Social networks are good avenues for lead generation. Since many people are using the social media today, it is one of the best market to get leads. However, without the proper knowledge on how to use this tool, all your marketing efforts will be useless.
Take a look on the 3 most popular social networks around the globe: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Each of these networks can play a valuable role in lead generation. Here are some tips on how to effectively get leads using each of these social networks:
This is the most popular among the social networks today. Here are some statistical facts on Facebook based on the Social Media
Usage Statistics for 2012 Infographic Summary:
· Facebook has 845 million active users.
· The average Facebook user has 130 friends and each visit lasts 23 minutes.
· 46% of Facebook users are over the age of 45, 57% are female and 43% male, 57% of have been to “some college” and 24% bachelors or graduate degree.
The statistics clearly show how useful Facebook is to get leads. Here’s how you can turn this friend-to-friend social network into a useful lead generation tool:
1. Using the timeline feature, publish links towards your lead generation offers. Although you may not be able to include calls-to-action in the cover photo, you can include them in the “Views & Apps” section of the page under the cover photo.
2. Use pins and stars to optimize lead generation activities. These will help your lead generation content be more visible to prospect leads. Pins allow you to post one update at the top of your Timeline for 7 days, and stars can expand the update so to catch the eyes of your future prospects to your lead generation offer. This will not only help you get more leads, but will also help you get more engagement from your Facebook fans.
3. Build a business community. After you get leads, consider building a business community to convert these leads into sales. Use your Facebook page to be the go-to place for information in a certain service, fans will eventually become your customer and refer others your way.
4. Make use of Open Graph techniques (like an update on recent activities of Facebook users) to get your brand more visible. Consider creating a consumer testimonial or achievements app, a content library/blog app for content marketing, or even a free trial app to attract customers to use your product.
5. Create Facebook coupons. This will help increase the visibility of your offers.
Twitter
Your followers are your future leads. Creating a lively conversation will enhance your followers to continue following you. As guide on how effective this social network can also be, here is some statistical information of Twitter according to the Social Media Usage Statistics for 2012 Infographic Summary:
· It has 127 million active users.
· 54% of Twitter users use their mobile devices.
· 36% of Twitter users tweet at least once a day and the average visit lasts for 14 minutes.
· 59% of Twitter users are female, and 41% are male.
Ways you can use Twitter for lead generation:
1. Grow your reach by increasing your connections. To do this, follow others on Twitter, make a tweet on the blog posts about the lead generation offers you have, and other peoples’ tweets. Do this several times a day and you will be surprised how you have expanded your Twitter reach.
2. Increase your blog subscribers by creating a landing page intended just for sign ups. Use the Twitter to publicize the landing page by tweeting informative blog contents.
3. Customize your Twitter background with calls-to-action to get leads. You can also host a twitter chat (virtual meetings) to get leads, grow your community, and expand your business.
4. Use Twitter to solve customer service issues in real time. You can set up a separate social media account to address customer service concerns or monitor your Twitter account for problems that may arise and route them to the appropriate person for solution.
5. Use hash-tags to create buzz on your hosted events. This will not only engage your attendees in a conversation, but will also help you get real-time feedback from your attendees about the event.
Although not as popular as Facebook and Twitter, it is said to be 277% more effective for lead generation. LinkedIn provides the most natural transition and a social network specifically designed for professionals. The Social Media Usage Statistics form the 2012 Infographic Summary shows that:
· LinkedIn has 150 million registered users and 75% of them use it for business purposes.
· There are 2 million companies that are visible on LinkedIn.
· 50% of LinkedIn users have a bachelors or graduate degree.
Here are some ways on how you can use LinkedIn in lead generation:
1. Share a presentation slide with a call-to-action, design it as your lead generation content and share it on LinkedIn. This will help you get leads.
2. Provide visibility for your blog with an RSS feed containing quality content. LinkedIn makes it easy for visitors to see your most recent company blog posts. You can use this to drive traffic to your blog.
3. Update your companies status after publishing a new blog post or a lead generation offer.
4. Segregate your products/services according to a targeted audience, based on the company size, industry involvement, geographic location, job function and seniority level. This way, you will be able to address the real concerns of each of your audience and provide them the service they really need.
5. Use the products/services tab to get leads by creating clickable banners that will promote your next event or get subscribers for your blog. Then email your group members for promotional offers. LinkedIn allows you to send one email every week to your group.
6. Use LinkedIn Answers to improve your lead generation and to promote your own content through answering questions. You may also conduct market research using LinkedIn polls to get leads that you need.
Knowing how to use the big social networks to get leads is the key for a successful lead generation activity.



