Leads. We all want more of them so that we can grow our business. But have you ever tried grabbing leads via social media?

 

True, people use social media primarily to be, well, social. But as research has shown, although millennials don’t want to be sold to, they do want to be immersed in a proper marketing campaign.

 

This means that, if you nail your lead generation strategies, you can achieve top results on social media.

 

Let’s take a look at 7 ways to do it:

 

Leverage Artificial Intelligence

 

The easiest way to implement AI is to add chatbots to your social profiles, especially Facebook Messenger.

 

Chatbots are a powerful and useful form of AI that store data on each customer they converse with, and then use that data to deliver better responses.

 

Carry Our Polls and Surveys 

 

Too many of us already think that we know our audience inside out. We know them so well that we don’t even need to ask them what they care about! 

 

However, few people know your followers better than they know themselves. To get more information about them that you can then use to your advantage, the best thing to do is to ask them.

 

Polls and surveys are super easy to implement, and there are tools to help you. They’re a great way to generate crucial knowledge about your audience, and if you want to improve the response rate, just offer an incentive. 

 

Once you’ve got the information you wanted, create content that addresses it.

 

Host a Live Stream 

 

We get it — going live is scary. But as the stats show, live videos on social media are now watched 3x more than recorded videos.

 

When it comes to lead generation, live videos do so much. They help to build stronger connections with your audience. They build trust and — especially if you host a question and answers session on the fly — they can help to position you as the expert in your field.

 

Moreover, if you invite a popular figure in your niche to your live stream, you can drive more cross-channel traffic, which means more leads.

 

Naturally, you need to make sure that you post the right live content to the right social media channel. But whatever and wherever you go live, make sure that the quality of your stream is good.

 

Whoever leaves a comment can be considered a lead. Once the video is over, you can then follow up with them. 

 

Offer Lots of Value 

 

In our new digital world, the more you give on social media, the more you’ll get back.

 

In other words, if people can see that you’re offering them lots of value for free, they’ll be more interested in what you have to say.

 

It’s important that you generate a feeling of goodwill and positivity around your brand.

 

Use social media to educate and inform your audience about topics they’re interested in, and show them that you’re the one who can solve their problems. Do this via content such as blogs, videos, and podcasts.

 

Provide them with information no one else is giving them and show them that you’re the expert.

 

The more value you offer, the more attracted to you people will be. Eventually, when you’ve shown people that you can solve 95% of their problems, many will be prepared to pay a premium price for the remaining 5%.

 

Provide Gated Content

 

After you’ve provided lots of valuable content for free and show people that you’ve got the answers they’re looking for, you can start offering gated content.

 

Gated content is content that’s hidden behind what’s called a virtual gate. The only way someone can access it is if they give you some basic contact information.  

 

All you need to do is produce the gated content whilst making sure it offers lots of value, and then add a link to a landing page. Then, share the landing page via social media.

 

Whoever clicks your page and signs up is a highly qualified lead. You know they’re interested in what you have to say.

 

Run a Contest 

 

Many marketers go wrong when it comes to running a contest. If you give away $100 of the latest iPhone, you’re not actually bagging yourself any qualified leads.

 

Instead, whatever you give away must be related to your business. 

 

For example, the contest could be based around a lengthy trial of your product, or it could be an upgrade on current service.

 

Whoever wants to win these kinds of prizes is clearly interested in your products, and therefore anyone who enters the contest and hands over their details is a qualified lead. 

 

Find the Right Conversations 

 

Using the right keywords, you can actually find people who are having conversations about the kind of service you’re selling.

 

For example, TweetDeck lets you do this on Twitter. You can look for people who are talking about the kind of service you’re selling, but who are disgruntled with their current provider.

 

Clearly, this person is interested in using this service but wishes it was better.

 

Enter you. You can join in the conversation and show people how your service is going to benefit them.

 

Whenever you join conversations like this, make sure that you’re engaging and focused on building a relationship. Make a connection and don’t go for the hard sell.

 

The more a bot knows about a customer, the more they can deliver content tailored to them specifically. This improves leads and conversions.

 

These are 7 ways to generate leads using social media. Remember that, while people use social media to be social, they’re still ready and willing to listen to what you’ve got to say if you present it in the right way.

 

Most importantly, if you haven’t started to make the most of AI, the time is now.

 

Have some fun, be engaging, and personal. Don’t be afraid to join conversations, but always be adding value.

 

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About the author:

Ajaz Fajmut is a digital marketer and founder of Nightwatch – a search visibility tool of the next generation. Follow him on Twitter: @aljazfajmu