5 min read
Think about these quick titbits!
About 66% marketers generate solid leads from social media platforms even after investing only up to six hours weekly on social media marketing. (Social Media Examiner’s 2022 Industry Report)
Besides, the lead conversion rate from social media platforms is about 13% higher than other conventional platforms. (Hubspot State of Inbound Marketing Trends 2022 Report)
Amazing, isn’t it? But did you also know that about 61% of marketers consider lead generation as their #1 marketing challenge? (Hubspot State of Inbound Marketing Trends 2022 Report) That is to say that they don’t even know where they are getting their leads from or whether they are even generating qualified leads.
You have a great social media presence and a huge following. Every time you post something, you get hundreds and thousands of likes and shares within a couple of hours. But what good is all this if you’re unable to get any legit enquiries?
If you identify with this situation, there is a high probability that your social media marketing strategy is not fashioned for hardcore lead generation. Here are the 5 most fatal mistakes to avoid while devising a perfect social media lead generation strategy!
1. Not identifying and targeting the right audience.
It is important to understand your ideal customers and their behaviour, interests, pain points, and demographics in order to effectively target them on social media. Without this understanding, your efforts to generate leads may be ineffective and not reach the right people.
How to avoid:
- Conduct market research to identify your target audience and create buyer personas.
- Use this information to segment your audience and tailor your content, messaging, and targeting efforts to reach the right people.
- Additionally, use social media analytics to track the demographics and interests of your current followers, and use this data to inform your targeting efforts.
2. Not having a clear call to action.
A CTA is a button or link that prompts the user to take a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter, downloading a whitepaper, or making a purchase. Without a clear CTA, it can be difficult for potential leads to know what the next step is, and they may not take any action at all.
How to avoid:
- Make sure to include a clear and prominent CTA in all of your social media posts and ads.
- The CTA should be easy to find, understand, and click on.
- It should also be relevant to the content and aligned with the overall goal of your lead generation strategy. It is advisable to test different types of CTAs, such as buttons, links, or forms to see which one performs best.
- Use action-oriented language and be specific about what you want the user to do. This will increase the chances of users clicking on the CTA and taking the desired action.
3. Not regularly monitoring and analysing the results of your strategy.
This mistake can hinder the success of all your social media marketing efforts. Without monitoring and analysing your results, it can be difficult to understand what is working and what is not, and to make informed decisions about how to improve your strategy.
How to avoid:
- It’s important to track and measure the performance of your social media campaigns and posts. This can be done by using social media analytics tools, such as the ones provided by the platforms themselves or third-parties.
- By monitoring metrics such as engagement, reach, and conversion rates, you can gain insights into how your audience is interacting with your content and what type of content resonates with them.
- You should also track the ROI of your social media lead generation efforts and compare it with your investments to see if you’re getting a good return on investment. This will help you identify which tactics are working and which are not, and make data-driven decisions.
- Regularly analysing and adjusting your strategy based on the data will allow you to optimise your lead generation efforts and improve your ROI over time.
4. Not building trust and authority through social proof and testimonials.
Social proof, such as customer reviews and testimonials, can be a powerful tool for building trust and credibility with potential leads. When people see that others have had positive experiences with a product or service, they are more likely to trust the brand and consider making a purchase.
How to avoid:
- Make sure to include social proof in your social media content, such as customer reviews, testimonials, and case studies. This can be in the form of written text, images, or even video testimonials.
- Additionally, you can leverage influencer marketing to showcase the authority of your brand by having influencers use and recommend your products.
- Another way to build trust and authority is by being transparent and responsive to customer enquiries and complaints. This way, you show that you care about your customers and are willing to fix any issues they may have.
- Finally, you can also make use of badges, certifications, and awards to showcase your authority and expertise in your industry.
5. Not understanding the platform's algorithm and how to optimise content accordingly.
Each social media platform has its own algorithm that controls how content is shown to users, and not understanding how the algorithm works can make it difficult to get your content in front of the right people, thus hampering your entire social media marketing strategy.
How to avoid:
- Familiarise yourself with the algorithm of the platforms you’re using and optimise your content accordingly.
- This includes understanding how the platform’s algorithm prioritises different types of content, such as video, images, or live streaming, and how to use hashtags, captions, and other features to increase visibility.
- Pay attention to the timing of your posts. Schedule your posts according to when your audience is most active. This will increase the chances of your content being seen by more people, thus increasing the engagement.
- Remember, each platform has its own guidelines for posting and advertising and not following these can lead to your account being restricted or even banned.
To sum up, social media has become a powerful tool for businesses to generate leads and drive sales. However, devising a social media lead generation strategy can be challenging and mistakes can be made.
If you’re looking to drive quality leads from social media platforms for your business, IKF can help. We are a social media marketing and content marketing agency in Pune with 20+ years of experience helping businesses achieve their digital goals. Contact us to learn more now!
Ashish Dalia is the CEO & Chief Digital Marketing Strategist at I Knowledge Factory Pvt. Ltd.
Ashish Dalia is the CEO & Chief Digital Marketing Strategist at I Knowledge Factory Pvt. Ltd.
