How to Get More Qualified B2B Leads With Social Media

What better access to qualified B2B leads is there compared to social media? With over five billion users, more than half of the world’s population is on social media. Your ideal customer is likely scrolling through social media at this very moment. No other set of platforms can guarantee such a large, diverse, engaged audience. 

Why use social media for B2B lead generation?

On top of the massive audience on social media, each platform has built-in tools to help you reach qualified leads to ensure you’re not wasting resources. More than 70% of B2B marketers have reported that social media has helped boost sales and achieve growth. As social media has become integrated into our daily lives, there’s no better platform to reach your audience. 

Which social media platforms to use for getting qualified B2B leads?

LinkedIn may be the first platform that comes to mind when discussing B2B marketing. However, other platforms can be equally or even more effective depending on your strategy and needs. 

Since maintaining a presence on social media can take a lot of time and effort, it’s important to understand the value of each platform and weigh your options. 

• LinkedIn – As mentioned, LinkedIn is the first social media platform that comes to mind for B2B marketing because of its business and employment-focused nature. It’s mainly a job search and professional social networking platform, so you will likely find your C-Suite decision makers active on Linkedin. The platform currently has one billion users. 

Nearly 80% of B2B marketers consider LinkedIn as the most important social media platform for B2B content. 

• Facebook—Among social media platforms, Facebook has the most users, at over three billion. While Facebook isn’t business-focused like LinkedIn, it has existing tools created specifically for B2B marketing, such as lead generation ads, powerful Facebook analytics tools, and highly active Facebook Communities. 

• Instagram—Instagram has over two billion monthly active users, second only to Facebook in terms of audience size. The platform is popular for its visual nature, making it a great tool for capturing your audience’s attention.

As part of Meta’s family of apps, Instagram marketers also enjoy the same lead generation and ad tools as Facebook.  Only 33% of B2B businesses are on Instagram, making it a great opportunity for marketers to get ahead. Using an Instagram story viewer for competitor research can provide valuable insights into what strategies work for others in your industry.

8 Ways to get more qualified leads on social media 

Everyone knows that creating high-quality content on social media can help your brand stand out and attract more leads. But it’s easier said than done. To help you, we’ve listed eight easy-to-follow steps you can use across all your social media platforms to find and qualify B2B leads. 

1. Optimize social media profiles for lead generation

Each social media platform has its nuances. Here’s how you can optimize your profile across all your channels: 

LinkedIn: 

An optimized LinkedIn profile is a complete profile. This includes adding a detailed and thorough overview and description, choosing the right industry, and adding message buttons and relevant links to your page. LinkedIn also allows you to add a lead generation form to collect leads from your page easily. 

Facebook: 

Facebook’s About section is not as highlighted as other social media platforms, but it’s your chance to add your business category, contact details, and relevant links to help you capture leads. You can add a link to a lead capture form in your profile’s Website and Social Links section. 

Instagram: 

Many business owners fail to realize the importance of their Instagram bios. Adding keywords to your bio can help you rank organically on search, helping qualified leads find your business even before they know your brand name. You have the option to add keywords to your description or profile name. 

Additionally, you can add contact buttons (email or phone) so profile visitors can immediately take action, which results in business growth. Use the space in your bio link to add a lead generation form, as it’s the only part of your profile that allows a clickable link. Don’t forget to add a CTA on your description so profile visitors know what to do. 

2. Promote your lead magnet offers actively

Leads may not give away their contact details and personal information as freely as they think. Lead magnet offers such as newsletters, case studies, company swag, white papers, or other useful resources can boost your lead collection efforts.

If you’re a new business, investing in ads and paid marketing efforts is essential to collect as many qualified leads as possible. Otherwise, it’s nearly impossible to rely on organic page visitors. 

SEO software company Ahrefs regularly hosts workshops and educational seminars to promote its products and attract valuable leads and potential customers. The software company promotes its workshop on its pages, accompanied by a signup link where you’ll need to fill in your contact details. 

Identify potential prospects and interact with them

You should have an ideal client or target customer in mind as a business. While posting on your pages and running lead-generation ads can help you attract your target audience, sometimes the best approach is direct interaction. 

You can initiate the interaction by liking and commenting on their posts, making your prospect aware of your business. You can also send a direct message to your prospect. 

Here’s a simple template: 

Hey (lead name)! (Your name) here from (company), a (describe what your company is + industry). We’ve been working with companies like (insert company of prospect) to help (insert what you offer). 

I’d love to schedule a call to discuss how (your solution) can work for your business. Are you available for a (specify duration) chat? (insert relevant schedule link)

If you’re using LinkedIn, it would be an excellent idea to interact with prospects using a key person’s personal account (CEO, Sales Director, etc.). LinkedIn business accounts aren’t allowed to initiate messages. 

Collaborate with relevant B2B social media influencers

Influencer marketing isn’t just for B2C companies; B2B decision-makers are more likely to take action if industry experts recommend your product. 86% of B2B brands consider their influencer marketing campaigns successful.  

Tech giant IBM regularly features industry leaders on its social media pages: 

Tapping the right influencer can help boost your credibility and increase customer trust, drawing in more qualified leads. 

Run Q&A live stream sessions with niche experts

B2B products require more explanation, especially since they have higher stakes than regular purchases. Free Q&A events and live stream sessions can help educate your audience about your product and build trust. 

SAAS company Salesforce hosts regular talks to introduce new technology and educate audiences about updates and features. These talks are live-streamed or reposted on its social media pages. 

Set up and run lead-generation ad campaigns

LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram all have lead generation ads that are easy to set up and come with pre-filled forms so your leads can easily submit them with minimal effort. Lead generation ad campaigns can help you gather a large number of qualified leads while also helping you understand who exactly your audience is. 

If you run a lead generation ad on LinkedIn, the form will automatically be populated with information from the user’s account and can be submitted with one click. 

Feature customer testimonials and case studies

Customer testimonials can boost your credibility as a business. Research shows that 72% of customers trust a business more after reading positive reviews. Posting reviews on your social media pages will help attract leads and lead to sales. Now that everything’s online, a customer review is as good as a personal recommendation.

Messaging platform Slack features customer testimonials on its Instagram page as part of its regular content. 

Customer testimonials with names and photos make the content appear more credible and human. But if you opt for featuring customer video testimonials, you can stand ahead of your competitors.

Provide social media customer service 

Today’s customers expect instant gratification, which social media provides. As long as you have a social media page, your customers expect you to accommodate their queries and issues on the platform. Providing B2B customer service on social media instantly boosts lead satisfaction and increases your chances of converting to customers. 

If you’re unresponsive on social media, your brand image can suffer, and you may quickly lose valuable leads. To help you improve response time, you can set automatic replies to frequently asked questions (FAQs) on your pages. 

Leads or customers who message Mailchimp can view FAQs by clicking the menu. 

To collect more qualified B2B leads through direct messaging on social media, you can add a “How do I sign up for your newsletter?” FAQ to your menu or an option to receive updates from your business. 

In closing

In the past few years, social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram have become a great source for finding more qualified B2B leads. Not only do your prospects actively use social media for B2B discovery, but they also want to communicate with businesses and keep up with their updates on social media. This makes it easier for B2B companies to find qualified B2B leads and turn them into clients.