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How to Untap High Value Leads Using

How to Untap High Value Leads Using Social Media in 2021

By: Toni Becker

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Social media is one of the most popular online activities and the penetration of social media usage across all regions continues to increase. According to Statista, in 2020, over 3.6 billion individuals were using social media across the world, a number that is projected to reach almost 4.41 billion in 2025. In the same article, Statista states that as of January 2020, the global social media usage rate stood at an incredible 49% and this percentage is set to grow as less developed digital markets catch up in online infrastructure development.

With these statistics in mind, businesses are now relying on social media platforms to reach their desired audiences and gain market share. However, social media is not just about posting pretty content and creating brand awareness, it can be a powerful channel for lead generation. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are the ideal channels for showcasing content, lead generation campaigns and opt-in campaigns which allows businesses to direct potential clients through the sales funnel.

Social media channels are the ideal way to generate quality leads, and thanks to social media advancements and online developments, you are able to achieve your lead objectives and track your lead generation and sales success through these platforms.

How to Untap High Value Leads Through Social Media

If you are looking to use social media to your advantage and generate high-value leads through these platforms, take a look at these tips to help you achieve your objectives and fast track your business success.

Target the right social Media Channels

Just because TikTok is trending or you enjoy Instagram does not mean your target audience is active on these platforms. The biggest mistake a marketer can make is focus their social media efforts on a variety of channels, spreading their content thin, and reaching the wrong target market. If you want to reach high value leads on social media, then you need to understand your buyer persona in order to determine where you will find them online.

For example, Facebook may be the most dominant and wellknown social platform available today, however this platform may not be the ideal choice for a B2B business looking to make sales. LinkedIn would be the most effective tool for this audience as it caters to a business minded market, and you are able to target the decision makers in your specific industry.

Your marketing team should be able to create a lead generation strategy based on where your target audience is present online and this can be done by analysing social media demographics. Social media management tools will allow your marketing team to understand where your audience is present, help you target the right audience and generate high value leads on the right social networks.

Share Informative, High-Quality Content

Your following or community on social media is only as strong as the content you share on your chosen platforms. It is important that you have a strategic content plan in place if you want to reach, engage with and retain quality leads. You need to create content, from blog posts and thought leadership articles through to informative imagery or video content if you want to boost the authenticity and credibility of your brand. This is referred to as user-generated content, ie: instead of sharing posts or articles written by other people or brands, you create your own and share this across your personal platforms.

According to the Consumer Content Report, user generated content has the ability to influence potential clients throughout the buying cycle. This kind of content will solidify your place as a thought leader in your industry, and build consumer trust which leads to increased sales and customer retention.

By providing your audience with industry specific content that can benefit their lives, such as e-books or e-guides, you also have the opportunity to collect lead information. For example, you can create content that your community needs to download in order to access, and in order to download this content, they will have to provide their contact information - this allows you the opportunity to collect leads which will help in the next stage of the marketing process and buying cycle. By sharing links to your e-books and e-guides on your social media platforms, you are able to direct your audience to your website, and collect their information in the process. This is known as gated content, and is one of the most effective ways to generate leads through social media.

For most brands, Instagram and Facebook are the core channels when it comes to generating UGC. For B2B marketers, LinkedIn would be the ideal platform for this kind of strategy.

Create Targeted Social Media Advertising Campaigns

In 2019, the global spend on social media ads increased by 18%,and continues to increase for good reason. Social media has come a long way since MySpace, mIrc and the early Facebook days. As the social media landscape has evolved, marketers are now able to access vast social media user information which makes these platforms perfect for targeted advertising campaigns and lead generation initiatives.

Social media paid advertising provides incredibly high conversion rates with significantly low costs - making return on investment that much more profitable. The top social channels are now providing the most advanced lead generation specific advertising options which allows marketers to gain leads through highly targeted social media ads - based on demographics, user behavior, careers, likes, dislikes, location, interests and more.

Not only are marketers able to reach the ideal buyer persona through these platforms, they provide lead generation specific advertising formats to help businesses generate quality leads directly through social platforms. For example, when a user clicks on a lead specific advertising they are provided with an opt-in or lead generation form where they can place their contact information. This makes the process of gaining lead information easier - and allows for greater lead nurturing campaigns and email drip campaigns, which leads to increased sales.

When it comes to B2B marketing, LinkedIn offers a similar strategy by providing LinkedIn lead generation forms, making it easier for prospects to share their information with businesses.

By investing in social media targeted campaigns you can improve your lead quality - taking your sales to greater heights.

Create Competitions to Gain Lead Data

Everybody is looking for a good deal and social media competitions help your brand engage with your audience and obtain important information relating to their specific lifestyle and buying behaviour.

To ensure your campaign gets the best results make sure that your prize has value and make every participant feel like a winner (eg: offer them a discount when they enter).

By implementing a contest, not only will you increase your following, grow your community and increase brand awareness - you gain valuable lead information to use for future remarketing campaigns and lead nurturing campaigns.

