its 2021 prediction in the form of GIF to encourage people to download the report. 

Source: twitter.com

HubSpot shares free Infographic templates to help marketers create their own infographics. 

Source: twitter.com

So, whether it is a tool, report, or template, make sure the content you share on social media addresses your target audience’s pain points. 

At the same time, it is worth mentioning that social media is constantly evolving. Therefore, you might need to share all kinds of content to determine what combination brings the best results. 

2. Incentivize Users To Engage

When you don’t have gated content to share on social media, you can incentivize users to engage with your posts. Again, there are different types of incentives that you can give to sweeten the deal. 

• Contests: The most popular way to drive social media engagement and attract leads is by running contests. If you’re a B2C or D2C brand, you can ask users to like, follow, and tag their friends to participate in contests. However, if you’re a B2B company, you can run trivia contests or free subscription giveaways to attract leads. 
• Discounts and Promotions: What’s better than a discount in exchange for newsletter signup? I recently signed up for Adidas’s newsletter for a 15% discount on my first purchase (I got to know about it via Instagram Ads). 
• Free access or products: This works if you can give something for free. For example, if you’re hosting a webinar, you can also offer users free entry to the webinar if they bring in two or more attendees. This will help you get more people to your webinar and generate high-quality leads.

However, to generate a higher ROI while still incentivizing users, you need to tell them what’s in it for them beforehand. And make sure it’s something that’d add value to their lives. 

Collaborating with a B2B lead generation agency can provide insights and strategies to ensure that the value proposition is both compelling and tailored to your target audience.

3. Leverage Social Lead Ads

When you’ve implemented all the organic lead generation strategies or want to ramp up those efforts, run social media ads. All the leading social platforms allow you to run lead generation campaigns. 

Facebook Lead Ads

As mentioned above, Facebook is the most popular social media platform. By running lead ads on Facebook, you can quickly widen your reach and find people interested in your products and services.

What makes Facebook lead ads a great choice for lead generation is that they pre-populate most of the fields, so people are more likely to complete them, even on small screens. 

Source: paracore.com

Furthermore, you can customize your ads for better results.

• Add custom questions: Tailor your questions to ensure you capture high-quality leads. 
• Use dynamic ads: Change the creative and messaging based on what people have previously shown interest in. 
• Add a CTA: As soon as someone fills the form, allow them to reach your business via email, call, or message to start a conversation immediately. 

Instagram Lead Ads

While you can always run Facebook lead ads on Instagram, you can also create separate ads. However, there are several differences between Facebook and Instagram lead ads. 

• Instagram does not support all the prefilled fields. For example, if you include the date of birth field, your ad won’t be displayed on Instagram.
• You cannot add store locator or appointment request questions in your ads. If you still do, those questions won’t be shown. 
• Instagram does not support dynamic ads for lead generation. 
• Lead ads are available only on the mobile app. Your ads won’t appear to people using the desktop version of Instagram. 

LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms

If your primary target audience is B2B, you can leverage LinkedIn lead gen ads. These ads are available as Message ads and Sponsored InMail. Also, like Facebook, LinkedIn also prefills sections to make it easier for users to complete the form. 

However, the average conversion rate on LinkedIn lead gen form is 13% compared to 2.35% on landing pages. This means that LinkedIn Gen Lead Forms drive 5x higher conversions than landing pages. 

You can even add direct CTAs on LinkedIn ads to capture customer information easily. 

Source: searchenginejournal.com

4. Create Retargeting Ads With Special Offers

Be it lead generation, converting prospects, or re-engaging lost prospects, retargeting ads can do wonders for you. Retargeting ads have 10x better click-through rates than regular display ads. 

You can even retarget people who read your blogs often but haven’t subscribed to your newsletter or those who visited your website through referral sites. 

For example, if someone clicks on your ad, visits your landing page, but leaves without submitting the form. You can retarget them to encourage them to finish the signup process. 

As a rule of thumb, you should set up retargeting ads in a sequence to drive better results. For instance, for the awareness stage, you can create an ad that addresses your customers’ common pain points. However, for the consideration stage, you can use customer testimonials to build trust with viewers. And for the last stage, you can show your product in action. 

However, just like other advertising campaigns, you’ll have to measure and optimize retargeting campaigns to drive better results over time. 

5. Share Customer Testimonials 

Customer stories and testimonials can help you build trust with potential customers and get leads. By showcasing how your clients benefit from your services, you can demonstrate your brand value. 

