Social media marketing has slowly become the most happening and rewarding channel for lead generation. It is not only beneficial for B2C companies but equally effective in cases where B2B companies apply and implement tactful social media strategies.

It is a great way for marketers to leverage the channel and move beyond using it for brand awareness and engagement.

 

What Is B2B Lead Generation?

The process of B2B lead generation begins with defining your ideal customer and then attracting them to buy from you.

Your marketing strategy lays out how you’ll create brand awareness among potential customers for your products. 

 

What strategies will you employ to entice additional businesses to join you? Which channels, digital or conventional, will you rely on the most? What resources do you require?

Is this something you can perform on your own, or will you need the assistance of a professional team?

 

 So, let’s start with your ideal consumer, also referred to as a buyer persona.

 

 

A B2B buyer persona is more than just a lead or a contact. It’s the one who makes the final decision for your ideal client. To put it another way, this is the person who will actually agree to pay for your product.

As a result, in order to make this selection, you must consider what affects them.

 

Does it, for example, depend on their business’s behavior, motivation, or goals?

Is it more important to you that they have a good location or that they have a good brand and style?

 

Let’s consider an example where your company sells coffee beans. Is your ideal client a local cafe that focuses on high-quality coffee that can be sipped at leisure in a tranquil setting?

Or is it a network of coffee shops with the goal of luring people in with a takeout drink on their way to work in the early morning?

 

Hopefully, you can see how marketing your company can influence the type of customer you attract. Despite the fact that they both want to buy the same thing.

 

Why Use Social Media For B2B Lead Generation?

Social media has become an inevitable part of every individual’s life. The number of users on such platforms keeps increasing with every passing day.

An estimated number of social media users in the world by the year 2025

 

Apart from the appealing numbers that provide a guarantee that your next customer is currently browsing through their social media news feed, using these channels also has the following benefits:

 

• Elevates brand awareness alongside developing a connection with customers.
• Increase the social media traffic providing an automatic boost to leads and sales.
• Maintain a rapport and engage with potential customers and nurture more leads.

 

Due to its enormous reach, social media is clearly one of the top marketing channels. Plus, it’s completely free! However, you must devote time and effort to it. If you don’t have that time, you may need to outsource to someone who can do it for you.

 

Of course, you can have a social media presence and people may come upon your page by chance. However, if you want your company to expand and generate leads, it’s critical that you master social media marketing.

There are numerous tactics and top recommendations for boosting B2B lead generation; but, for the sake of this post, the focus is on knowing how to leverage social media in particular.

 

How To Use Social Media For B2B Lead Generation?

To begin with, using as many social platforms as possible is beneficial in lead creation. This allows you to cast a wide net for your business and grab a large number of leads.

However, in order to get qualified leads, it’s also critical that you use social media effectively. Furthermore, while social media can help you establish your reputation and brand recognition, it can also harm it if used incorrectly.

 

So, how well-versed are you in social networking sites that can be used for B2B lead generation? Are you aware of the differences between LinkedIn and Instagram? Which is better: Facebook or Twitter?

 

How to boost your B2B lead generation using social media

 

Choose the ideal social media platform

Rather than spreading yourself too thin by attempting to produce leads on all five social networks, it’s better to concentrate on one or two. So, let us assist you in determining which platform is best for your company.

The stages to determining which platform is suitable for you are as follows:

 

• Determine if your target audience is active on social media and check if the people you’re trying to reach are on the network.
• Examine where your competitors are having success. See whether other brands similar to yours are publishing often from their social media accounts. Are they getting likes, comments, and engagement? Is there a significant number of people who follow them?
• Check to see if the network is a good fit for your lead generation needs. LinkedIn, for example, is more effective than Facebook at booking meetings through direct outreach. Instagram is a better option than Twitter for growing your audience through photographs.
• Make sure you’ll love the network’s linked lead generation tactics. Some of the connected tactics, particularly the free ones, necessitate sustained work. Avoid Instagram and Pinterest, for example, if taking photos sounds like a hassle.

 

Source

 

Define your end goal

Like every other activity related to your business, your social media lead generation campaign should not be kickstarted without an end goal in mind. Although it’s obvious that lead generation is the aim, you’ll need to receive answers to inquiries like:

 

• What number of leads would you like to generate?
• How long will it take?
• Who would you like to play the role of your dream lead?
• What kind of material might entice that lead to contact you?
• What is the maximum amount of money you are willing to spend on lead generation?
• Is there a difference between this social media lead-generation activity and previous activities?

 

Make your profile more appealing

Make sure everything is in place for you to capture leads organically before you design your next social media lead generation campaign. Customers should be able to contact you, sign up for your newsletter, shop, and more through your profile.

 

Give your contact details

Your contact information should be prominently displayed on your profile. However, before you add them, make sure you can respond to client inquiries via phone, email, Messenger, or another method.