Track and Measure your Campaign Success

What is great about social media marketing is that you are Social media is not just a way to increase brand awareness and engage with consumers, it is a platform that allows you the opportunity to reach the highest quality leads,

able to track and measure your lead generation efforts through social media monitoring tools. By keeping track of your campaigns by understanding your audience, creating

campaigns you are able to sharpen your strategies and make your campaigns reach their true potential.

This can be done through social listening which tracks your audience engagement, and informs you every time your brand is mentioned. By investing in social listening you are given actionable insights which allows you to reach your audience at a greater level, and you are able to learn about them and their buying habits through this tactic - allowing you to optimise

In Summary

increase conversions and make more sales.

Lead generation continues to evolve with the times, and if you put time and effort into your lead generation your campaigns and gain even greater success.

relevant content, promoting that content on powerful platforms, and continuing the conversation, you will attract quality leads and convert those leads into loyal customers.

The B2B Sales Pipeline 2021: How to Grow Yours Using Digital Marketing & Telesales

By: Toni Becker

Sales processes continue to shift, change and evolve as the digital landscape continues to develop. The entire customer journey has been forever altered thanks to search engines, social media and information accessibility. Today, sales processes are more organic and personalised, and need to be more accurate and on point than ever before.

Today, Customer Relationship Software has taken centre stage when it comes to sales because this technology allows marketers and salespeople to examine, track and measure leads and the sales pipeline in greater detail than ever before. When it comes to the B2B sales pipeline, CRM’s are able to provide much needed insight into targeted key accounts, nurture relationships with these prospects and help salespeople drive the buyer’s journey without being pushy about it.

In the past, the sales pipeline was difficult to manage, lacked detailed lead information and was time consuming on salespeople - which in turn, impacted their sales growth.

The sales pipeline of the past was overly simple and consisted of:

Lead generation Scheduled meeting or call Request a quote (or something similar that indicated a prospect may be interested) Proposal sent Negotiation Closed-lost or closed-won

That was it.

Today, the sales pipeline is vastly different and thanks to CRMs, analytics and measurement tools, the B2B sales pipeline offers greater data, provides important insights and helps with performance and business growth.

The B2B Sales Pipeline Today

Thanks to modern technology such as HubSpot sales Hub, management now has access to more information about the progression of sales, which allows them to identify potential problems, which can be amended before becoming a problem.

The sales team also benefits from this as they are able to track their work and keep up to date with all their leads, potential customers and high quality leads.

The Modern Day B2B Sales Pipeline:

Identify Lead Type

You may know who your ideal clients are, but you can now track their buying cycle in greater detail and identify when they are ready to become a client.

Lead Progression:

Suspect Company: A lead that fits into your client profile and would have the potential to become a client.

Prospect: A contact or decision maker at the suspect company that may be searching for your services.

Lead: A prospect that has taken a specific action and shown a certain level of interest in your offering. There are a variety of leads within the pipeline:

Inbound leads: A lead that converts via your digital platforms such as your website or social media platforms. Marketing Qualified Leads: Leads who require nurturing through content, email campaigns, newsletters etc.

Sales Qualified Leads: These leads display certain behaviours that require a sales follow up - be it an email or a call.

Closed Leads: Previous customers

Ghosted Leads: Opportunities that have gone cold. A CRM platform is able to store all your leads in a single place, where they can be segmented based on where they are at within the buying cycle. Ensuring that sales teams and marketers are aware of what kind of engagement these leads require.

Connect with Leads

Once you have segmented your leads, it is time to connect with them. A connect call is made and is when a salesperson introduces the offering and engages with the lead to understand what they require and how the offering can fix their problem or add value to their business. This call is not a typical sales call, it is used to gain important information and figure out what the lead requires.

This kind of call helps salespeople direct a lead through the sales pipeline, but this is not pushed on to the lead. Rather, at this stage, the salesperson tries to gain greater understanding of the lead in order to know where they are within the sales pipeline.

Discovery Call

Once you have engaged with a lead, the next step is to make what is known as a “discovery call.” This is when you gain even greater insight into what the client requires and the perfect time to discuss their objectives and goals. Once you understand what they need, you are able to figure out if you can assist them and deliver on what they expect.

Opportunity Stage

Thanks to the discovery call, you are able to identify opportunities and this leads you into the opportunity stage of the pipeline. And this is the time to begin forming a deal or proposal. Once you chat to the lead in greater detail and tell them why they should buy from you, you will be able to determine whether you can close the deal.

Put Together a Demo

When it comes to B2B sales, leads usually request to see your offering in action so they can understand what it is you do, and how you can add value to their business. This can be done by presenting them with a case-study, taking them through your processes, or showing them your product/service in action.

At this stage the lead may not want to continue with your business, or shows greater interest in your offering.

The Buy-In

Now that the lead understands the value your business can bring, you will set up a time to meet with the decision maker of the company. This is known as the “influencer buy-in.” Without the company’s decision maker signing off on your offering, you will not be able to close a deal - so this stage is vital.

Once the decision maker buys-in to your offering, you are able to move on to the negotiation stage.

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