#1 Optimize Profiles

While you work on user experience and SEO for the website, consider optimizing the official social media account according to the unspoken rules of better visibility in the networks of your interest. Optimization of Instagram profiles will differ from LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Let’s take a closer look at the peculiarities of each social media platform and specify the key moments to boost the visibility of your account.

Instagram

Start with your username, which should be friendly to your target audience’s search queries. For example, if your potential customers are looking for interiors on Instagram, adding this word to your username is better.

Do not forget to switch your profile to a business account to use Instagram Insights and other analytical tools for marketing purposes.

This is the best time to start optimizing your bio on Instagram. This is your business card, so add all the relevant information and complementing keywords. Make a short description of your profile, and do not forget to mention any links that are a must for lead generation in the bio.

For example, Oberlo created an Instagram profile to promote its app online. The username is very easy (@oberloapp). The bio contains its motto and a link. This link is used for lead generation. Having announced a free course and added links to the application form, the Oberlo community increased with fresh leads.

It is worth mentioning action buttons, though social media platforms differ in this option. Speaking of Instagram, users can look at the profile and decide whether to follow you or not. That is why you should capture your potential customer’s attention with the help of a bio and catchy posts.

Facebook 

You have more opportunities for optimization on Facebook. First, you should start from the username as well. Make it easy to find through search and well-recognizable. Do not forget to add a profile picture. Using a square image of 180×180 pixels with your branding elements (logo, team photo, office, manufacturing quarters, etc.) is better. Add a cover image that also highlights your brand (some conference backstage, rewards, products and services, and so on).

Complete your Description section to help Facebook users know more about your profile. Only original content with relevant keywords should be presented here. This way, the page will rank higher. Add your website’s link to generate leads. Write in the description essential information about your company to interest readers.

Feel free to link any pages that you consider perfect for lead generation. It can be a selection of goods with discounts or special offers with affordable pricing plans for your services. Do not forget to specify the core data:

• Business hours
• Contact information
• Awards in your business niche
• Other social media accounts
• Business story (About us)

Speaking about the last item in the list, this is a great way to skip the limit of 250 characters in the description and tell more about your company.

Add more links and detailed reviews of your products and services in this section. It’s a good idea to engage users to read more information with the help of the business FAQ placed here. Together with bio optimization, you need to take into consideration other tricks to make your Facebook profile more visible:

1. Select a suitable template. Facebook offers different variants for businesses (business, services, non-profits, etc.)
2. Facebook offers CTA buttons to choose from. Specify the main goal of your call-to-action on your account (order services or goods, contact, donate, etc.)Enable reviews to promote your positive status on Facebook. Allow visitors to review your page while setting up the Review option in the Edit section.
   
   
3. Customize your Shopping section. Add some seasonal goods or hot-topic services to order. It is one of the most efficient lead generation ideas for you.
4. Add page tabs for promotions and lead generation. It is recommended to highlight the main sections like Shop, Services, or Offers.
5. Enable reviews to promote your positive status on Facebook. Allow visitors to review your page while setting up the Review option in the Edit section.

We’ve just covered how you can fully prepare your Facebook Page. Now we will cover how it’s different on a platform like Twitter.

Twitter

You should optimize your profile before “tweeting,” using hashtags, and pinning your winning posts. For this purpose, follow the algorithm used for Instagram:

• Be sure that your username is easy to find through search.
• Add a photo (a profile and cover ones).
• Optimize your bio.

Speaking about your Twitter bio, there are some peculiarities to take into account. First, you need to know that the limit is 160 characters. Emojis will make your bio catchy but do not overuse them. Highlight your main idea with smiles or other symbols only.

Adding a URL is a must in Twitter as for other social media. Link your website, an application form, some page of your site, and so on. Use unique hashtags that will help users navigate and search for your content.

Do not forget to add your business location and the description of your services and goods. Complement your bio with keywords as well. At the beginning of your Twitter presence, pin up some must-read posts to customize your timeline there.

Twitter only has a few components that you can optimize compared to Facebook. However, LinkedIn needs special consideration.

LinkedIn

This social media platform is not just for new opportunities for collaboration anymore. If you are interested in generating leads in 2021, LinkedIn business profile optimization will be helpful. Interestingly, according to Oktopost research, about 80% of leads in B2B business come from LinkedIn.  

If you would like to unfurl your brand on this social media platform, be ready to optimize your profile according to the latest tips:

1. Your profile photo should be business-driven (a logo, a company team). A cover photo should harmonize with your business niche.
2. The bio should contain helpful information about your company (business direction, location, awards, website link, and contact information).
3. The Service section should be filled in as well. Specify here what services your company provides.
   
