Lead generation is the cornerstone of successful marketing, and social media is a goldmine for capturing high-quality leads. For years, businesses have leveraged platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Pinterest to build their email lists and grow their customer bases, and you can, too
The good news is you don’t need to be a major corporation with a massive marketing budget to get results. And since each platform has unique advantages and access to a variety of audiences, social media is ideal for generating leads in any industry. Whether your goal is to reach consumers or other businesses, try these platform-specific strategies to generate leads and grow your business faster than ever before.
Before exploring platform-specific strategies, it’s important to understand the overarching methods of generating leads through social media.
1. Understand and define your audience
Like every other marketing strategy, successful lead gen begins with identifying your market and crafting your messages and content to resonate with their desires and needs. On social media, attention is limited, so you need to capture attention quickly, and that requires knowing your audience.
2. Create valuable and engaging content
Since people scrolling through social media feeds tend to be multi-tasking and have limited attention, it’s crucial to craft content that captures attention immediately.
3. Optimize your profiles
Users will check your profile to see who you are and get a better sense of your legitimacy. Optimize your social media profiles with your business name, website, and any other important information.
4. Use paid advertising
Paid advertising is a huge component of social media lead generation and provides a significant advantage over just posting content.
5. Leverage user-generated content
When people create their own content featuring your products or services, you’ll naturally start to earn trust and that will positively influence purchase decisions. You can get people to create content by running contests or by creating an irresistible brand people love.
6. Don’t forget about sales
When you think of generating leads, don’t forget to include sales as part of your strategy. For example, some businesses sell a simple PDF guide for $15-$47 that delivers immense value just to capture relevant leads they can nurture and upsell later. The revenue from sales is nice, but the main point is to capture hot leads.
Selling a PDF guide works similarly to giving way a free lead magnet, and you might be surprised to see how well it works. Some people are more likely to give you their email address in exchange for a free download, but paying customers are more likely to buy upsells and make additional purchases.
7. Engage with your audience
Last, but not least, no matter what social media platform you use, it’s helpful to engage with your audience by responding to posts, shoutouts, questions, and even complaints. Interacting with people shows your customers and leads exactly who you are and why they should do business with you.
With that said, let’s take a deeper dive into generating leads on specific social media platforms.
Facebook has more than 3.06 billion monthly active users and is one of the most widely used platforms for lead generation. No matter your industry, there’s a good chance your target market hangs out on Facebook. Here’s how to reach them.
1. Leverage Facebook ads
Facebook offers several ad formats that support different end goals. For example, lead gen ads are specifically designed to generate leads, while standard ads are used for generating website traffic. While you can use standard ads to send people to a lead capture form on your website, there’s a difference.
Unlike traditional ads that send users to your website, lead gen ads keep the user on Facebook’s platform while they fill out a form in exchange for a lead magnet. Lead gen ads have been shown to get an average click-through rate (CTR) of 2.5% across all industries.
Don’t want to spend thousands on your first experimental ad campaign? You don’t need to. Facebook sets a different minimum daily budget based on how your account gets billed, but it can be as low as $1 per day. With a low cost of entry, you can start experimenting with any budget.
2. Use your website analytics data to choose keywords
Getting your ads in front of the right people begins with using the right keywords. While brainstorming can be a good place to start, using the keywords in your website analytics reports will be even better. These are the actual phrases people typed into search engines to find your site.
While looking through your reports, identify the keywords that make sense to use with your ads and test them out in a campaign. You can also use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, Semrush, Ahrefs, and other SEO keyword research tools to find additional keywords and phrases.
3. Implement retargeting campaigns
Ad retargeting, also called remarketing, can increase conversions by 43% across all devices. This strategy allows you to show specific ads to people who have already interacted with your ads, viewed your ads, or visited your website. People who have already been exposed to your brand are more likely to engage, especially when you tailor your ads to feel more familiar. A user might see your ads three times before deciding to sign up for your free report.
4. Participate in relevant Facebook groups
Participating in Facebook groups or even creating your own group can significantly increase the number of leads you generate. It takes time to grow a group and cultivate a trustworthy vibe, so you’ll need to invest time and effort to get it going. Connecting with your audience fosters trust, and when done right, will position your brand as an industry leader or expert.
As a visual-centric platform, Instagram offers unique opportunities to capture leads. Here’s how.
1. Use Instagram stories
Instagram Stories will promote your content outside of your feed and can include “swipe up” calls to action. It’s not as good as paid ads, but it can help. Whenever you post stories, be sure to link to a landing page with a lead capture form.
2. Boost your posts
Boosting your Instagram posts can get you a better reach, but you don’t have control over your target audience. Still, it’s a decent way to get followers who may eventually see your ads and sign up for your email list.
3. Run Instagram ads
Since the algorithm makes organic reach difficult, paid ads are by far the best way to generate leads on Instagram. You can do this in three ways: instant forms, chats, and calls. When you use instant forms, leads will fill out your lead capture form without ever leaving Instagram.
If you sell services, the chat ads can help you acquire leads through direct communication. When an ad is clicked, it opens up a DM and you can connect with your prospects through messages. The call feature works by allowing users to call you by clicking your ad.
