Saturday, October 18, 2014

Generating Leads With Social Media - Top Strategies Used by Consumer Data Provision


In today’s world, internet and social media is increasingly becoming a popular and wide spread means of marketing as well as business promotion, whether it is for a B2B or a B2C business set-up. However, just a mere presence on social media would not suffice. It is important to ensure that your business profile on social media is widely exercised and promoted using the right tools and techniques so as to ensure success.

Following are some of the most recognised and successful techniques  used by consumer data provision companies for generating leads through the social media:

1.        Contests: Contests are the most popular tool of lead generation, particularly amongst the B2C business set-ups and can be operated from the most basic and user-friendly social network websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The essential idea behind contests is to make the communication more interactive with the customers by asking them to participate with their life experiences and testimonials regarding use of your products or services. However, consumer data provision companies believe that the important thing regarding contests is offering great incentives and prizes, which would motivate the customers from participating.   

2.        Content Curation: Content Curation is a tool for generating leads using the content already available on the social media and presenting it in an innovative manner. This is essentially followed by the business set-ups which find it hard to generate original content every now and then. However, while doing so, consumer data provision companies suggest that businesses must not forget the golden rule associated with social media publishing, which is to maintain a consistent content posting speed and quality.

3.        Social Media Groups and Communities: Groups and communities on social media like Facebook and Google are not only fruitful for B2C marketers as it is one of the best mediums to interact one-to-one with your audience. They not only make you more aware of potential target customers but also introduce you to people and/or professionals from your trade itself.

4.        Infographics: Although infographics is one of the most user-friendly tool for social media lead generation, it is also a challenging one and not easy to accomplish. However, consumer dataprovision companies believe that if executed in a proper manner, it can prove to be very successful for all forms of business set-ups. Essentially, it is a visual compilation and arrangement of relevant information put across in an interesting manner, using graphs, schedules, charts and pictograms. 

5.        Video: Videos are again a powerful means of lead generation, using social media. However, like infographics, videos too need to be executed in a proper manner. An amateur video made in an unprofessional manner is least likely to serve your purpose through the social media. You can even prepare a video and graphic combination on SlideShare and thereafter, have it uploaded on social media websites for powerful marketing.  consumer data provision suggest to hire professional companies to make the video and let it get viral to gain audience.

These strategies suggested by  consumer data provision yield result only if the campaign is designed keeping the target audience in mind. So, be very careful.


Thursday, October 16, 2014

B2B Data Provision - Social Media Lead Generation

Contrary to what is generally associated with a B2B business set-up, the B2B business requires equal amount of marketing and targeting efforts as in a B2C business set-up. The most fundamental difference, however, between the two still remains, is the target audience. Unlike B2C business marketing, a B2B business set-up is more focused on professionals and traders belonging to the same industry or business field. Thus, the efforts need to be targeted.

As a crux of the matter, even B2B marketing is required to be as rigorous as a B2C marketing, particularly when done through the online medium. Earlier businessmen believed that social media is only for B2C lead generation, but experts have shown that social media can equally be used for B2B business set-ups. Following are a few tools that are used by B2B data provision companies to generate B2B leads:

1.        Building Strong Network: Creating strong networking in your related trade and business is not only crucial but is also one of the keys to successful marketing. Affection, interaction and time are the three most essential ingredients of a strong networking system, which a marketer must offer when looking at generating leads, particularly through the online medium. Social media offers the ideal platform to marketers to generate leads over the internet. You form connections, nurture them, facilitate sharing of vital information and knowledge and gradually work towards building strong business bonds with these leads.

2.        Content Sharing: One of the best means for increasing lead generation online used by B2B data provision companies is through publishing and sharing informative content with people from related trade and business. However, while working on the content to be shared through the social media, it must be kept in mind that the content should be more solution-oriented than product-oriented, which would prove to be more beneficial for the people reading the content. As a matter of practice, you must indulge in more third-party content rather than own product related content, which would inculcate more trust in the minds of the readers. Once the lead is generated, you can slowly work towards achieving business targets through them.

3.        Buy Social Ads: Another way of generating leads through the social media used by B2B data provision companies is by setting up a means of paid advertising. Posting ads of social networking websites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus etc., are some of the means to divert traffic to your website website. 

4.        Social Media Outreach: Social media outreach to influential people is another way in which B2B business set ups can facilitate lead generation online. This essentially entails building a rapport and relationship with most influential personalities and/or organizations in your business trade or field using the social networking websites. For instance, on Twitter, you can engage interaction by re-tweeting, favoriting and replying to the tweets of such influential persons. Even on LinkedIn, you can engage interaction by joining same communities and groups as such influential persons and facilitating conversations and discussions with them. Over a period of time and gradually, you can then indulge in private chats and email conversations so as to initiate business development.