Quick, Free Leads

How to Use Social Media for Lead Generation

Social media and networking websites can be an absolute goldmine for getting your message out there, establishing popularity and recognition and generating leads for your business. Knowing the ins and outs of how to operate Twitter, Facebook and MySpace accounts are only the tip of the iceberg. When using social media to promote yourself and your business to generate leads, you must use all free forms of advertising available, and that includes other social media websites like YouTube, LinkedIn, Ning, and even social bookmarking sites like Reddit, Delicious and Digg.

Landing Pages and Sales Pages

Perhaps the first step you need to take before establishing your social media strategy is getting all your websites, landing pages and sales pages together. For example, does your sales page have testimonials? Does it make readers want your product or does it just leave more questions? Does it offer a solution to the target market which you're trying to attract? Does your website accurately and fully describe all the features and benefits of having that product which you're promoting? All of these are questions which desperately need to be asked of the websites and landing pages you create since these will be an integral part of your online social media strategies.

The Linkwheel

A second issue you need to consider is how to use each social media website to fit in with your linkwheel. Specifically, you need to find a static hub from which to attach all other accounts. This could be your main website, community forum, or even your own social networking group made from a platform such as KickApps or Ning. All of your social networking accounts, including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, need to be linked from this central hub to allow the free-flow of traffic in and out of your community.
In addition to the central hub, all of your social networking accounts (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.) need to be joined. The inter-linking of these accounts creates continuity and helps your "fans" and even lurkers track you everywhere on the internet so that they can see your next move and where you go. Facebook contains built-in tools for integrating Twitter and vice versa, so you must take advantage of all of these to gain the maximum exposure.

Lead Collection

Of equal importance to the whole concept of social media is the method being used to collect the leads. When it comes to requesting details, such as name and email address from your potential leads, you want to give your leads ample opportunity to sign up. In other words, this means updating your status and posting special announcements and Tweets that lead to landing pages that act as lead generation tools.

Throughout the entire lead generation process, interaction must be a major part. Instead of simply posting links to all your accounts and expecting unbeknownst individuals to sign up, you must do something to encourage participation. Give something away for free, such as an eBook, podcast or special report. Start a contest or a drawing. Conversing with your potential leads can lead into sales conversions.

As you can see, social media marketing is absolutely crucial for your business. With the plethora of tools and social websites that are free to use, using them correctly and efficiently can net you some huge gains in the long run.

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