4. Use the headline for customer engagement—evoke interest in your LinkedIn profile with some catchy statements. Use hashtags for better navigation.
   
5. Your summary should also be optimized. Use bullet points to describe the expertise of your company and core reasons to pay attention to your goods and services.
6. Have strong endorsements and recommendations. Use testimonials for lead generation. 
7. Use LinkedIn special-purpose forms to collect leads. This way, you will add CTA buttons and engage users to interact with your company more often.

When your social media profiles are well-optimized, it is necessary to set your content as the core tool for effective digital marketing and customer engagement.

#2 Create Lead Generation Content

Start with keyword research that will help you hit the market and catch the attention of your target audience. Additionally, you need to explore the most exciting topics and ideas for your publications. To create unique content, you need to turn to a keyword generator to discover new keyword suggestions, measure their potential, and select the most performing keyword queries. Using an SEO tool like SE Ranking, marketers can reach the audience they want to address and attract. It is possible to build key phrase lists from scratch, analyze competitor domains and keyword historical data performance, and know more about rivals’ approaches for attracting more organic traffic.

Let’s review the best content on social media that is used for lead generation:

1. Blog posts — if you regularly post some guides, expert articles on your website, this is a great way to share this content on your social media and get fresh leads. You can create a post that will be a short and catchy rundown of a long-read. One more good idea is to promote your post with the help of a shareable link.
   
   Let’s speak about themed posts that are relevant to your business niche. It is necessary to create unique content that is well-structured, contains main keywords, and solves customer challenges. The Coschedule company presents one effective lead generation example. The post is devoted to a new feature of their marketing calendar with the recommendation to follow the link in the Instagram bio.
   
   Note that LinkedIn allows you to post long-reads without limitations of the text length. Feel free to add your expert articles with relinking on your website and product pages not only in your blog but on social media, too.
   Videos — the same story goes for video content. You can show a small fragment of your new clip as a promo or create an eye-catchy video review of some new goods or services on social media. Follow trends of the platform you chose. For example, YouTube gives the opportunity to post long videos that will be suitable for detailed video reviews.
   On Facebook and Instagram, it is better to post short, 15-second clips. There are also more chances to make your video content viral. For example, Hubspot started to stage funny clips about marketing and post them on Instagram and TikTok.
   
2. Do not forget about Facebook and Instagram stories. You can collect leads with the help of the Swipe option as well. Be active with videos on social media because they gather more attention.
3. Infographics — another more helpful lead generation content because it is always clickable and shareable. If you have a unique and relevant infographic to share, do it without a doubt. For example, Verizon decided to represent its data breach investigations in the form of easy-to-read slides. The full report is more than 50 pages long. However, users were able to watch a catchy video presentation on social media.
   Podcasts — this is the best way to transform your long webinar available on a website or other marketplace into a rundown that can be shared on social media. A good lead generation example is Rick Mulready’s Twitter podcasts about Facebook ads and other marketing tips. He shares his podcasts on social media and collects fresh leads according to the topic of the content.

#3 Turn On Shoppable Features to Get Hot Leads

Each social media platform offers shoppable features that can make your lead generation tactics even more efficient. Let’s review the most popular ones to turn on for new hot leads:

• Facebook Shops & Messenger — create your product catalog with the help of the Facebook Shops feature. This option is mobile-friendly and is used for the showcase of your brand, goods, and services. Count on the unified presence on Facebook with the feature of the FB marketplace.

With the help of Messenger, you can use a third-party CRM and integrate your leads faster and easier. You can opt for a CRM tool for small businesses as a more budget-friendly option. It is essential to collect leads of the highest quality and to nurture a high volume of leads at lower costs.

• Instagram Shops — Instagram offers a social media marketplace for business representatives. This feature can be activated in a business account. Users will see the button View Shop. This is a great lead-generation idea for entrepreneurs.

Additionally, you can add shopping posts that will contain a product tag. This link can redirect potential customers to your shop. One more effective option is posting shopping content in stories. Use shopping stickers in stories or add the swipe tag to redirect users to your website or a marketplace.

Twitter Shopping Card — this is a new feature, but it’s worth your attention. You can tweet any post that will become lead-driven with the help of the Twitter shopping card option. The main idea is to show the products and shop name together with pricing. The Shop action button is placed under the post. If you would like to try this e-commerce hack and improve your lead generation on Twitter, this is a great choice.

• YouTube shopping — this special feature available on YouTube is shopping ads that will improve your lead generation strategy. The advertising appears in the home feed and search results. Additionally, ads can be shown in the video carousel. Note that the beta testing format on YouTube for live streaming is accessible. The algorithm works the following way: 

1) a user searches something; 

2) the system suggests relevant goods for the search query (like in Google). 

