by Jeanette LeBlanc
Social media is not just for cute kid pictures and funny cat videos—but you already knew that. What you might not know is that you may have leads hiding among your social media followers.
Your social media audience is likely the most engaged audience you have access to online, and knowing how to target your social media followers by their demographic data will allow you to find those leads and funnel them into your sales process.
If you can target your social media followers by specific demographic segments, you’ll probably start to see a higher engagement rate with your posts, and then more traffic to your site. You can even build out landing pages that speak to that demographic and social media platform specifically to help grow your list from those social media leads.
Of course, this doesn’t mean those visitors will give you their information immediately. If they haven’t had much contact with your brand beyond a few social media updates, it might take a little longer than you’d like for them to fill out your lead capture form.
Yes, it’s possible that your visitor was just not that into you. However, there are many other reasons that their visit did not lead to a conversion.
- They are researching options and have not yet made a decision.
- They were multitasking and got distracted.
- Your website had technical issues and they were not able to complete your contact form or opt-in.
- Your website is not properly optimized for conversion or didn’t properly explain your value proposition.
This is where you can implement social retargeting, which is when you target users who visited your site with ads on social platforms. This is so effective because, after they visit your site and later log onto a social platform, there will be an ad for your product or service.
Social retargeting works when you place a retargeting pixel on some or all parts of your website. Basically, you use cookies on them, and when they visit the social network you’re running the retargeting campaign on, they’ll see your ads.
It might sound confusing, but it’s actually pretty easy to set up. If you’re just starting out and want to learn more, you can check out this article from Moz, an inbound marketing and SEO firm, which explains what retargeting is, and this article from Social Control which explains social retargeting works specifically with Facebook.
How to get your leads out of hiding
Social retargeting has some serious benefits:
- New lead generation
A first time visitor may not fill out a form or send you an email—but that does not mean they are not interested in what you have to offer. Retargeting allows multiple additional opportunities for conversion without relying solely on their memory to revisit their site. Retargeting means you can remind them. - Nurturing of existing prospects
As your leads move through the process of research and decision-making, keeping your content and offerings in front of them can help maximize the chance that they will return to you when ready to purchase. - Improved traffic and website conversions
With the amount of offerings available today, even within a specific niche, a visitor may find their way to your site once, and despite liking what they see, never quite find their way back. Social retargeting maximizes the chances that they will return to your site or targeted landing page, and ultimately convert. - Increased brand awareness
Although a lead may be nowhere near ready to purchase, social retargeting keeps them aware of you and your brand. Especially in the case of businesses with a longer sales cycle, social retargeting ads can become an important part of creating wider brand awareness and a part of your long-term nurture process. - Bolstering email-marketing campaigns
Mirroring your current email marketing campaign to a custom social audience composed of those on your email list can increase conversions. By keeping the ad visuals and copy similar to that of your email campaign, those on your list may be more likely to visit your landing page and sign up or purchase.
Social Retargeting Options
- Offer a lead magnet like an e-book, free course, or webinar.
- Create a limited time offer.
- Offer a complimentary discovery consultation for new clients.
- Share a favorite or popular piece of content.
Dedicate some time to learn as much as you can about social retargeting, or hire an expert to help. Create a budget and some revenue goals to test key content for conversions and get to work.
Even if you don’t want to go too deep in social retargeting, your followers can be a potential hidden goldmine of leads to help you grow your list and, ultimately, make more sales.
As a long time entrepreneur, Jeanette leverages her experience and passion for small business to help guide and elevate her entrepreneurial minded peers. Jeanette’s writing and photography have been published internationally, both in print and online. When she is not madly typing the draft of her next blog post, Jeanette can be found helping other entrepreneurs unleash their writing voice, sipping almond milk lattes in downtown hipster coffee shops, enjoying early morning desert hikes and spending time with her family.
