Getting Digital Leads through Social Media (all professions)

Lead generation, especially digitally as we are going to focus on in this article, can be done through many different channels. To fully understand the scope of digital lead generation, you should think about all of the different ways that you use the internet – varied, I know. From checking your email to updating your status to shopping online, there is a place and the potential for you to gain more customers or at least more followers. Let’s talk about a couple of the most popular avenues for lead generation that apply to almost every single person – whether you are a individual freelancer or part of a small business.

Social Media – the key to branded exposure

I would hazard to guess that you know at least someone who is doing this that is in your network – an amateur photographer or candlemaker perhaps. This is the person who is obsessively posting pictures of their work on social media with introspective captions and who end up getting more likes than IRL friends that you have. It can seem like magic (or botting) when you look at each picture one by one, but the big picture shows something different. These habitual posters have two things that you absolutely need if you are: Consistency & Confidence.

To be consistent on social media starts with outlining a post strategy, and that strategy depends a lot on how you want to position yourself in the eyes of your potential customers. If you work in a skilled trade (like carpentry, for instance), you might not need to post everyday. Why not? For one, you are not a content creator. For two, nobody is expecting you to be. What they are expecting (especially during the hiring process) is to be able to see what you do well. High-res photos of your handiwork and reviews from satisfied customers are enough to do the trick! If you don’t already do these on a regular basis, here are some resources and easy actionable items to get you started.

Despite the fundamentals being similar across platforms, which ones your prioritize will change based depending on what your budget (both time and money) is, what services you render, and what you goal is. Let’s go over some of the big dogs for lead generation through social media.

Instagram

Founded in 2010 as a image sharing platform, Instagram has blossomed into a social media juggernaut with over one billion monthly users. It’s primary reason for insane growth is popularity among young people, with millions leaving Facebook and making Instagram their go-to. Still mainly popular for images, Instagram is not also used for shopping, live video (‘member Periscope? I ‘member), and much more.

If you make or fix anything tangible, Instagram is the place for you. You should use the platform as billions already do, to share photos of your work. Learn to take good photos of the end result of your work, and a time that gets those photos the most engagement. You can find customers that you didn’t even know were out there – just by snapping a picture of the work that you already did. Below are some great examples of Instagram accounts that are doing just this: (find those three accounts that do this well)

Facebook

“Facebook is dying” millennials falsely claim. Although they are leaving the site in favor of newer platforms, there are still millions daily users engaging in group discussions, political arguments, playing games, and more. Depending on your audience, Facebook might be the perfect place to start picking up new business through social media, or a site that you avoid all together.

Final thoughts to take away from this article? Stay consistent with your posting, and listen to your audience. For more tips on how to get more business digitally, tune in next week!