Social media for lead generation

Social media essentially means individuals sharing information with each other. It is an outlet for knowledge, passion and expertise and this makes it a potential platform for creating new business opportunities.

Some would argue that it’s wrong to use social media for lead generation but that would only be true if you were going into social media and not paying attention to the conventions and ettiquette that exists on platforms like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. They aren’t broadcast media, you haven’t bought the right to expose people to your message when you enter social media. It’s designed for dialogue and discussion. Social media rewards those who have knowledge, passion and experience and are willing to share it.

Using social media for lead generation centres on three key elements of social media. Base you lead generation programme around these three elements and you will be able to engage prospects and create new opportunities.

Opportunities to communicate

Social media creates opportunities for discussion, collaboration and collective action. The barriers to entry for reaching people relevant to your business or industry sector have become almost non-existent. Go onto Twitter or LinkedIn and you’ll find discussions about every topic under the sun. Navigating the discussion is a matter of spending time acclimatising to the particular groups and understanding the #hashtags and influencers who will lead you to the most active discussions.

Opportunities to display expertise

A significant proportion of the discussion on social media could be viewed as frivolous. However, it is also a place where people collaborate and share ideas and look for inspiration. By sharing your expertise and participating in discussion and debate you will position yourself and/or your business as passionate and expert about the problems it solves for customers.

Access to communities

Social media gives businesses the opportunity to engage with communities of interest, the people who buy their products or those of their competitors. Compared to a pre-social media world, the ability to tap into what people are excited, concerned or repelled by is sometimes astonishing. Whether it’s consumer groups or esoteric areas of knowledge, communities will be buzzing online, creating opportunities for you engage and learn.

So it’s clear that social media has made a lot of communication possible and created the opportunity to tell your story to many, relevant people. However, it’s important that you recognise that it’s still a value transaction – if you have something interesting or unique to say, people will engage with you. If you engage with people and they value what you say, you will create a network and new opportunities to sell your products and/or services. To find out more, contact us now.