Generating leads on Facebook is not just limited to paid ads and campaigns as most people believe. With the right content strategy and implementation, you can get more customers from Facebook than any other social media channel. But before we delve into the details of your Facebook strategy to generate more leads, let us analyze what exactly a lead is and how Facebook helps you capture them?
First things first, a ‘like’ on Facebook is not a lead. A follower of your Facebook page is also not necessarily a lead or potential customer because although they might be interested in your product, they may not have the means or authority to purchase it. In general, a lead can be defined as a person or an organization who has an interest in your product and also has the authority to purchase it. They should have a need for your product because even if sometimes there is an interested party with the means to purchase, they may be hesitant to invest because they don’t need it. So, establishing the meaning of a real lead becomes necessary in this case.
Now that you know what a lead is, let us tell you how Facebook can help you generate these leads.
There are two ways to generate leads from Facebook:
Direct leads
These are generated by sharing content that is linked directly to a form on your website where visitors can share information in exchange for an offer such as an e-book or white paper. This form leads to a landing page which is solely dedicated to that specific offer.
Indirect leads
These are generated by using Facebook as an influencer leading eventually to conversion. For example, when you share a blog post on your Facebook page and provide a link to one of the landing pages, it acts as an instant gratifier of leads generated. Sharing content without a form makes your Facebook presence stronger and will make your fans want to come back for more.
After analyzing a substantial amount of data, it was found that there are 5 foolproof ways to generate leads through Facebook. Take a look.
- Make good use of call-to-action (CTA) option
Facebook recently removed a clause from its page guidelines that barred users from using CTAs on the cover photos or in the captions. This provides a perfect opportunity for businesses to appeal to their fans to connect through the cover photos. - Create posts based on immediate engagement goals
Although the ultimate purpose of Facebook posts is to generate leads, you must have an immediate engagement goal for each post. Sometimes you need your fans to comment, sometimes you need feedback. At other times, you may need a high volume of shares. By striving for these small engagement goals, you garner more visibility in the Facebook News Feed, which eventually increases your chances of getting more traffic and generating leads. For example, you post an inspirational quote as an image. The purpose of such a post is not to generate leads. The purpose of this post is to draw more eyeballs to the page, get more reach and shares. Similarly, when you post a question or a quiz on your page, the purpose is to generate comments and hence, engaging the users on your page. So, define your immediate engagement goals for each post and see the difference. - Communicate visually
You don’t always have to be sure of what you’re about to share will inflame the kind of interaction you desire. It is an ambiguous area. But be sure of posting a visually attractive post as opposed to a link or a plain old status update. It has been found that posts with photos generate 53% more likes than an average post. So, take time to create captivating visuals and publish every post with an image. - Paid advertising
Nothing significant ever comes free of cost and neither does reaching out to customers on Facebook. Earlier, it was easy for marketers to reach out to their target audience without shelling out a single penny. But over the years Facebook has evolved into a paid marketing platform. A brand’s ability to reach out to its consumers organically has diminished because of the competing News Feed stories. There are approximately 1,500 stories competing against one another on the News Feed at any given time and Facebook’s algorithm is designed to prioritize only about 300 of them. Therefore, your posts need a paid boost to gain more visibility. The organic reach of Facebook has diminished over time and marketers must assume that in the near future, it will come down to zero. So, if you really want to reach out to your target customers, you’ll have to supplement your organic marketing efforts with a certain amount of paid advertising. - Variety in content
The more you experiment with your content, the more you’ll gain visibility and understand what your audience wants. The key to generating leads through Facebook is to post a variety of content that aligns with your goals other than driving sales. Aim for goals like reach, comments, awareness, creating a buzz and most importantly, engagement. They are just as important as lead generation goals. These goals will pave a way to bringing in more business. If you can get your audience to interact with your posts, you can get more traffic, which means more visibility, more leads and more customers. So, maintain a balance between direct and indirect lead generation content.
