10 StrategicWays to Drive

Leads withSocial Media

One of the most overlooked and underutilized practices in digital

marketing is leveraging the power of social media to drive leads

and sales. There are a lot of obstacles for companies to overcome

including a true appreciation of the value, lack of skills, and certain

business cultures that don't lend themselves to being social.

However, if a company can eliminate the stumbling blocks, there

are strategic, lucrative ways to drive leads with social media.

Unfortunately, many CEOs and GMs think of social media as an

afterthought. Many believe its only value is in creating interest in the

company's brand. If this is your mindset then listen up because

you're leaving money on the table.

10 Strategic Ways to DriveLeads with Social Mediaby Kathi Kruse

Social media is a quickly evolving beast. Platforms are constantly

changing algorithms, releasing new features and “changing the

rules”. That requires marketers to think on their feet and quickly

adapt their approach at the drop of a hat. 40% of marketers

believe that social media has become increasingly difficult in the

past 12 months.

The landscape to grow your business with social media have never

been more fertile.

70% of the U.S. population has at least one social networking

profile. (Statistica)

52% of online adults now use two or more social media sites.

(Pew Research)

In 2015, Facebook influenced 52 per cent of consumers’ online

and offline purchases, up from 36 per cent in 2014. (The Drum)

Laying the required groundwork is the key to driving leads withLaying the required groundwork is the key to driving leads withsocial media.social media.

Listening in order to understand your customers improves marketing

success. Leveraging social media to engage people before you try

to sell them something keeps customers coming back. You save big

money because you...

Laser-focus on interested buyers instead of blasting unwantedLaser-focus on interested buyers instead of blasting unwantedmessages to strangers.messages to strangers.

Groundwork produces seedlings and the opportunities become

plentiful. The next steps are to enact strategies to drive leads with

social media. Be open to the possibilities here. Your level of

willingness to adapt to the new ways of reaching customers has a

direct effect on your results.

10 Strategic Ways to Drive Leads withSocial Media

1. Begin with a Marketing Plan1. Begin with a Marketing Plan

So many companies admit they don't have a marketing plan in

place. They know how valuable marketing is in general, and make

some marketing efforts, but inevitably they feel like they need to

spend all their time on operations and sales.

I totally understand how the day-to-day activities involved in

running a business can make you wish there were more hours in a

day. The irony is you can actually save time with a marketing plan

in place because you're operating more proactively rather than

always running around in reactive mode. Mapping out a plan also

means you can more easily hand off the work of implementing it to

somebody else.

Better time management is just one perk of a marketing plan and

here are 6 additional ways a marketing plan can benefit your

business.

Reinforces your brand

Positions your company in the market place

Nurture current customers

Attract new customers

Prepares company for growth

Helps to analyze what works

2. Publish useful, high-quality, original content.2. Publish useful, high-quality, original content.

Content strategy means getting the right messages to the right

customers at the right time. This involves everything from your

website content, blog, social media marketing and social

advertising. High-quality content does not happen without a

content strategy.

The benefits of developing a content strategy include:

Influences buying decisions

Improves brand equity and reputation

Earns customer loyalty

Attracts more of the right buyers

Competitive advantage

Increased leads and sales

3. Be social. Always genuinely engage with your audience.3. Be social. Always genuinely engage with your audience.

Yes, you really do need to be social on social media.

Instead of broadcasting the "benefits" of products and services to

strangers, add the steps to attract interested buyers by engaging

with them on social media.

71% of those who receive positive social care are likely to

recommend your brand to others.

Only 19% of those who don’t get any response are likely to

recommend that brand.

When comments show up, respond. When online reviews are

posted, respond. Be more accessible and you'll notice more

customers engaging.

4. Incorporate social selling tactics within your sales process.4. Incorporate social selling tactics within your sales process.

Social Selling is the act of developing referrals, leads and sales using

social media. 79% of salespeople who use social media in the sales

process outperform those who don't.