According to Wyzowl:

• 90% of people say they trust what a customer says about a business more than what that business says about itself.  
• 77% of people who have watched a brand’s testimonial video say it has played a role in convincing them to buy their product or service.  
• 2 out of 3 people say they’d be more likely to purchase after watching a testimonial video demonstrating how a business, product, or service had helped another person like them.  

For example, Whoop, a wearable technology company, shares its customer experience on its Instagram story. It even tags the customer on its story as a way to thank them for purchasing. 

Source: socialmediaexaminer.com

If you don’t have video testimonials to share on social media, you can collect all the reviews and turn them into an animated video to make it engaging and shareable. 

6. Use Influencer Marketing

No, influencer marketing is not dead yet. In fact, it is still gaining momentum and driving millions of dollars in revenue for businesses globally. You can even get leads via influencer marketing. 

According to Grand View Research, the global influencer marketing industry was valued at $10.24 billion in 2021. The number is forecast to reach $84.89 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 30.3% from 2021 to 2028.  

When you partner with the right influencer, you can reach tens of thousands (if not millions) of people. Moreover, people who follow the influencer usually trust them with product and service recommendations, making it easier for you to convert them. 

However, follow these best practices to get the most out of different marketing statistics. 

• Whether you’re in B2B or B2C space, there will always be several key influencers and opinion molders in your industry. Map out the ones who you think might promote your products and services. 
• Determine whether they align with your brand value and have a follower base that you’d want to convert. Also, check their engagement rate. 
• Reach out to them to see if they’re open to collaboration. 
• Once they promote your products or services, share their content from your handle, and track how people respond to their posts. 
• Measure your results and make adjustments to drive better results. 

7. Take Advantage of Social Media Listening

Social media listening refers to the process of monitoring social media platforms to identify what people say about your brand. Moreover, people use social media, especially Twitter, to complain about what they don’t like about a brand. This can have a negative impact on lead generation if not appropriately addressed. 

However, only 3% of tweets regarding customer service problems tag the company’s official Twitter page. And even if you’re not tagged, failing to respond to tweets can cause a 43% decrease in customer advocacy. 

This makes investing in a social media listening tool more important than ever. Tools like Sprout Social, Buffer, and Hootsuite allow you to monitor and analyze the mentions of your brand. You can also find untagged mentions of your brand so you can take the conversation further. 

Additionally, you can find customers unhappy with your competitors and encourage them to try your product. You can set keywords that you want to track, and the tool will highlight every conversation that includes those words. 

Here is an example of how brands leverage social media listening to find customers who aren’t happy with their competitors. Although it requires additional effort, it could be worth it when done efficiently. 

Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com

8. Host Virtual Events

Even business professionals spend a good amount of time on social media, especially LinkedIn and Twitter. And if you want to attract them, what’s better than virtual events (like a webinar)? 

Virtual events are a great way to attract a highly relevant audience and build a community. It also helps establish your expertise and authority in your industry. 

However, to generate leads, make sure you: 

• Host a virtual conference or webinar on topics that would intrigue your audience. You can use the event to discuss trending industry topics and provide actionable tips. 
• Invite influential speakers from your industry to attract their followers as well as to enhance the credibility of your webinar. 
• Use social media ads to reach as many people as possible. 

9. Make the Most Out of Referral Programs

Referral programs have been known to deliver great results. In fact, 92% of consumers trust the referral from people they know personally. And for every happy customer, you get as many as nine referrals. 

Boxed, an online wholesaler is a good example of running a referral program on social media. Followers can easily tag their own networks with a click of a button and get gifts or discounts on their next orders. And you get new leads.  

Source: insights.jumper.ai

However, it isn’t as easy as it seems. You’ll have to make a compelling offer to both the referrer and referee. It could be early access to sales, free eBook, gift cards, or cash incentives.

Wrapping Up

Generating more high-quality leads on social media isn’t easy. However, with the right strategies, you can find potential customers and boost your bottom line. Make sure to implement a combination of the nine tactics mentioned above to determine what works best for you. Then, keep optimizing the strategies to improve your results. The market has excellent social media lead-generation applications to help you ace the process. With the right mix of content and creativity, you can start generating leads for your business on social media. If you’re stuck along the way, don’t be afraid to think outside the box!

Have you tried any of these ideas yet? Then, do let us know in the comments below.