Using social media to get leads is not difficult. There are many consultants out there trying to make social media seem complicated, and almost unreachable.

Of course, they do! They are consultants, they want to make money!

But actually, it is quite simple. Below, I will outline a method that I know works for any company, small or big.

Social media first and foremost requires doing some groundwork. 

But I promise it’s not that difficult. Here it comes:

1. You need to have created a number of lead magnets. This is usually a piece of digital content, such as a free PDF, eBook, whitepaper, video etc. that your potential buyers download in exchange for their email address. The content can be based on some kind of knowledge that your company will have in-house. 
2. You need to have a number of good blog posts that link to these lead magnets.
3. Ideally, you should have collected these under an easily accessible roof - a good example is the company Tolpagorni that I work with, who put all their lead magnets under their “Product Management Knowledge” page. (I must say that I am extremely impressed with the people who work at this company.)
4. Have automatic flows that help in handling of leads.

If you have this basic groundwork in place, you are ready to prepare for your social media strategy. (If you don't, I would advise starting with this first, because this is the foundation that is necessary, not only to be successful with social media but also to be successful with all other marketing activities. If you haven't already done so, it might be time to invest in a good marketing automation system.)

Bonus: If you can get your employees to blog for example once a month, this is a great WIN for both you and them. More on that below in italics.

Social media preparation

Now it is time to make your specific preparations for social media. Follow this list:

1. Make sure all your employees update their profiles on the most popular social media channels (primarily LinkedIn). Have a 2-hour workshop with them where you first go through what they should convey on their social media profiles to appear as competent as possible. This is a win-win: win for your employees because they can enhance their careers, and win for you because you gain trust from your employees when they feel supported in their career advancement. 
2. In connection with step 1, make sure that all your employees’ profiles link to your knowledge page.
3. If you have been able to get your employees to blog regularly (as I wrote in the “Bonus” section above), make sure they link to a page where all their blog posts are located! Another win-win: They look better, and your company gets promoted.
4. Make sure to gather contacts in a list that all your employees can access, ideally in some central location, for example in your CRM or marketing automation system. Each employee should have their own list of contacts with whom they have the best relationship. 
5. Review all groups (e.g. LinkedIn groups) and forums that are relevant to you. This can be done in a 2-hour workshop. Then divide the groups between all your employees based on the employees’ areas of competence and interest. List all groups and the employee who is responsible for that group somewhere.

Now you’re ready! Now it is time to actually start promoting.

And to do that, let's put in place a process that will immediately get you more followers and readers.

From now on, share ALL blog posts on social media

 

Agree with all employees (e.g. during your initial social media workshop) that from now on, every employee should subscribe to your blog. Make sure everyone subscribes right then and there!

Then agree with everyone that from now on, the following will happen:

Every time a new blog post pops up, everyone at the company should automatically share it on their social media channels: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

In addition, hire someone who is responsible for your social media promotion (yourself?). This person’s job is to share every blog post on your company’s official channels. (Having a FunnelBud account makes this even easier. Your employees can connect their social accounts in FunnelBud and one person manages scheduling to all of them at once.)

Make sure that this process is followed. I promise you will see results, quickly. What will happen is that more people will read every blog post you write, and a certain proportion of these will become leads (if you did the basic work I mentioned in the first paragraph).

After a while, you will see that you suddenly have a spike in the number of visits. Someone who would never have seen your post before will have read it, though it was interesting, and shared it with someone they know. 

The longer you do this, the stronger the effect will be. Be persistent and continue following the process: Blogging, sharing, blogging, sharing!

And now we come to the very core of your social media work.

Create a social media checklist and a regular social media hour

Put one hour every two weeks or once per month in all your employees’ calendars. Call it the “Social Media Hour”. During this hour, everyone at the company should go through their social media checklist. 

The checklist should be a document, and it should include the following step-by-step guide that all employees should be able to go through during this hour:

Your social media checklist

Step 1: Maintain your contact list

1. Open your personal contact list (the one you created in your CRM or marketing automation tool). 
2. Review your list to see if you can contact or share knowledge with someone on your list. See if they have commented or liked any of your posts and email them asking if they would like to have lunch or coffee to stay in touch, or send them the link to any of your lead magnets or blog posts that might be of interest to that person right now.

Step 2: Share information to any of the groups assigned to you

1. Go to any of the groups assigned to you (based on the list you jointly created in the preparatory steps). 
2. Write a post in the group related to one of your lead magnets and link to that lead magnet. 

Step 3: Participate in group discussion

1. Read the posts and discussions in your assigned groups. 
2. Comment, share your knowledge and experience, or link to any of your lead magnets or blog posts. 

Why this social media strategy works

This social media strategy works. You don’t need anything complicated, you do not have to pay expensive consultants, and you don’t have to worry. If you do the basic job and then follow these processes you will see great results.

Note the magic behind it all here:

1. Your job is to make your employees look as good as possible. This creates a win-win. You get good employees and your employees advance in their careers. Since they have come there with your help, they will be more loyal to you. 
2. Then you want to help them spread the knowledge they all have as much as possible. 
3. Your employees’ profiles link to your lead magnets and blog posts. 
4. When your employees look good, people get curious and read their profiles, which link to your lead magnets and blog posts. 
5. With the above processes, your blog posts get spread as much as possible. 
6. All blog posts lead to your lead magnets.  

And if you do marketing in an intelligent way, you know that the purpose of your lead magnets is to give your readers a few new lenses to see the world through. This gives you not only leads but also dedicated followers and more likely buyers.

Does this sound interesting to you and you would like to find out more? Let’s have a free and non-binding chat!