How To Use Social Media To Generate Leads For Your Business

India is home to over 755 million social media users. The number is expected to reach 1100 million by 2027. In the US alone, over 300 million users religiously visit these networking sites for business, networking or simply entertainment generating a marketing spend of approximately 56 billion dollars marketing last year. Today, it is evident that if you are marketing for your brand, there is no straying away from social media. Businesses, too, consider social media as one of the most essential tools for lead generation. It is not the first but one of the most critical steps of your social media marketing funnel.

Come, let's take a look at how to use social media to generate leads for your business. ?

What is lead generation?

It is the process of building brand awareness, maintaining relationships and converting that into a potential source of sale. Over 70% of B2B businesses consider lead generation one of the most important steps of their marketing funnel. From capturing a lead to keeping it engaged, lead generation is a complex process. Thus, marketers resort to using multiple lead-generation tools. In a cluttered digital world brimming with data, finding the correct lead can be a herculean task. This is where social media makes its entry and enhances your lead generation journey by introducing you to your potential clients.

Why do you need social media for lead generation?

Because the numbers speak volumes! Almost 90% of US companies use social media as an important marketing funnel tool. In India, social media marketing spend is expected to be around 1.15 billion USD in 2023. More than 80% of these spends are made on Facebook alone. Instagram is also emerging as a go-to platform for marketing. By the end of 2023, Instagram's active user count worldwide is expected to reach a staggering 2.5 billion. It was also the most downloaded app of 2022 in India, followed by Facebook. With such large user counts, social media platforms undoubtedly hold enormous power in making and breaking businesses. Lead generation with social media helps you identify the exact target audience that you may be looking for for your product or service.

Okay, now that we know what lead generation is and why we need it, let’s get cracking on some nifty tips! Here are five important strategies that can help you with social media lead generation.

1) Social media listening

Missing out on a social listening strategy means you are losing some of the most valuable data available to help build your business. Marketers now agree that social listening is essential, and its value has increased multifold in the last year. Social media listening allows you to build a solid understanding of how customers and potential customers exactly think about you by analysing what they say on social channels. This can also help you learn what they think about your competition. This is incredible for market research with readily available data in real-time, as long as you know how to access it.

?2) Social proof

A term coined by Robert Cialdini, is based on the idea of normative social influence, where people follow and copy the actions of others or correct behaviour in order to feel accepted. In recent times, Zomato's 'kheer mangoge doodh denge' campaign with Blinkit can be treated as a great example of social proofing. The success of Red Bull can also be attributed to the phenomenon called social proof. As a brand, using customer testimonials of how your product or service has impacted others' lives serves as great social proof. This is something which gives Tattva an edge over its competitors. We take pride in how our social media strategy impacts businesses.

3) Lead magnet

Ever heard of the term giveaway? A lead magnet is a marketing term for a free item or service that is given away in return for gathering contact details of potential clients and customers. The exchange of information using lead magnets can be through trial subscriptions, samples, white papers, e-newsletters or even free consultations. Marketers prefer using lead magnets to generate sales leads. The marketers attempt to convert the leads into paying customers of a product or service, or they may market unrelated offerings to the sales leads.

4) Referral programs

Nothing beats the cost-effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing. Having your brand referred to by your clients should be a priority for any brand. Contrary to word of mouth, referral programs incentivize parties on both ends- the one providing the referral and the one accepting it, which ultimately helps your brand generate more leads and essentially meet your sales targets. Marketers believe that customers earned from referral marketing are often better customers than those gained from other marketing channels, spend more and are more loyal to the brand.

5) Targeted ads

Once you have collected enough data from the aforementioned social media marketing ideas, you will have a clear understanding of your target audience. This is when you can start strategizing your paid or targeted advertising methods. For most digital marketers and e-commerce brands, targeted advertising is an essential tool for cutting through the volume of ads that internet users constantly experience, serving personalised content where targeted users will see and engage with your product is the objective. With consumers regularly sharing personal data online and web cookies tracking every click, marketers have been able to gain unprecedented insight into users and serve up solutions tailored to their individual needs. This has brought impressive results for the brands.

6) Influencer collaboration

Here’s another powerful strategy to generate leads for your business. When an influencer promotes a brand or product, it adds credibility and authenticity to the marketing message. The influencer's expertise in their niche also allows businesses to target specific demographics and segments that align with their ideal customer profile. So by partnering with influencers who have a significant and engaged following in their niche, companies can tap into a ready-made audience that trusts and values the recommendations. This targeted approach can significantly improve the quality of leads generated, as they are more likely to convert into loyal customers.

Whew! Alright, so now you have a lot of information on hand. You are armed with the knowledge to generate some quality leads for your business. What’s next?

Best social media platform for lead generation

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram are the top four platforms for lead generation. Twitter is the most favoured social marketing channel for big organisations. What works for you may not work for another brand. Meesho built its multi-billion brand with Facebook marketing tools only. Thus, choosing the platform for lead generation would depend a lot on your target audience's preferred social media marketing platform. India is Instagram's largest market for reel consumption. In the United Kingdom, 95% of marketers use Twitter as a content marketing platform for lead generation. Thus, identifying the right platform is crucial for generating maximum leads. When it comes to generating leads for B2B, businesses prefer LinkedIn over any other platform. It serves as a cost-effective way of finding out about strategies implemented by your competitors as well as gives your potential clients an option to verify your work before proceeding with further business.

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All in all, generating leads for your business is like playing an e-sport where exploration can lead to expertise. In both realms, one must embrace a strategic mindset, adapt to dynamic environments, and continuously improve skills to outshine the competition. And with good ‘players’ by their side, one can navigate the challenges of lead generation with resilience and achieve their desired outcomes.

Having doubts about which platform to go for? Connect with Tattva or visit our website to learn how we can help you generate leads without breaking a sweat.

By:? Mrinal Paul &? Jasmeet Singh Bhatia