 

Make CTA buttons that encourage people to take action

Social media platforms provide ample opportunity to add an excellent CTA. Inserting the “Sign-Up” button to your Facebook Page for more newsletter subscribers or adding “Book”, “Reserve”, or “Get Tickets” action buttons to your Instagram or Facebook profiles is quite helpful while searching for an appointment, restaurant, or consultation bookings.

 

Include a link in your bio

Add a link to your bio if more specialized options aren’t available. This area is frequently utilized on Instagram, but it can also be used on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

If possible, include a call-to-action that explains why people should click and what they may anticipate finding when they do.

 

Curate relatable and engaging content

You are bound to get no leads if your content isn’t engaging. That’s all there is to it. Keep in mind that everyone on social media is vying for your attention. And people’s attention spans are shorter than they’ve ever been.

Images should be sharp, and copies should be even sharper. If you want to create leads, make sure your creativity supports that goal. Ensure that each post has a CTA and click-worthy information entails within.

 

Here are a few additional clickable options that are accessible on various platforms:

 

• Add tags to products in your Facebook Shop
• Swipe up on Instagram stories to see what’s new
• Instagram stories and posts that can be purchased
• Pins from Pinterest to Shop the Look
• End screens and YouTube Cards

 

Make use of social lead ads

There are social lead ads if you’ve exhausted organic lead collection methods or if you want to bolster those efforts.

 

Lead Ads On Facebook

There are specialized lead ad formats for advertisers on Facebook. These lead advertisements are just promoted forms. The leads generated by these ads can be synced directly to your customer management system or downloaded for follow-up by your sales team.

 

Lead Ads On Instagram

Instagram, like Facebook, offers lead advertisements to assist marketers to collect information. Similarly, it also allows users to partially pre-fill forms. In these adverts, you can pre-fill the email address, full name, phone number, and gender fields.

 

Lead Gen Forms On LinkedIn

LinkedIn has a special ad format for lead generation as well. They are called Lead Gen Forms. These are now available on the platform as Message Ads and Sponsored InMail. LinkedIn, like Facebook and Instagram, leverages information from your profile to pre-fill parts. 

A LinkedIn Lead Gen Form converts at a rate of 13% on average which is quite high when compared to other average conversion rates. Direct call-to-actions are also available in LinkedIn Dynamic Ads, which can assist generate leads.

 

YouTube TrueView For Action Ads

YouTube has this algorithm that is intended to assist advertisers in achieving a certain goal, such as generating leads. These ads feature prominent call-to-action buttons that may take you to any website you like. Simply choose “Leads” as your aim when producing these adverts.

Other platforms, such as Pinterest and Twitter, do not have dedicated lead ad formats. Both platforms, however, include ad alternatives that can help with social media lead generation.

 

Finding Leads for Lead Gen Agency’s Clients

Agencies that specialize in lead generation are tasked with finding new customers and keeping in touch with them. Services such as research, b2b lead email generation, lead nurturing, and more are provided to businesses.

If a company is in need of new customers, they need to hire a local lead generation agency. Company owners expect all these lead gen processes to be managed by the agency.

 

Provide the appropriate incentive

Make it easy for others to share information with you by giving them a cause to do so. There are several incentives you may offer to sweeten the bargain depending on the type of lead you’re aiming to acquire.

 

Sweepstakes or contests

Organizing a social media contest is an excellent approach to getting leads. Ask participants to contribute any information you’d like to discover as a condition of admittance.

Collaboration with an influencer or brand partners might help you expand the reach of your content.

 

Discount Codes

Many companies provide clients with a discount code in exchange for signing up for their newsletter. Discount codes or rewards points encourage visitors to make a return visit to your site, and hopefully a purchase.

If you intend to provide one, make sure you have a plan in place for not only generating leads but also nurturing and converting them.

 

Gated Content

Gated content, such as whitepapers, invite-only webinars, or even access to secret Facebook Groups, might be persuasive incentives depending on your sector. To distribute a whitepaper, for example, it seems logical to ask for an email address.

However, you can also request job titles or other information that can help you with your marketing and business endeavors. Customers can choose to receive more information from your company if they want to.

 

 

Contests, discount codes, and access to unique content are all excellent incentives. But keep in mind that you must have a compelling cause to collect client information.

Tell customers what’s in it for them, whether it’s to give a high-quality email, foster loyalty, or offer future benefits.

 

Summing up

B2B lead generation can seem like a daunting task. But the advent of social media has made it much easier for every company to reach its target audience.

These platforms also offer genuine insights through their analytics. Use an appropriate CMS and refine your content marketing strategies to boost B2B lead generation.

 

The above-mentioned steps are just the starting point. Once you start the process, get creative as you may find innumerable ways to generate leads through social media.