Does social media generate leads?
These are my experiences. The answer to the headline question is “yes and no.” Let me explain by talking about a few different ways we’ve converted social media activity in new business. Later, when I have more time, I’ll talk briefly about a few things that didn’t work.
TWITTER FOR LEADS? Personally, no. We have seen zero new business from Twitter but like the rest of the world, I’m holding out because it looks promising. On the other hand, a number of people that I follow have subscribed to my newsletter and RSS feed. I’ve connected offline with three prospects via Twitter but right now they are only in the early stages of the sales pipeline. The problem I have with Twitter is that most of the activity could be considered “preaching to the converted.”
LINKEDIN FOR LEADS? Personally, yes. Without a doubt, LinkedIn is a great tool for developing and cultivating new leads and new business. It is even more valuable for researching prospects. If forced, I would say that spending time mastering LinkedIn is by far the best investment we have made in our social media activity.
FACEBOOK FOR LEADS? Personally, no and yes. So far, no new business generated from Facebook. However, I’m connected to a few prospects on both LinkedIn and Facebook. Probably more important, I’m connected to quite a few clients on Facebook. Connecting with clients on Facebook makes it easier to share stories and photos of babies and puppies. We also use Facebook to research and monitor the weekend debauchery of prospective employees. So is Facebook a good use of time? Yes. It is a good nurturing tool.
I’ve received calls from clients that want to outsource their “twittering.” I’ve warned them that outsoucing this part of your social media persona is a little bit like trying to outsource your social life.
Just an observation but I think the people that are using these tools most effectively are the ones that can walk the tightrope between sales and marketing with relative ease. The people that function as true advocates, that are empowered to say things online that maybe slightly left of appropriate and the people who are good at building relationships are the best users of social media and the ones that generate the most leads using social media.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
While it is tempting to drill down into specific social networking sites to directly measure where your leads come from, it’s essential to look at the bigger picture. Take a billboard, for example. They are everywhere but it is unlikely that someone will see something that interests them in that exact moment to the point where they pull the car over and dial the number. However, that does not mean that that billboard has not influenced the person. Social media like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are the billboards of the web. It’s unlikely that someone will see a tweet or your Facebook page and instantly sign up. But that does not mean they aren’t tuning into your signal.
Another important thing to note, which specifically relates to Twitter, is that interaction and conversation is key. If you are “preaching” anything, to the converted or not, you are misusing the site. I think it can be a very powerful networking tool if you engage people in meaningful conversation. Eventually, you will meet someone or someone who has a friend who knows a guy…that needs your services. But you need to dedicate a significant amount of time to nurturing this aspect of your social media, which leads into my next point.
Outsourcing Twitter can be a great move for companies who don’t have the resources, time or know-how to maintain the account on their own (and few do). If a company trusts an agency to be educated enough about said company’s services and/or products to generate marketing collateral or serve in a public relations capacity, why not to represent the company on Twitter? There is a danger in blindly outsourcing this task to an autonomous agency or person. I think there needs to be a steady flow of communication between the person/agency responsible for the Twitter aspect and the company but it can be a great strategy for companies to employ, especially when it weaves intricately throughout the other media related to the company.
I agree Ben. My experience has been LinkedIn has surpassed all the other social media venues.