Here is an example of Puma shoe ads that have appeared right after a YouTube user started to search for something about traveling, active lifestyle, etc.

Do not neglect shoppable features because they can increase traffic to your website and viable leads.

#4 Offer Different Lead Incentives 

Do not forget about lead incentives that make users appetite your company, goods, and services. If you regularly investigate your target customer behavior, you know what triggers better responses and propels your lead generation. Still, it’s recommended to use as many approaches as possible at once. 

Customer behavior and sentiments have become even more robust in the last several years. Your task is to reshape your marketing strategies and make your approaches flexible. Let’s take a closer look at the top-5 lead incentives to use for a sound online business presence. 

Special Offers

Welcome your leads with the help of attractive promotions on social media. You can place a special offer in your bio or create a post devoted to some giveaway or promo for first-comers. 

The Nectar Sleep company offers two free premium pillows to customers who order a mattress from their product line. Their post on Facebook caught the attention of the audience and gave new leads to the shop.

Promo codes

One more way to collect new leads on social media is to share promo codes in your Instagram, Twitter, Facebook accounts. Additionally, you can mention some special discounts with a promo code in your YouTube and TikTok videos. 

For example, Bonobos offered a promo code to get a guaranteed 20% discount for all the golf catalog items. The post appeared not only on Twitter but on other social media platforms.

Referral Campaigns

It is reasonable to run a referral program on an ongoing basis, but don’t forget to announce the offer on social media. Some companies give bonuses only to customers who manage to attract referrals. Another category of shops offers discounts for referrals as well.

Pottery Barn Kids expressed gratitude with discounts to both referrals and standing customers who recommend the shop to friends and relatives. The referral gets a $25 discount for an order that costs at least $100. At the same time, the customer who attracted this lead receives the same discount after the first referral’s order.

Be thankful to people who initiate a conversion from a lead to being a paying customer with the same promotions. 

Gated Content

This is a perfect solution to encourage leads to share their personal information. Gated content can be placed not only on your website when you ask about a user’s telephone number or email to provide some free trials, whitepapers, or other material. Social media is suitable for this purpose as well.

Create sponsor posts on Facebook or advertise in Instagram stories about your free guide, a checklist, or something else. Ask users to follow the link and fill in an application form. Lead generation will be easily activated this way.

Influence & Co on Facebook offers the opportunity to analyze any website and provide a detailed report. The CTA button is placed under the post.

Educational Content

Here you are ready to share the same story about educational content with your target audience in exchange for their personal information. Additionally, posts, videos, and images educate about friendly sharing and can become viral to benefit your brand awareness and increase leads. 

For example, the Cabot Cheese company decided to shoot not only advertising videos. There is a selection of clips Cooking with Grace where all the goods the shop sells are used for preparing delicious dishes. Under each video, there are links to follow (the shop, recipes, Grace’s social media accounts, and sponsor websites).

#5 Share Testimonials for Leads

To acquire new leads, share your customer testimonials. This is the best social proof of your competency, responsibility, and quality of your goods and services. You can add reviews, stories, and testimonials to both your text and video content. Many shops and companies on Instagram have highlighted stories with thankful comments from their customers. People often pay attention to reviews that aren’t only on Google Maps.

For example, SE Ranking has an account on Instagram and a section with testimonials in their story highlights.

As a video typically has a longer shelf, add testimonials to your advertising clips and product reviews. Additionally, you can post with customer stories relinking to some external website or marketplace. Many sponsored Facebook posts contain testimonials and reviews with a short interview of a thankful consumer.

#6 React Fast on Customer Queries in DM and Comments

Social media networks can help you show your potential customers how fast your reaction is to any disputes, thankful and negative comments, answers, etc. Your task is to provide immediate follow-up and solve all challenging situations with the same respect to your audience.

To simplify this task, you can implement chatbots on social media accounts. It will improve your customer experience and prevent losing leads.

#7 Build Relationships with Your Community

This is a long-term recommendation to all business representatives. You should aim to build a community with sound relationships with your audience. All the tips mentioned above will come in handy in the context of lead generation and for this purpose. The availability of personalized customer experience, immediate follow-up, shoppable options, and incentives will help you become a step closer to your potential customer.

For example, the Carney company has a Facebook community called Daily Carnage. To attend the conversations and get access to expert posts, users should become a member. The community is well-known on the Internet and has about 16.5 thousand followers today.

Final Word

The most reputable companies and brands focus on social media marketing that brings them high-quality leads. Follow their example and optimize your social media accounts for efficient lead generation. A comprehensive approach is recommended. You should opt for paid advertising on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, create quality content and undertake regular keyword research and analysis of competitors. In order to maintain leads, pay attention to promotions, and immediately react to potential customers’ answers, comments, and complaints.