You can use it as part of your marketing campaigns to create a soft sell approach with maximum touchpoints and CTAs. But it’s not just for marketing teams – sales teams can really benefit too.
First thing’s first: it’s free. That really is the beauty of it. It takes time to build up sleek profiles and maximise engagement, but unless you’re doing sponsored ads, then it’s a free platform to spread your message.
Before you even begin, look at your target audience and look at what they respond to. It all goes back to the marketing strategy here, without this you’re going to get nowhere.
Think about what language they respond to – so tone of voice etc. Will your audience respond well to special offers or competitions? Or will they respond better to pieces of content? Whatever it is, mix it up and try and keep it exciting.
Depending on who you’re trying to target and what with will determine which platform you use.
LinkedIn is more for businesses, so think B2B sales, whereas B2C may benefit from Instagram or Facebook. Each platform works well for different reasons.
If you have image-rich content to share then definitely use Instagram. If you have lengthy text posts then consider LinkedIn or Facebook.
LinkedIn is brilliant for focus groups. There are so many groups for each industry. Make yourself known in these groups (although don’t become annoying) and engage with potential prospects and build up rapport with people. It’s all about the human touch – make yourself known as a person who can help people with your product or service, not someone who spams with constant sales messages.
Think about what you’re offering. You need to stand out from the crowd if you’re going to generate any (good) leads of your own.
You could create special offers for your followers. That way you can generate a lead and nurture it through to a sale.
Or, you could start up your own industry blog. Become a thought-leader in your industry and share it across your social media platforms. For example, you could write a blog post, then share it on your LinkedIn page, post it in relevant groups for people to see and then create a related image for your Instagram and Twitter page. It’s a softer approach but will allow people to trust your opinions and advice, which in the long run means maximised lead generation and a trustworthy reputation. Remember, word of mouth is the best kind of lead generation there is!
Keep it consistent and you will see results. Join groups and interact and engage with people. The more people who know who you are and what product or service you sell, the more people will associate what you’re selling with you.
Create a friendly, professional online personality and be willing to go the extra mile to help people. You never know when they may need your help.
Using social media directly means you can have an end-to-end service. That sometimes can beat being passed to and fro from marketing to sales and creates a smoother journey for your potential buyer. It’s all about making your prospect feel helped and making their life easier. That’s how you can increase your sales through social media.
We can help you! We’ve created an eBook for you to use so that you can convert and manage your leads. That way, you can self-generate leads through your social media platforms and then know exactly what to do next. Download here!
If you need more help and advice in understanding how you can refine your social media strategy, maximise your lead generation and increase your inbound sales pipeline then please get in touch here. We’ll be more than happy to help!