Lead generation might be a top goal for B2B marketers in 2015, but social media isn’t where they’re expecting to bring in qualified prospects, according to a new BrightTalk report.
In fact, social media and print advertising ranked the lowest on a list of 15 different lead generation tactics. A full 30 percent said these are ineffective lead gen tools and just 12 percent said they’re highly successful. On the contrary, email marketing was cited as the top tool, with 55 respondents saying it’s effective.
In an era when 7 out of 10 people utilize social media (and the average social media user is active 2 hours and 25 minutes daily), this is unsettling data. Marketers who consider social media ineffective for lead gen need to reconsider their current strategies and revamp what they’re doing to both promote the brand and nurture people to take the next step to learn more.
Where marketers ARE finding success on social media
To understand where B2Bs can make improvements, it’s important to identify what that 12 percent are doing right. Of those who said social media is somewhat or very effective for lead gen, 79 percent use LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is the most ‘business-driven’ of the social network landscape, where professionals are looking for connections and business leads. So it makes sense that this is where B2Bs are focusing their efforts and noticing measurable returns. However, there’s the counterpoint that they might be missing opportunities on other networks or not noticing the impact they’re having because – by nature – they’re not ‘professional networks.’
On LinkedIn, most marketers said they find success through:
- Publishing content
- Participating in group discussions
- Sharing status updates
Want to know what a successful LinkedIn strategy looks like? Check out our Content for Social eBook to see how one of our clients used Group Discussions to generate 14 percent more conversions through social media.
4 Reasons why people might overlook your social channels:
In order to get leads from social media, you need to engage a community and build up brand awareness first. Here are a few reasons why people won’t be interested in your brand on social:
1. YOU NEVER POST
If someone checks out your social page and notices you haven’t shared an update in several months, the likelihood of that person following you is pretty slim.
2. YOU POST TOO MUCH
On the flip side, if you’re posting so much that you’re clogging up your viewers’ timelines, they’re going to get sick of your brand and unfollow.
Quick fix: Scale back and share different content on various channels. Find out what that particular audience is most interested in, and then focus solely on that topic. OR if you want to post frequently, try targeting posts to specific audiences (this feature is available on both LinkedIn and Facebook.)
3. YOUR CONTENT APPEARS TO BE BORING
If the content you share isn’t visually appealing and the headlines don’t engage your readers, you probably won’t be building an audience or generating leads.
Quick fix: Make sure to share a mix of visuals (including GIFs and videos), and change article headlines to be more catchy, social media-friendly titles.
4. YOU DON’T RESPOND
Nothing irks a person more than when they try to get in touch with a brand representative and are met with silence. And the sad truth is that 87 percent of customers’ posts (including customer service requests) go unanswered.
Ref: Brafton