While many instinctively think of social media as a way to connect with friends and family, share photos or engage in heated political debates, it’s also a powerful tool for lead generation. From organic posts sharing your latest content to engaging with followers, your business’s social media channels provide an easy and effective means for guiding leads through the sales funnel. The goal is to have prospective clients find your content, follow you on social media, sign up for your email list and pay attention to what others say about you.
An organic approach may open the door, but social media advertising takes it to the next level. When paired with SEO and SEM, paid campaigns help businesses reach new and relevant audiences. Here are some tips on how to use paid media to generate leads and drive conversions.
Offer Valuable and Unique Content
With countless others fighting for the attention of your target audience, ads only work if the content is worth clicking. An appealing photo or video is essential to pull users in, but be sure to pair it with conversational ad copy that will encourage them to engage.
Need help determining what resonates? Paid media platforms like Meta, Google and LinkedIn now include AI-powered features that can suggest variations of copy, images and targeting. These tools can be useful for testing, but they should never replace human judgment; every ad still needs oversight to stay on brand and error-free.
Once someone clicks, the next step is separating casual interest from potential leads. Gated content such as eBooks, case studies, short videos or even exclusive offers gives people a reason to share their contact information, signaling genuine interest in your business.
Use Lead Magnets
You know your target audience and the questions they are asking, so your lead magnets should address real questions your audience is asking and showcase your company’s expertise. Some businesses are experimenting with interactive lead magnets, like chatbots that guide users through a short Q&A and then share a tailored resource or discount code in exchange for contact details. These tools can make the exchange feel more conversational, but they still require thoughtful scripting and oversight.
Even a short video of a previous speaking engagement or a teaser of a webinar you hosted can be a lead magnet. However, try to steer clear of anything that is too long or difficult to follow. It’s important that you maintain their attention to keep that lead and improve your chances of converting them into a client down the road.
Develop an Email Campaign
When you start by establishing a clear strategy, an email campaign is another great way to generate new leads and even retain past clients. The key is providing relevant content without bombarding your audience. A weekly email is a great place to start because it’s consistent enough to keep your company top-of-mind without spamming your subscribers’ inboxes.
The goal is to not only establish yourself as a thought leader but also as a resource, so try to mix up the content by including a good balance of blog posts, news articles, podcasts and other various mediums. Analytics such as open rates and click-through rates will help you determine the success of a campaign, and A/B campaigns with different versions of copy will show you what generates more engagement to sharpen your approach.
After you have refined your strategy, create cohesive social media ads to promote the campaign and start collecting emails. Retargeting efforts and even direct social media interactions can work in tandem with your eNews to guide prospects toward conversion.
Automate What You Can
Even with the right paid media and content marketing plans, you will likely still need to spend time on the phone or in person with someone before earning their business. Luckily, social media posts, ads and email campaigns can all be automated, leaving you ample time to focus on engagement.
Platforms like Meta Business Planner, Sprout Social, Hootsuite or Buffer are management tools that allow you to schedule social posts days or even weeks in advance, while Ads Manager platforms (from Meta, Google, LinkedIn and others) make it easy to create and manage your ads. Many now include AI-powered features that generate suggested captions, hashtags and even help with ad targeting. Still, automation doesn’t mean abdication. Someone needs to monitor these campaigns regularly to make sure they’re running as intended and learning what works, what doesn’t and how to improve over time.
The most important thing to remember is that generating leads and driving conversions with paid media is a marathon, not a race. Over time, these tools work hand-in-hand to drive prospects to your company. If you’re interested in learning more about the power of paid media, let’s chat. We’d love to start a conversation with you about how we can create results for your business.