Facebook for Lead Generation
Facebook remains the dominant form of social media, at least for now. As competition from other social media platforms like Instagram (owned by Facebook), LinkedIn (also owned by Facebook), Snapchat (which Facebook attempted to acquire), Twitter, and YouTube has grown, Facebook has had to fight hard in recent years to defend its throne.
With 2.45 billion users visiting Facebook monthly, it provides an effective platform to promote services and products. Let’s begin!
Also, be sure to take a look at Brandwatch as an added step. They have created an excellent article to demonstrate how Social Media impacts lead generation in general. Social Media Lead Generation The Comprehensive Guide
Facebook can be an incredibly efficient method of lead generation if used appropriately. According to eMarketer, most Facebook media users access it daily, while 97% visit facebook.com at least monthly. Furthermore, 63% of businesses currently running Facebook ads plan to expand them this year.
As it seems, Facebook provides marketers with an ideal platform for reaching prospects… but how? First and foremost, remember that to create ads, you require a Facebook fan page (you cannot use ads without first creating an account with them).
Establishing one is easy – simply visit facebook.com/pages/create, and then after your page has been found, you have three types of ad options from which to choose. [tableofcontent]
Table of Contents
Getting Started
Social media for marketing purposes has become an integral component of any online business. While Facebook advertising and fan page promotion have grown more sophisticated, Facebook remains one of the most effective lead-generation tools available today.
According to Facebook’s worldwide page research, 2.45 billion monthly active users logged onto Facebook each month in June 2011, with over 14 million small-scale businesses maintaining company pages on this social networking website.
Over half of Facebook users engage with brands they appreciate by “liking and commenting” on articles from pages that meet their interests or needs.
2.45 billion monthly active users means at least one person in your market uses Facebook daily! Targeting extremely specific market segments requires precision in your approach, and using Facebook for lead generation is an ideal place to start.
Start by creating a company page on Facebook before proceeding further with social media marketing efforts.
Include your logo so people can recognize you and a short description of who and what you are. Do not be too specific; keep things straightforward.
Secondly, once your website is up and running, you must attract followers/likers. Users need to be able to see and interact with your posts, and being connected to both of your personal pages makes this an effective strategy for building an audience.
Invite friends of your personal page as followers – this can quickly expand its reach!
Online Presence
Users of Facebook are much more likely to do business with organizations they know and recognize as opposed to businesses they have never heard of or just heard about.
Establishing your web presence through Facebook is an immense advantage, such as engaging and connecting with your target audience.
Furthermore, Facebook apps allow businesses to capture leads for lead capture purposes, run contests or sweepstakes on the platform, advertise on it, and even gain likes for their page! Facebook lead generation strategies provide small businesses with tips to gain followers, page likes, and followers which may convert into members, group members, app users, and Contest participants on Facebook.
Here are the top Facebook lead-generation strategies:
1. Optimize Your Facebook Business Page
This step will enable you to gain more followers and likes for your fan pages on Facebook.
Ensure all information relevant to you or your company (i.e., name, address, description of products/services provided, and contact info (telephone numbers(s), email addresses) is provided as part of their fan pages on Facebook such as name, address, product/service descriptions offered as well as contact info such as telephone numbers(s), emails addresses, etc. is easily found by visitors who would like more information if needed or browse over some sample projects for instance).
2. Incentivize Facebook Page Likes
Draw newcomers to the page you have created by offering rewards for Facebook Page Likes.
One way of doing this is via the “offer wall” application, which enables lead generation for businesses on Facebook.
3. Join Industry Related Facebook Groups
Build more fans on Facebook when you join a group closely related to your field or industry on the platform, where conversations with fellow members of that group may ensue, with comments being posted for views or interaction from fellow group members seeking answers for specific topics or issues online.
4. Regular Posts
Utilize your Facebook page on an ongoing basis by regularly sharing photos, videos, updates, blogs, or links to interesting content, just as any regular Facebook user would do on their profile page.
Utilize lead generation opportunities by offering opt-in emails for lead generation contestants who opt-in and giveaway contestants with giveaway prizes as contestants!
Integrate Facebook applications such as “Offerwall,” which allows businesses to easily create an opt-in form on Facebook; “Fb Store,” which ensures Facebook fans can easily access their page by liking or commenting on what’s posted; “Offerwall,” for building lead generation forms within businesses themselves or use “Offerwall,” an offer wall app which makes these efforts much simpler!
5. Invite Friends
Finally, it is essential that all your acquaintances (Facebook members) join your fan page so that they will receive notifications regarding anything related to you or your business without extra effort on their part; after all, they are already connected via Facebook!
Post & Interact
Now that you’ve created your page and amassed followers, content creation comes next.
In previous posts, we’ve touched upon this subject many times to highlight its importance; here, we return to revisit the subject and reiterate it.
Your content on Facebook should be engaging and representative of your company’s image without being overtly commercial. Keep your posts conversational by commenting below captions; once people begin leaving comments, engage them by responding and responding back accordingly.
Natural leads are one of the easiest ways to bring in new business without incurring costly advertising costs. A blog about potential new services you wish to offer might generate interest; engage those commenters, offer them tips, or ask if they would send an email directly.
Engaging these visitors could yield substantial returns without spending money or time directly marketing your services or products. Organic leads provide endless advantages that can propel business forward without incurring excessive expenses.
Paid Ad’s
Facebook recently unveiled an important feature: paid advertising through their paid services. This PPC (Pay Per Click) campaign has seen incredible success, and businesses alike now utilize it to generate leads and drive growth.
Using Facebook Ads provides businesses with the power to craft targeted advertisements by targeting specific demographics or locations to maximize the visibility of their brand or products – often after exhausting organic traffic sources.
Creating and posting paid adverts on Facebook can attract and engage a broader audience than before – expanding beyond your immediate circle and network.
For optimal success, use an organized approach – follow a systematic plan step-by-step!
Target Your Market
This step is of utmost importance throughout this process. Paid ads allow for greater flexibility when targeting specific gender and age range options – for instance, if promoting new men’s trainers, you could target males aged 18-25, whereas, for a boiler company, your target market might include homeowners aged 25 and above that encompass both genders.
Determine the Purpose of Your Advert
At this juncture, there are two options open to you when creating an advertisement: either directly promoting products and services you offer directly or creating one designed to generate clicks and registrations of interest.
Analyze the Data
Once your advert has been published, it is imperative that its results are carefully evaluated. Facebook Ad Manager offers comprehensive insights into its performance – whether your goal was driving traffic or encouraging people to sign up and express interest. Facebook Ad Manager provides detailed percentages and figures for you to compare against each other and evaluate.
Facebook paid advertising is an integral component of marketing today, providing businesses with an effective means of increasing brand recognition or the promotion of products or services they sell. If this sounds appealing to you, then Facebook paid ads could be just what’s needed!
To Summarise
Global reach millions of people every month – for free! (Well mainly). That makes Facebook Lead Generation an incredible value proposition.
Using it firstly to establish the presence and then connect with specific groups can be used effectively in lead generation if done consistently over time – just remember, regular content publishing will increase chances of generating leads further!
Check out our post about Content Marketing to help increase leads further!