Did you know that the primary purpose of social media is to help you build a list? Social media marketing, when done well is one of the best ways to generate leads (build your list) online.
This article will help you discover several social media optimization tips that will help you build your list faster and talk to more people who are likely to become loyal customers.
It's important to optimize your social media profiles, blogs, marketplaces and websites so that you can grow your audience.
This translates to more people who have the potential to become customers. Use these tips to create an effective strategy that will drive more leads and traffic to your business.
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1. Sign Up with an Email Marketing Provider
First, you'll need to sign up with an email marketing company that you'll use to create your opt-in forms, create connections between your form and your email provider and best of all, store your leads.
You can sign up with companies like aWeber, Constant Contact, Mailpoet, Mailchimp, ConvertKit and there are many more. You can sign up with basic functionality for free with most of these companies to try it out. Choose a company and get started building your list.
2. Create a Lead Magnet
Include a valuable free resource (lead magnet) that will encourage more people to sign up. This lead magnet should help your ideal customer resolve an issue, stop struggling, or improve their lives in some way. Here are a couple of examples of lead magnets.
- Finding Inspiration for New Projects:
- Lead Magnet Example: A free guide with 50 creative project ideas or a mood board template to spark inspiration.
- Problem Solved: Overcoming creative blocks and finding fresh ideas for new products or content.
- Time Management and Productivity:
- Lead Magnet Example: A downloadable time management planner or a checklist for organizing daily tasks.
- Problem Solved: Helping creative entrepreneurs manage their time better, balance multiple projects, and increase productivity.
Use these examples or create your own, based on the needs of your ideal customers.
3. Create an Opt-In Form
You will need a lead generation opt in form that you will place on your landing page. Your opt in form will be connected to your email marketing provider. This is the form that potential customers will use to give your their email address (and maybe their first name) in exchange for your lead magnet.
We use Thrive Leads to create lead generation opt in forms like the one you'll find on the this page. Thrive leads has over 450+ ready to use templates and resources that make building the perfect lead generation forms and pages a breeze.
4. Create an Opt-In Landing Page
The next step in optimizing your social media pages for leads is to add your opt-in form to a lead generation landing page. This page has one objective, and that is to take someone who is a visitor and turn them into a lead. A lead is someone who has expressed interest in your business, but they haven't purchased anything yet.
To add an opt in form to a landing page using Thrive Architect, choose add a "Lead Generation" element to your page from the elements panel. Choose the opt in form you created in Step 3.
You can use this method to add lead generation forms to most any piece of content (blog posts, product pages, sidebars, below videos, on buttons, etc.) on your blog.
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5. How Everything Works Together
In order for the "Lead Generation" element to work, you will need to set up a connection with your email provider (Mailchimp, aWeber, Constant Contact, etc.
The two methods you would use to establish this connection would be via API or using HTML. Thrive makes setting up this connection very easy. To see how it works with Thrive Leads, watch this video demonstration.
Having a lead generation landing page enables you to explain the benefits of signing up and gives the visitor and idea of what they will get (free resource) along with more value added, relevant content. Your lead generation landing page is a place where people can share their contact info with you.
Land a One... Two... Punch!
With Email and Social Media
The one-two punch happens with the 👊🏼 combination of people who are seeing your value added, engaging posts on social media with people who are opting into your email marketing series. these folks will receive your lead magnet and welcome series, they will have a sample of what it's like to work with you.
With a combination you can't be stopped. When you've got these two elements working together consistently, your marketing message will reach the right people and in turn your business will grow.
Once you have a lead generation landing page, it’s time to add it to all your social media profiles, a certain percentage of your calls to action and to people who are on your list. If you have the Pretty Links plugin, you can create an easy to remember link for your videos and podcast episodes.
Listen on the Go: Our Podcast Episode on Social Media Optimization
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6. Include Calls to Action in All Your Posts
This is an important element that is commonly left off when posting to social media. It's important to guide visitor though your process, telling them what they should do next. Great navigation and calls to action helps them take the desired actions.
So make sure you have calls to action (CTAs) in every social media post and on every page of your site. These CTAs will help drive traffic and guide visitors through your website encouraging them to take action.
Use a call to action with the link to your “pretty” lead generation landing page, when creating your videos and podcasts. Add it to your email signature. When you end each blog post, include a call to action banner or graphic that has a link to your email opt in form.
Attract potential customers with a list building process like this using social media.
7. Add Internal Links to Other Pages
If you have a blog or website, once someone signs up you can send them to a page that tells them what next steps are and provides them with a low priced upgrade to what they signed up to get.
You can also add links to other pages within your site. Once you drive traffic from social media to your site, it's important to make it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for.
Linking to other pages makes it easier for new visitors to find what they are looking for. It also gives search engines more data to index and rank your site higher.
8.Update Your Social Media Profiles
When was the last time you updated your social media profiles or the about me section of your profiles?
What about the about pages on your blog, other landing pages, Tumblr blogs, YouTube channels, etc., those places that allow you to include a link to your page. Include a link to your opt-in page in your link in bio app.
Be sure to check the terms of any platform you're on to be sure they allow you to add a link to your business. If you violate the terms of the platforms you use, you run the risk of being shut down.
It's important to use your profile as a way to engage visitors and tell them why they need to sign up and the benefits they will receive as a member of your list.
9.Promote Your Email Opt In Landing Page
If you’re not sure where to start with optimizing your social media posts and pages for leads, the hard part has been completed. It's just a matter of sending traffic to your lead generation (op-in) landing page created in Step 4.
Here are some quick tips to help you out:
- Keep the goal in mind: Social Media should send people to your lead generation landing page, and tell visitors who you are, what you do and how you help them
- Sign up for Social Media Business Accounts: Business accounts will usually give you access to analytics you can use to track your progress.
- CTA: Make sure you have a clear call to action in each post or piece of content.
- Optimize You Social Profiles: Include a link to your lead generation landing page in your social media profiles.
- Use Hashtags: Add relevant hashtags to your posts for extended reach.
- Post Where Your Ideal Customers Hang Out: Create an account on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, and any other relevant social platform.
- Become Muli-Faceted: Share your content across multiple platforms.
- Be consistent - Post at least 1-3 times per day on the platforms that give you the most engagement.
- Use Images and videos: Don’t forget to use images and videos in your posts and keep in mind that people respond best to the human face and the human voice!
- Do More of What's Working: Measure and track your results
- Test Regularly: Repeat, improve and test your content as needed.
- Use Automation Tools: Use social media automation tools like Tailwind (see #10 below), to help you become more consistent and get more done in less time.
10. Bonus Tool: Automate Social Media Posting
There are tools you can use to automate social media posting so that your posts are generated without you having to be there manually posting day in and day out.
One of the tools we use is called Tailwind. It allows you to plan your posts on most of the popular platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.
Determine what you want to post, schedule your posts in Tailwind and move on with the rest of your day. You can schedule posts for a day, week, month or even longer. Get started with Tailwind for free and see if it's a good fit for your business.
Wrapping Up
Take action on these simple steps that can be done in an afternoon. Be sure to download your free checklist and get started today. You can also find more business building tools and resources by following us on social media using the buttons below.
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