Whenever we think we have social media defined, it surprises us with new dimensions.

While social media is typically known as an online plane where people go to discuss hot topics, interests and express all different types of opinions, it has another spin to it. Straying away from the typical, social media has proven to be a vital platform for lead generation!

You can do much more than just listen to what your existing target audience are saying, how they’re feeling or what they’re interested in. You can actually go the extra mile and reach and acquire new customers through social media!

Social media is a win-win for brands and consumers:

• For consumers, it’s reported that 76% of buyers are willing and ready to have a conversation on social media (hubspot)
• · For brands, half of marketers who’ve been using social media for at least two years have testified that their salves have improved. (Hubspot)

Today, we share with you three different ways you can use social listening to get new customers:

1) Keep your eye on the prize

The main idea behind lead generation is getting contacts for online users that show actual interest in your products. One of way of getting their attention is by running contests!

Bear in mind that the contest prize has to be both valuable and relevant to incite the right audience to participate. If you opt for a generic prize like a free iphone or a trip, anyone will be interested, getting you leads that are not valuable. However, tailoring prizes that are relevant to your audience will help mitigate this problem. For instance, if you’re a cosmetics brand, giving away a month’s supply of products would certainly stir the attention of people who are interested in makeup or your products in specific.

There are two methods to go about:

1) Like , Share or Retweet

Macy's

To promote their fitness clothing, Macy’s held a contest supported by weekly fitness tips. Entrants had to just ‘like” the page. The grand prize was always quite fitting, a $1,000 gift card from Macy's for a new fitness wardrobe.

Macy’s created a whole campaign around fitness for the contest (including fitness tips and videos). This supports Macy's brand, as a broad-based, lifestyle enhancing retailer who is willing to educate its consumer.

2) Click through to a landing page:

This method will make participants go the extra mile, filtering them in the process. This method will lead to fewer entrants but will get you more qualified leads

Sephora

Sephora celebrated their 15th birthday with a competition on Facebook. Entrants only had to complete an entry form for a chance to win. They offered the winner a year’s supply of their Surf product!

Sephora's contest is well tailored to their hip fashion conscious consumer base. The grand prize is valuable yet relevant to attract all the right leads and reinforce their brand image.

2) Thinking outside the box

A major logistics player used social media to actually track down potential customers.

Like many other big companies, this client depended on a large staff and salespeople to generate leads. The company had offices in every country with allocated teams that work on generating leads from different directories. Yet, the company was hoping to expand in a specific segment in the Middle East.

Instead of allocating significant financial resources and the time of dozens of employees, they opted for a new approach. The client partnered with Crowd Analyzer to understand the target through analyzing the methods and keywords sellers and resellers use to reach customers. Queries and filters were added according to the results of the research of the previously conducted.

By identifying key hash-tags that his prospects use, the logistics client was able to track down more than 2500 potential customers through social media!

3) Be the Thought Leadership people need

The best way to make yourself relevant and stand out, is offering your audience content that has real world value.

When you establish yourself as a though leader in your industry, you market yourself as an expert in your domain not just another company selling a product.

Becoming a though leader mainly depends on showcasing your strengths. You highlight your expertise and share valuable insights that offer a different and enriching perspective on chosen topics.

When you prove yourself to be a reliable and valuable source in your area of work, customers will hold you in higher regards. Accordingly customers will perceive you as trustworthy and knowledgeable source hence they naturally be more inclined towards your products and services.

This proclamation is supported with the numbers. According to LinkedIn, over 62% of B2B buyers respond to salespeople that connect with relevant insights and opportunities.

You can promote though leadership through webinars which are great tool as they support lead generation software. You can create customized landing pages, registration pages and email blasts with forms that capture lead information

Webinars are one of the most effective communication methods as they’re value is perceived as higher than any other form of free contact. The conversion rates speak for themselves ; Kissmetrics claimed a 22% conversion rate from 77 webinars alone while Adobe claimed a 19% conversion rate.

It’s time you revamp how you use social media, get the maximum utility from social channels and start growing your customer base today!