When you’re developing a plan to generate leads for your B2B company, you may not think of using social media right off the bat. Social media can seem like a consumer’s paradise but think about how many businesses are on social media advertising directly to these consumers.
Most businesses use social media marketing, and your B2B brand can benefit from being on the same page as these B2C companies.
But where do you start? Whether you’ve already established a social media presence or you’re starting from scratch, you can take simple steps to get leads from social media.
Table of Contents
The Ultimate Guide To B2B Social Media Lead Generation
We’ve collected this list of proven lead generation strategies, but keep in mind that your business is unique. Our goal is to help you succeed, and it’s important to remember that there’s no magic formula for lead generation.
As with all things in business, there will be a lot of trial and error–but don’t you agree that it’s worth putting in the time for a quality outcome?
Defining “Social Media”
Kids these days can’t stop talking about their social media presence and influencers, but what exactly do they mean by all of it?
If we’re being technical, a social media platform is an online community where people can share personal information, direct messages, content (pictures, videos, graphics, etc.), and more. When people think of social media, they think of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Social networks have grown exponentially after the last decade, and it seems like there’s always some new trend (RIP, Myspace; hello, TikTok). The good news is that most of these sites have a critical audience that makes up a large part of the online population. Since you already know your own demographic, you’ll know which social media platforms to target.
When it comes to establishing your brand, you’ll want to check out companies and influencers’ accounts in your industry. An influencer is a person who has a large number of followers on a given platform and is considered an “expert” in the field. Understanding how these accounts generate likes will help you as you develop your social media lead generation strategy.
Okay, enough chit-chat. Let’s dive in.
Check Your Website
You’re probably thinking, “wait, this article is about our social media, not our website,” but stick with us.
Generating leads on social media is excellent, but the end goal is to convert these leads. Social media marketing is a means, not an end. Ideally, someone will see your social media account and go, “this company is amazing, and I want to work with them!”
So they go to click the link to your website. Then what?
The first thing they’ll see is your landing page. At that point, you have approximately eight seconds to convince them to continue looking at your page.
Your landing page needs to clearly show who you are, what you do, and have a clickable call to action so customers can “learn more” or “join the mailing list” or whatever you want them to do.
It’s also crucial that it’s easy to get from Point A to Point B on your site. If your potential customers get stuck on a page with no apparent way to get to the next page, they might close the tab.
Before you begin optimizing your social media accounts for B2B lead generation, make sure your website is ready to convert those leads.
Use Lead Gen Forms
A quick way to gather leads on social media is to have your leads come to you. You produce ads with a clear call to action for your viewers, and when they click on the ad, a form pops up.
Thanks to technology, your leads don’t have to take the time to enter every scrap of information anymore. Instead, their account can have their basic details pre-filled so they can easily submit the form. As soon as they click send, you can shoot them a follow-up email.
Invest In Video Ads
Videos are currently the most popular method of content advertising because they are engaging and interactive. Spending a bit of your marketing budget on getting video content viewed by your target audience is a great way to attract social media leads.
You don’t have to bring in a film crew to create an Oscar-worthy cinematic masterpiece for your videos to be compelling. All you need is a smartphone camera and a smiling face.
Your videos should only be 15-30 seconds long, no matter where you post them. Your video can vary from a simple introduction to a brief “how to accomplish [thing]” as long as it’s related to your brand. People watching your videos will feel like they know you personally and will make you seem more trustworthy.
Offer Incentives
An easy way to get people to interact with your content is to offer them a particular discount or freebie in exchange for their information.
You can turn high-quality leads into long-term customers by enticing your audience to try your product for less than the full price. An example can be offering discount codes for your products or promoting gated content.
You can reserve gated content for members of your website or people who signed up to be on your email list. This content can consist of blog posts, webinars, or other specialized content.
Giveaways and contests have also become increasingly popular on social media channels. On sites like Instagram, you can give one lucky follower a free product or service, and all people have to do to enter is engage with your post. Brands will use this technique to build brand awareness and grow their audience by offering giveaway entries to people who tag others in the comments.
Teaming Up With An Affiliate Company
You can team up with an affiliate company for social media lead generation. B2B lead generation companies can help you find leads for your business so your sales reps can focus on converting these leads.
Affiliate companies know the best social media practices for targeting a particular demographic. These marketers can help you publish relevant content on your social channels. They can gather new leads using a social platform and collect the business’s contact information.
Your affiliate company may offer B2B appointment setting services to take the social media leads and set appointment times between your business and theirs. Then your sales reps have to go in and close the deal.
Taking Advantage Of Leads On Social Media
We could fill a book with media lead generation tips. You can adopt one strategy or try a variety, but whatever you share on your social channels should reflect your brand.
Finding B2B leads doesn’t have to feel like panning for gold. Whether you establish yourself on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or any other platform, you can make the most of social media for lead generation.
We make social media lead generation easy, and we’re more than happy to help you take your business to the next level.
Share your favorite ways to generate leads through social media in the comments!