4. Collaborate with influencers
Building up an Instagram account from scratch is not an easy task. It’s tough to generate leads organically without a large following. Collaborating with an influencer who already has a big fanbase is the easiest way to grow your Instagram account and get those leads.
Most Instagram posts don’t reach a wide audience anymore, and that’s because the entire algorithm has been overhauled, including the search function. It happened gradually, but people noticed the impact as far back as 2017. Meta’s latest update was designed to “boost original content,” but Instagram still favors accounts with a large following. Influencer marketing can do wonders for your conversions.
Although TikTok is facing a potential ban in the United States, it’s still around for now and shouldn’t be overlooked. Here’s how you can generate leads from TikTok.
1. Build a trustworthy account
From your bio to your content, spend time creating a trustworthy, appealing account. There isn’t much room, so make every word count.
2. Use TikTok Lead Ads
Just like Facebook, TikTok offers lead gen ads that keep users on the app while they fill out your form.
3. Use image ads
TikTok makes it even easier to reach your audience with image ads. Rather than spending time and money producing videos, you can use existing images and turn them into ads. Image ads allow you to showcase multiple products or services in a carousel, creating an engaging experience without the high cost of video production.
4. Sign up for TikTok Shop
If what you sell qualifies for TikTok shop, sign up right away. Each sale also counts as a lead, and it’s an excellent way to grow your email list with leads who are more likely to buy again.
5. Create 1-minute videos
In the past, TikTok favored short content, but is now starting to push longer content, like one-minute videos. Longer videos are starting to get more views and engagement, and that’s your cue to follow suit with your regular content and ads.
A well-executed ad with a compelling call-to-action (CTA) can generate an enormous amount of leads. Although one-minute videos are doing well, test different video lengths for yourself – some creators find optimal success with videos between 15 and 30 seconds long.
Similar to Instagram, Pinterest is a visual-centric social media platform with plenty of opportunities for lead generation. With more than 480 million monthly active users, Pinterest is one of the most popular platforms around. If you’re not using Pinterest to expand your reach and attract new leads, now is the perfect time to start.
1. Use Pinterest Lead Ads
Just like other platforms, Pinterest Lead Ads are designed to capture leads while keeping the user on the app. Even if you’re getting great results from standard image and video ads, Lead Ads can make a big difference in your conversions.
2. Experiment with imperfection
One thing to note about Pinterest is that users don’t necessarily expect visual perfection like they do on Instagram. That’s because a large portion of Pinterest consists of screenshots of websites and random low-resolution text-only memes. While pixel-perfect, beautiful images will certainly capture attention, you may want to experiment with a more handmade, less-than-perfect approach to your visuals.
Boasting one billion users in 200 countries, LinkedIn has been the go-to platform for business professionals for years. Although spam is a big problem, LinkedIn remains an effective channel for high-quality lead acquisition when used correctly.
Although there are several ad formats for lead generation, Lead Gen Forms allow users to sign up for your email list without leaving LinkedIn. Key fields will be automatically populated based on the user’s profile, helping you get more information on your leads. This mobile-friendly format increases conversion rates and creates a better user experience.
Now that we’ve discussed ways to use specific social media platform for lead generation, let’s end with some tips that apply to all platforms.
1. Use powerful, simple CTAs
Regardless of the platform, a convincing call-to-action (CTA) is required to get clicks and signups. Your CTAs should be clear, direct, and action-oriented, telling users what you want them to do. For example, “buy now,” “sign up,” “learn more,” “get your free trial,” or “get started now.” Using strong verbs encourages fast action.
2. A/B testing (split testing)
Split testing will help you identify specific ad elements that perform best. Start by creating two different versions of the same ad, but only make one element different between them. For example, use different headlines and keep everything else the same. When you know which ad is performing better, keep that headline, copy the ad, change another element on the second version, and test your new ads against each other. Continue this process by testing one element at a time to create a highly optimized ad.
Note that while some high-performing elements may translate well to other platforms, sometimes that isn’t the case. Always split test your ads on every platform.
3. Optimize your landing pages
If your ads send people to your website, it’s crucial to have powerful, persuasive landing pages.
4. Don’t blindly copy your competitors
When you see ads from competitors, don’t automatically assume that they are performing well. Even ads with comments, likes, and shares aren’t necessarily generating sales or leads. Some ads gather quite a bit of activity and do next to nothing for the business. If you use your competitors’ ads as a base template, track your results and make adjustments accordingly.
5. Use ugly ads to your advantage
So-called “ugly ads” are ads that look like native content rather than a polished advertisement. These ads work well across social media platforms (especially TikTok) because they bypass the internal “ad filter” that makes people keep scrolling when they see something that resembles an ad. When you create ads that look like native content, users pay attention and you’re more likely to get the lead.
6. Play to the strengths of each platform
Finally, use strategies and content that work best for each platform. Users behave differently and have unique expectations for each platform. For example, use visuals with limited text on Instagram, and film your TikTok video ads vertically. If you’re not getting results on a particular platform, it might not be the right space.
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