Most entrepreneurs, if asked what they would like in order to achieve the success they desire in their businesses, would say “leads”. And in that space, we usually think of using social media to generate leads. It turns out that the majority of us believe that if we had more eyeballs on our content, we’d be able to convert them, making more sales, more revenue and ultimately achieving our financial goals.
The first thing you’ll want to check, however, is whether you’re already converting your existing leads at a decent rate (3-10%). If you are, then congratulations! You are in the coveted position of going down one of two paths now: Push your conversion rate higher, or look at generating more leads.
If you’re not already converting at a minimum of 3% (leads to purchase), then it’s time to build a lead generation system that works for you. There are 4 main things to focus on, and although you might have heard of some of them, I will be sprinkling my tried and tested methods in there, so these are all based on experience.
Tip #1: Choose 2 platforms
If you absolutely must use more, you can go up to 3, but definitely stop there. The reason you don’t want to be everywhere at once is because growing an audience of your ideal customers requires time and energy. So the more you spread it out, the less you’ll be able to offer each platform. And when that happens, your audience will feel it. You won’t be fully present and you won’t be fully engaging with them. It’s just not possible.
If every social platform requires about 4-6 hours of content creation per week (I, personally, need longer than this), and a minimum of 1 hour of engagement per day, then for 1 platform alone, you’re looking at 11-13 hours of your time per week. 2 platforms is 22-26 hours per week and 3 platforms requires 33-39 hours per week.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that you can scale and repurpose your content, right? And yes, of course you should. But only if it makes sense for the platform. Instagram content and LinkedIn content will likely not be the same at all. But Instagram and Facebook content could be repurposed for each other. And if you were to use Pinterest, you’d likely have to create pins that are a lot more aesthetically powerful than your Instagram posts.
But there’s more to it than that. There’s also the strategy behind the use of the platform, and understanding how to use each one to draw your ideal customers into your world. In the world of Facebook, you might consider a strategy of engaging in Facebook Groups, more than posting on your page. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be posting on your page, but drawing people in will likely require you to go out and engage with people in places such as Facebook Groups. Instagram, on the other hand, is set up in such a way that allows you to draw people in with a strong hashtag strategy. And that leads me to my second point…
Tip #2: Leverage the power behind each platform
Posting is not enough. Every platform has its own special features. Learn what they are, and leverage them. Incorporate them into your content plan. Let’s look at a couple of examples.
Instagram: By now, you’ll have heard of reels, and hopefully even posted a reel or two. If not, that’s something that absolutely needs to be a part of your Instagram strategy. Why? Because Instagram is currently pushing reels. That means that Instagram is placing reels in front of its audience (whether they currently follow you or not) a lot more than it is other types of content (e.g. Instagram stories). IGTV is also still going strong, and is possibly second place in the hierarchy of content types on Instagram. What does this mean? If you want to be seen, heard and found, these are the types of content you should be pushing.
Facebook: The most powerful element of Facebook is its Facebook Groups – by far. This community-building feature within Facebook offers its audience a huge selection of like-minded groups where one can surround oneself with people they deeply connect with. What does this mean for you? Find your groups, or create one! I recommend finding a few groups that fall into two distinct categories: Groups that you can learn from (i.e. your peers) and Groups that have your ideal customers in them. For the latter, you’ve got to be considerate of the Group’s rules. You should be able to find some where your services and your ideal customers are both available, but note that some Groups only allow one and not the other. Once you’ve found Groups that contain your ideal customers, engage with them! Help them out as much as you can. Build relationships and trust with them. Don’t try to push your products and services onto them at every chance, but if it’s appropriate, and in a private forum such as DMs or via email, by all means, ask for the sale!
These are just two examples, but LinkedIn also has its features. People connect on LinkedIn a lot more fluidly than on Facebook, for instance. So if you’re building your ideal customer network, and if your ideal customer is present on LinkedIn, it’s a great way to find and connect with them. And then you can begin to build and nurture the relationship with your new network of ideal customers by providing as much value as humanly possible.
Tip #3: Provide value
You’ve heard this one before, I know. But it’s so important to stick to it. Oftentimes, we see people with huge followings and we get discouraged because our numbers are much smaller (I’ve been there too!). But the truth is, everyone starts off the same. We all start with zero followers. We all need to get to 50, then 100, then 200, then 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 and so on. No one gets to 20,000 overnight. So what makes one person get to their first 10,000 while another person struggles to get to 500? Consistency and value.
Let’s talk about value first, and we’ll tackle consistency in the next tip.
What does valuable content mean? Well, this depends on who you’re trying to attract. And this is all part of your content strategy. The more you know your ideal customer, the more easily you’ll be able to identify the content that they will need to see to be attracted to you. And beware of the language you use. If you want to help people, but you’re hoping they will be self-motivated action takers, don’t create content using words such as “unmotivated” or “helpless”.
Think of it this way every time you create a post. Will your ideal customer look at that post and think “that’s me!” or “wow, I was looking for that information”? Or will they move quickly past the post because it didn’t call our to them? You want to make sure you’re speaking to them directly, touching upon the conversations they’re having in their heads. Where are they at? What are they thinking? What do they need help with? What are their frustrations and concerns? Speak to those things, and use the right language to draw them in.
Tip #4: Be consistent
Now that we’ve covered the ins and outs of using social media to generate leads, let’s talk about the last, very important point: being consistent. If there’s one thing social media platforms love, it’s consistency. So once you’ve worked through tips 1, 2 and 3, it’s time to commit. Daily is great, and highly recommended if you can commit to it. But if you can’t, then choose a schedule you can commit to. And don’t make it too easy. Push yourself. You’re here to make a difference, to grow a business, to create the life you dream of. So push yourself to commit to your maximum. And then stick to it. It’s a promise you’re making to yourself and to your ideal customers, so don’t bail.
And once you have your leads?
It doesn’t end there. Think through your customer journey. What happens after they begin to follow you on social media? Is there a next step you’re trying to get them to take? Don’t leave your potential customers hanging. Make sure there is a journey planned that you’ll guide them through. This is a relationship, after all, isn’t it?
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