Social media continues to be one of the most cost effective methods of reaching out to new clients and generating leads. Studies have revealed that the average online surfer maintains accounts on five social media sites and checks them daily. The combined total of people who have accounts on at least one site is expected to top 2.3 billion members by the end of the year. Most people will spend nearly two hours on their social media accounts each day, looking for information and entertainment. Every site benefits advertisers in some way by making it easier for them to reach more people, get more attention and track the responses their ad campaigns receive.

Marketing With Twitter

Twitter users are an especially active audience. 100 million people log in daily to their accounts on this site. Businesses effectively using Twitter have stated that approximately 29 percent of their offline sales can be traced to their advertising campaigns shared here. Periscope, a convenient app created and owned by this popular site, has made instantly getting noticed easier than ever. Lead generation using Periscope is already effectively working for numerous types of businesses. It allows anyone who uses the app to live stream their own videos and save them on their account for additional viewing later. Along with this they can insert searchable bios and follow other Periscope users as well. The streaming videos, known as scopes, can be shared with followers daily or whenever an updated video is created. All of this is in addition to the tweets, video ads and photos and hashtags that can be added and shared every day.

Using Pinterest Effectively

Many people were surprised to see the lasting power of this simple site. Not only does Pinterest have a huge amount of loyal members, these same people are some of the busiest shoppers online. Research has shown that they consistently spend more money than Facebook or Twitter members in relation to the items they search and repin. Advertising is basic because the site currently does not provide a lot of variety for lead generation. The basic method is by posting interesting content though pins and making certain that there are links from there to the landing page of the business. It is possible to add website and contact information on company profiles and boards, but it is less likely to be noticed than it would be in a pin. Users of this site spend nearly all of their time searching pins and pinning information of their own rather than reviewing profiles.

Maximizing Instagram Accounts

Photo sharing accounts were also considered a passing social media trend that would eventually fade away, but Instagram critics have been proven to be wrong. Instagram is a wonderful companion tool to blogs, website content and the wordy posts of other sites. It is the visual attention-getter that social media users consistently respond to. There are a number of ways to maximize the attention received on Instagram without saying a word. Using clear, bright and artful images of company employees and products is an important start. Sharing photos of charitable events or work the company has participated in and interacting with other similar businesses are also effective methods of lead generation with Instagram. Since Instagram users also follow and post hashtags, this can be useful as well. To be effective, experts suggest making hashtags that can be related specifically to the company, not just to be entertaining.

Starting Facebook Campaigns

Every site has something to make generating leads easier, but Facebook is probably one of the most versatile for this type of advertising. Communicating directly with current and potential customers is simple on Facebook. The profile page itself makes it possible to display numerous eye-catching photos and post videos. In addition, companies can purchase ads on the site that can be directed to other members that match the targeted demographic. Their tools and trackers help business owners to see how effective their campaigns are and what people are viewing most frequently. Consistent posts can put companies on the feeds of people following their page. This makes it easier for others to become familiar with a company because they see them regularly, and it will increase the potential of something capturing their interest long enough for them to want to learn more. Facebook pages can include all the contact information a potential client would need as well as a call to action created by the business. Linking posts from other social media sites will make it easy to provide a vast amount of information and entertainment and potentially encourage people to follow the other accounts too.

Companies who want to thrive online must focus on more than just starting a website and initiating email marketing campaigns. It is almost always more affordable getting leads using social media than any other advertising form. Business owners can manage these accounts on their own or hire a social media manager to do it for them. It can be time consuming to update and stay involved with all of the sites available, but those who do put in the effort will be rewarded. Lead generation is the main reason for beginning social media accounts for a business, but it is certainly not the only benefit they offer. Using social media effectively means also staying in contact with current customers, reading reviews and staying updated on trends that other companies are profiting from. As a business reputation increases and the number of followers, friends or members expand it will improve the potential each company has for generating even more leads.