How Social Media Marketing Generates Leads

What social channels are you currently using for your business?

Many business owners know they need to be on LinkedIn and have both a personal account and a company page for their business. LinkedIn offers critical networking opportunities, the ability to connect with customers and industry professional alike, and a way to tap into customer pain points to provide a better solution than what they’re currently using.

According to 2016 statistics, LinkedIn has 433 million registered users from around the world, 40% of which check their account daily and spend approximately 17 minutes per month on LinkedIn. 67% claim they are addicted to content, which accounts for the 130K long-form posts that are published every week on LinkedIn.

However, 13% of LinkedIn users don’t use Facebook. Although Facebook was originally considered a family-only social account, it has quickly expanded into a major business tool to gain and generate leads.

With 1.86 billion global, active monthly users to date, Facebook is by far the most-used social platform in the world. Mobile users in particular increase by 23% each year. According to statistics from 2016,

• 73% of users claim to use Facebook for professional reasons
• 76% use Facebook to discover interesting content, such as long-form stories and news articles
• 70% users log into Facebook daily and 43% more than once a day

How Facebook has Changed Social Media Marketing

Facebook marketing differs from other social channels by retargeting content to pre-specified audiences. Potential customers may visit your website by clicking a Facebook post, but what if they don’t make a purchase? By creating a Facebook custom audience, you can use Facebook to retarget them, reminding them to return and complete their purchase. Facebook can also find similar people to bring to your website who may have similar interests and want what you have to offer.

As you create a Facebook audience, you can tailor the description to specific demographics, so only people who would be interested in your services/products will see your post. This highly individualized approach makes marketing tactics useful to people, not annoying, like cold calling.

The Benefits of Using Social Media for SEO

However, the benefits of using social media for business don’t end with LinkedIn and Facebook. Twitter, G+, Instagram, and Pinterest can all direct traffic to your website. No social channel will hurt your brand, so there’s no reason to avoid them, and it’s not difficult to have a consistent posting schedule.

Social media marketing offers your company many unique benefits.

• Social media allows your content to be seen by a greater audience
• Links in social posts can direct traffic to your website, increasing SEO
• Social likes/favorites and shares grow your reach and indicate interested personnel
• The more people who see your brand, the more they will recognize and know it
• Social media tells you what kind of content interests your target audience
• Social accounts often appear in search engine results
• Google pays special attention to G+

When a visitor “likes,” “favorites,” or “shares” your content on social media, you know they are engaged and interested in what your company has to offer. Your social accounts present a valuable tool for businesses when establishing brand awareness and customer loyalty. You have the opportunity to communicate with your customer base on a much more personalized level than ever before.  

Your customers are on social media, and your competitors are using social accounts too. Stay up to date with your marketing strategy and take advantage of the opportunities you find.

Why G+ Matters to Google (And Why It Should Matter to You)

Google+ is often the last social platform that businesses prioritize. Many people think it failed as a social network. However, Google doesn’t think so, and since Google is King, G+ is actually a powerhouse for SEO.

As you consistently update your G+ page with new posts (containing links to your website) and images, Google sees fresh, relevant content pertaining to your business. Users can click the links to your website, helping with SEO. Any eyes on your posts increase brand awareness, which keeps your business in mind when users need/want your product/service.

• Google immediately indexes G+ content
• G+ posts are displayed in search results

• Post content directs traffic to your website  
• Businesses can rank for keywords they may not typically attain
• Google ranks G+ higher than any other social channel
• 1 billion active monthly users use Gmail, which displays G+ profile in the upper right-hand corner

In addition, Google+ is a subcategory of the Google My Business dashboard, which keeps track of business listings and customer reviews. Your business profile must be listed correctly so customers can find your location, hours, and contact information. G+ posts help people find your company when they search for a service in Google.

Success of Social Media Marketing

Yesmail, a provider of email marketing software, reports 91% of retailers use at least two social media platforms for their brand. Out of 3.17 billion people who use the internet, each one has about 5 social accounts. 24% of businesses saw an increase in revenue when they used social media to generate leads.

Social media is much more than merely a way to build your brand, although it does do that. If used strategically, social channels can generate leads for your business. If you’d like more information, contact us!