The offices are closed and the workers are working from home. All your usual sales channels are closed. No conferences, exhibitions, or networking events to rely on to generate new leads. What do you, a successful marketers/salesman do in these dire times?
If you’re the kind of salesperson who still relies on the old school ways of sales, I’d say power to you but at the same time, let’s be reminded that your (and everyone else’s) backs are against the wall. In the midst of a pandemic, we are all struggling to continue our business as usual.
But not all is doom and gloom. Marketers have been doing fine without physical sales channels for years now. Both B2C and B2B companies have found immense success in generating leads and acquiring new clients online.
So if you’re unsure where to start, try out Facebook to generate new leads for you. Social media is one of the most visited sites on the internet and chances are your clients spend a lot of time browsing their feeds.
What is lead generation?
Lead generation is a process through which businesses acquire and nurture relationships with potential customers. In the online space, lead generation takes the form of acquiring email addresses, phone numbers, or even metadata.
Chances are you’ve signed up for a newsletter or monthly report on a business’s website at some point in your life. In which case, you are a ‘lead’ that has been acquired by the website and now part of an ongoing sales-funnel.
What are lead magnets and how do I use them to get more clients?
During my college years, local businesses used to provide students with a free coupon book. All you had to do was sign your name with your phone and email. I did not understand this back then but I was being pulled in by marketers trying to generate leads. Over the semester, I would receive countless emails with discounts and newsletters from said businesses.
Lead Magnets in the online space are pretty similar to the coupon books in my college years. They take the form of offers, valuable content, or trials that potential customers can benefit from.
A good example of an online lead magnet is a free webinar. You might have seen plenty of online trainers use webinars to pull in students and give them a free sample of their course.
Using Facebook to generate leads
Looking for an engaging platform to publish your magnets? Look no farther than Facebook. With over 2 Billion users in the platform, logging in for over 8 hours per day, there is no better place to share your content.
Facebook is not only one of the most engaging social media platforms out there, it is also one of the most effective platforms for advertising your lead generation magnets. Create a lead generation form in the ads manager and collect new leads to put in your sales funnel.
Create a Lead Generation Ad
Creating a lead generation ad or contact form on Facebook is the easiest way to generate leads. Head on over to the business manager and then your ads manager to create a new ad. You can start creating your lead gen form, by clicking on the “Lead Generation” objective. Fairly simple right?
Most of the set up for a contact form is the same as creating a regular ad. However, you will be prompted to create a new form after you’ve selected a creative for your ad. Ideally, you should offer an incentive to fill up the contact form in the headlines and then move on to writing down your questions. This should include information like Email and Phone numbers that you want in exchange for your content.
Use Videos in your marketing
Videos can also be a great way to get new leads. However, video ads provide a different set of data. We call this metadata or tracking information that can be used by Facebook to retarget your ads.
To collect leads from Videos, find out who’s taken interest in your videos. A good rule of thumb to identify people who are interested in your products is to see who’s viewed the video from start to finish or at least completed half of it. You can use this data to create a custom audience from the audience manager in your business manager tab and send them retargeted ads.
Facebook Live
This lockdown has forced a lot of business to not only close its operations but also it’s content creation. Content creators are facing an uphill battle creating content without the ability to go outside and take photos or film videos. This is why Live Streaming directly from your home has become such a popular medium for businesses to communicate with their customers.
But what marketers should also quickly realize is that live streaming is a great way to connect with your customers. Try opening up the platform to questions from prospective customers and answer questions in the chatbox. Go one step farther and provide additional content to the customer in exchange for his email address.
How to create Lead Magnets for Facebook
Whether you’ve opted to Go Live on Facebook or create a lead generation ad, platform selection is only half the battle. The next half, if you want to generate leads is content and this is where most businesses lose the war. Here are some examples of the types of content you can make for each of the platforms I have already discussed.
Create valuable content
For lead magnets to be attractive to your customer, it must add value to them in some form. Remember the coupon book we talked about? The coupon books provided attractive discounts that were enticing enough to exchange my phone number. Ask yourself, what can you provide that will compel clients to give up their information.
Discounts
Discounts and offers are some of the easiest and most effective incentives for people to give their contact information. But it does come with a hefty price tag.
Presentation Templates
As a marketer, I love to make beautiful presentations. I know that my fellow marketers feel the same. So when I am trying to find marketers in my industry, a presentation template can be a valuable asset for most marketers. Consider if templates are right for your industry. Alternatively, Email templates are also often sought after asset people from various industries look out for.
Provide Free Resources
We live in a world where data is the most valuable commodity. Do you have access to a market insight report that your users would love? Your customers might be looking for market insights into their business. Creating reports, a tally of important statistics, and novel findings can entice your customers to stay connected with your business.
Create Educational Videos
Educational videos can take multiple forms. From How-to videos to a walkthrough of some of your more advanced features. You can create these videos to provide immense value to customers.
How-to Videos
How-to videos are instructional in nature. If you are a software company, you can teach people how to use your software through videos or show new users how easy it is to use your platform.
Case Studies
Dive deeper into your area of expertise. One of the core elements of creating great content is to establish expertise, authority, and trust. Show all three traits by showing your past work, the challenges you’ve faced with old clients, and how you overcame them. The problem-challenge-solution model works amazingly to let your new clients know how you’ll be helping them with their own problems.
Host a Live Conference
Live Streaming is one of the most growing content mediums used by B2b companies during the lockdown. With people spending more time at home and social media, the demand for content is rising. Try these engaging live stream ideas for your next session.
Q & A Forum
Your potential clients might have objections to your product or service. That’s only normal. Start a conversation with customers by having an open discussion about your business and figuring out objections your client has to purchase your product.
Businesses are currently holding Q&A sessions which not only answer questions about their business but also tries to answer broader questions about the industry.
A case in point is the Futur, an online design academy that hosts regular sessions on branding. This Youtube channel regularly hosts sessions about getting new clients, branding, social media marketing, even though they are trying to sell design related courses.
Invite guests to participate in a panel
Panel discussions can be a phenomenal force in attracting new clients to your business. Based on the strength of your guests and what you’re discussing, you can attract customers from varying backgrounds to your business. The best panel discussions usually focus on a hot topic (like Covid-19 presently) and discuss useful and actionable tips for the viewer to follow through.
Conclusion
It’s not too late to join the revolution. Even if you haven’t tried to find clients online before, starting your online sales journey is much easier than you might think. Also, their forums, blogs, and youtube videos to help you learn everything from creating an ad on Facebook to set up a live stream. So start your sales journey today. Just like how remote work has caught on and people are refusing to go back to the office, maybe online lead generation might triumph over the old school ways.