Being creative in finding new ways to get qualified small business leads can keep you several steps ahead of your competition. Many companies are using social media to find leads to nurture into prospects and sales. How can you make the most of your social media accounts to get in on the action? There are many different techniques that work for both B2B and B2C companies which you can adapt for your own prospecting. 

Here are some valuable tips to help you get more leads from social media.

1. Establish yourself as an authority in your field.

Establishing yourself as an authority in your field will help prospects focus on what you have to say. Good social media prospecting is related to offering valuable content for shoppers to read, watch or listen to before they are ready to buy. You can offer information that you have gained over the years by answering the typical questions that new customers have on your website, blog or in outlying articles on third-party sites. The more you establish yourself as an expert, the more potential customers will trust you.

2. Set up your Facebook page as a lead-generation tool.

While getting likes on Facebook is nice, it is not as valuable as getting leads. If you set up your Facebook page as a lead-generating tool, you can drive business from your page without spending oodles of time. You can add tabs to your page and customize them to offer contests, gather contact information and issue calls-to-action that will invite them to visit your site or blog.  

3. Use lead generation cards to gather email addresses on Twitter.

Partnering lead generations cards with a customized email campaign is a successful way to drive conversions directly to your content and get their email for future contacts. You can create an attractive ad with a link to your online content and use this incentive to get prospects to give you their email address. Once on your list, these prospects are ready to learn more about your company and how you relate to their needs.

4. Use LinkedIn to drive leads from your profile page.

LinkedIn is one of the most valuable social media sites for lead generation. You can start by turning your company profile page into a lead generation tool. Use the description area to write your elevator speech and add a link to your landing page.

5. Join LinkedIn groups to network with contacts in your industry.

LinkedIn groups, used properly offer a doorway into a vast networking opportunity for lead generation. Find groups that have the right set of members for you to work with and use them to build relationships that will result in lead generation.

6. Pin images on Pinterest that demonstrate how to use your products in new ways.

Pinterest has become a useful search engine for many industries. One excellent method of driving leads is by offering suggestions to prospects as to how they can use your product through images and text overlay. You can add a call-to-action in the pin description for lead generation.

7. Create how-to videos for YouTube to promote your products or services.

YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google. By creating short videos showing customers how to use your products or services, or answering questions that may confuse customers, you can drive prospects to your website or landing page. Calls-to-action and links can be inserted in the video or listed in the description below.

 

Source: Social Media Examiner