Target Audience
Firstly, it is important to start with the basics: understanding your target audience. This can be achieved by monitoring sites in order to answer questions such as:
- Who is your target consumer? By profiling the different customer types that are interested in your product you will be able to refine your sales approach when nurturing leads.
- Where are they in the various social realms? Your target consumer could be found in blogs, forums or a specific webpage that is unknown to your company. By locating this online space you can take advantage of a potentially untapped marketplace.
- What are they saying about their needs? Discovering the needs of consumers will allow for you to decide if they are likely to be interested in purchasing your product/service. The customer may not know that your company provides a commodity that will help to satisfy their wants and needs.
- What are their thoughts on your business or your industry? Identifying the keywords that consumers use in relation to your brand/industry will help you define your sales strategies. This research could also highlight other key factors such as customer satisfaction and your influence in the marketplace.
With this information in hand you can now create a campaign with a greater specificity and ultimately find usable leads.
Social media monitoring tools look at vast amounts of information so being able to isolate a specific key phrase or location that your target audience uses can be essential in finding new consumers.
For instance, a publisher may discover that its novels are being discussed frequently on a specific forum, therefore having a presence on that site could well be beneficial for them.
Tailoring your approach to your own lead generation is essential when searching for potential clients.
Discounting Approaches and Setting Realistic Goals
By conducting research into target audiences you can now act strategically to uncover the best ways to find new leads and discount others. Ruling out ideas that do not fit the objectives of your lead generation campaign will save you both time and money.
For example, it would be unproductive for a business which has recently discovered that its brand appeals to a young female audience to advertise on a blog (or even offline) that is aimed at middle aged men.
Streamlining your processes when it comes to lead generation means that you can focus exclusively on those who are viable prospects.
When it comes to defining goals for lead generation via social media it is important to remember that successes may not be measured solely on purchases.
As a marketer your online campaigns may highlight other areas of interest for a customer, such as a report or an event.
The marketing and sales teams should be aligned in their expectations when it comes to lead generation through social listening.
Nurture your leads
Once you have discovered a process that works and leads are at your fingertips, it is essential that you handle them with care. It can take months of communication with a prospect before they are ready to purchase a product.
If leads are passed on to the sales team too quickly, they may feel pressured or rushed and become unresponsive. Instead, spend time qualifying leads and using the information you have found through market research to assess their needs.
Interacting with potential customers through social media in a conversational way will put them at ease and lead to better close rates.
Lead generation through social media tracking is an ongoing process that needs to be constantly monitored, so it is important that you are aware of the ever-changing landscape of the internet and your customer.
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