Social selling is just like any other sales process. Salespeople build a

network (online or offline) to increase referrals and leverage

relationships to create warmer leads.

Talented sales professionals already have an offline network they've

nurtured for years. Savvy social salespeople have already been

working social media to develop leads. But these individuals are

your top performers. What will you do to engage the bottom 90% of

your team?

In order to attract, engage and sell to today's hyper-connected

buyers, companies need to build a social selling process within their

organization.

5. Leverage the awesome power of Facebook ads.5. Leverage the awesome power of Facebook ads.

No matter what your Facebook marketing goals are - grow page

likes, boost reach and engagement, drive leads - Facebook ads will

help achieve those goals.

Facebook ads are by far the most powerful way to advertise your

business on social media.

6. Use well-designed landing pages to capture leads.6. Use well-designed landing pages to capture leads.

When a shopper is in the final stages of their research and ready to

take action, strategic landing pages guide them further down your

sales funnel.

Capture their attention through Facebook ads and convert buyers

with actionable, urgent offers they can't resist.

Don't forget the all-important call-to-action and include a lead

form to track and follow up.

7. Re-market to people who visit your website with Facebook ads.7. Re-market to people who visit your website with Facebook ads.

The more advanced Facebook ads strategies are difficult to master

but the results are hard to ignore.

Perhaps one the most powerful tools Facebook has to offer is the

ability to serve personalized ads to people that have visited your

site.

Use the targeting option "Custom Audience - Website Traffic" to re-

market to people who have visited your site within a set time frame.

Once you’ve placed a Facebook pixel on your site, you can set up

specific audiences with filters based on pages they’ve visited.

8. Leverage the power of LinkedIn.8. Leverage the power of LinkedIn.

If you're a salesperson, there is no reason NOT to use LinkedIn to

build your network as one of the ways to drive leads with social

media.

Make sure you have a 100% complete profile - no "lazy bones jones"

on this one. People want to know about you and a well-

constructed profile with a nice picture says, "Hey, I'm here to help."

Don't waste time trying to connect with "everyone." Be deliberate

and thoughtful about who you'd like to know and who can

introduce you or recommend you.

Pro Tip: write and publish a weekly article on LinkedIn that displays

your knowledge and expertise. It will develop your "personal brand"

as a thought leader and trusted resource.

9. Use Twitter for prospecting.9. Use Twitter for prospecting.

To many companies and their salespeople, it seems like Twitter is a

huge waste of time. And sometimes it is – if you’re just messing

around on the social network and pitching folks to get on a demo,

it probably won’t be that helpful to you.

Why? Because the goal of using Twitter isn't to sell something at the

very second you tweet.

By using Twitter wisely, you can be part of the most relevant

conversations as they happen, spot opportunities first, build

relationships, deepen customer trust and make a name for yourself.

However, just having a presence on Twitter doesn’t lead to

conversions. It’s how you use it that makes the difference between

tweeting into the void and generating leads. Spend the time and

effort to:

Find prospects

Discover buying signals

Gain insight on companies

Accelerate deals with conversation

Build your following

Build relationships with influencers

10. Show another side of you on Instagram.10. Show another side of you on Instagram.

Instagram is a great place to promote your company's personality.

Spend 10-15 minutes each day engaging with other users. I know a

dealership who has gotten leads via their Instagram content.

Ready to convert leads? Instagram now has more advertisers than

Twitter. Facebook (who owns Instagram) allows ad creation and

publication through the Facebook Ads Manager platform.

What are my next steps. . .?What are my next steps. . .?

Get MoreConversions!

Everybody wants their shot at social mediasuccess but that roadway has been blockedby too many choices and not enough results.

People are frustrated.

Kathi understands and has a plan. She’scleared the path for many companies, she’ll

clear the path for you.

Schedule a Social Media Conversion Reviewtoday!

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