How to Use Social Media in Your B2B Lead Generation

Make Sure You're On The Right Platform

There are more social media platforms than ever before. That means that there's a platform that suits everyone, but it also means it's harder to know where you should be to generate leads. If you do your research though, being on the right platform will help a lot.

How do you pick the right platform? It's all about looking to see where your audience is. You should already have data on your audience, to know where they are and what they're looking for. That data will tell you where they are online, including the social media platforms that they use. Once you know this, you'll be able to focus your efforts there.

Get Your Account Up And Running

If you're not already on the platform that your potential leads are using, you'll need to ensure you're setting one up as soon as possible. On most platforms, it's very easy to get set up, and it usually only takes a matter of minutes.

“When setting up your account, ensure that you take advantage of all the features it offers you” says Simon Powell, a tech writer at Ox Essays and UKWritings. “For example, the 'about us' or 'description' sections are a great place to introduce your business.” You can also use those sections to create a call to action, guiding potential leads to your website.

Consider Using Paid Ads

There are lots of organic ways you can start bringing in potential B2B leads on social media, but you'll also want to pay attention to paid ads too. They can be a great way to boost your marketing and get people to notice your site and account.

The good news is they're often quite affordable too, something that's great news, especially for smaller businesses out there. Using them strategically allows you to reach a wider audience and spread the word about what you do.

Make Use Of The Q&A Portals

On all social media platforms, there should be ways for customers and potential leads to get in touch with you. These are always great for them, as they'll be able to come and ask any questions they have before they make their way further down the sales funnel.

As a business, you need to be sure to pay attention to those portals and interact with those who ask you questions. Of course, you can't be on there 24/7 and you can't answer every question, but if you're making the effort to talk to people then that will be noticed. Answering questions will also help you establish yourself as an expert in your industry.

Create And Grow Your Network

One of the best things about social media is that it makes it so easy to create a network. There's no need to attend seminars or spend money on attending events. All you have to do is search around your chosen platform for other businesses that are within your scope. You can connect with them for free, and that connection goes a long way.

When you're connected on social media, you can start organically creating those links. When they're ready to buy your product, they know exactly who to come to and buy from. As such, you need to be taking advantage of this feature.

Use Social Media Listening

In the age of social media, you have advantages in marketing that you just never had before. Social media listening is one of the best ways of seeing what your audience is saying about you, and you should be making sure you do it.

Social media listening involves keeping an eye on any mentions of your business name, or any keywords that are relevant to your brand on your platform. Many platforms, such as Twitter, make it easy for you to set up alerts and easily see what's being said. When you use social media listening, you can get an idea of what's being said about you, and use that in your marketing strategy going forward.

Example of use of social media listening: measure the performance of your own content

Try Running Contests

If you're looking to get more followers on social media, a really great way of getting them is by running contests. These are very simple to set up, but they'll net you more followers and a good amount of publicity too. You just need to have something to give away, such as a product or set of products from your business.

To enter, users will need to follow you or share your page, or both. That gets you the results you need and will get the word out about what you do as well. It's a win/win situation.

Try Giving Away Items

As well as running giveaways, you can also try giving away certain items as a way to get leads interested in what you do. Social media is a great place to do this, as you'll be able to grab your lead's attention by posting about it.

The item you give away shouldn't be the full version of your product. It should be just enough to get them interested and want to investigate further. “You can limit the number of times the lead can use the product, or limit how long they use it for” says Jeanette Wilson, a B2B blogger at Paper Fellows and Boom Essays. “This will give them a good taste of your product and entice them to buy the full version.”

Promote Your Content

Part of your marketing strategy will be providing both free and paid content, in order to find those potential B2B leads. Your social media feed is a great way of sharing free content and getting people interested in what you have to offer. However, you don't want to be giving everything away for free. That's where you can start promoting that paid content.

It's very easy to share links to your products and gated content on social media. That shows your leads exactly where they can go if they want to learn more about your product and potentially buy from you. Don't forget to proofread the content. Online services like Academized, Essay Services and State Of Writing can help with editing and proofreading.

Take Advantage Of Influencer Marketing

With the rise of social media has come the rise of influencers, too. Influencers are a marketing boon for many, as they have a captive audience that you'll be able to speak to directly.

Do your research, and find influencers that are relevant to your audience and activity. You'll find you can capture a lot of new leads by taking advantage of this new marketing strategy.

There are so many ways in which social media can be used for B2B marketing. If you follow the tips in this post, you'll be able to start growing your audience dramatically and get them to potentially become customers. Meet them where they are online, and you'll see what a difference using social media makes.