How to Generate Leads from Instagram
When utilized correctly, Instagram can be so much more than
a brand-building and content sharing platform. It can be an interactive
connection between you and your audience. It gives you power to generate more
leads for your business.
This is not a venture that should be taken lightly. Being
over-promotional with your content and failing to make genuine connections will
hurt you in the long run. Lead generation requires a clearly defined marketing
strategy with careful planning and consideration, but anyone can do it! Here
are some ideas to help you get more sales lead from your Instagram efforts.
Generate a Facebook
Look-Alike Audience
Facebook has been around longer than Instagram, and you’ve
likely been using it for longer as well. Therefore, chances are your Facebook
audience is more developed than your Instagram audience. You can use this to
your advantage using
look alike audiences.
This feature lets you target users on Instagram who are
interested in similar things as your existing customers. It looks at those who
have engaged with your Instagram profile, saved ads or posts, engaged with your
content or ads, visited your profile, or reached out to your business in any
way.
You can generate high-quality leads because these audiences
are more likely to do business with you.
Optimize Your Bio
Link
You only get one link on Instagram, so use it wisely! Link your
profile bio to a landing page on your website that’s used for lead generation.
You can then direct your audience to your bio in each of your promotional posts
or ads. You can change this link at any time to match your current ad campaign.
Keep in mind that a poorly designed bio likely won’t entice
even your most interested customers to tap your bio link. You need a good
profile image, a well-written bio with details about who you are and what you
do, and a reason for them to seek more.
Consider using the down-arrow emoji to draw users’ eyes to
the bio link. For example, on the last line you could say “Free demo here” with
the arrow emoji at the end of the sentence. It’s an excellent way to entice
users to click!
Post Lots of
Instagram Stories Daily
Instagram Stories is a goldmine when it comes to lead
generation. More than 500,000 people are logging in every day to hear from
their friends and favorite brands. With a well-worded story encouraging
visitors to swipe up or head to your bio, you can potentially get hundreds of
interactions from your audience. As you work
on Instagram Stories lead generation, here are a few things that can help:
- Post Around
10 Stories a Day: According to research, the sweet spot for businesses is
posting between five and 15 times per day. More or less can lead to a
significant drop in views, either because they forgot about you or because
they’re annoyed that you’re posting too much.
- Spread It
Out: Don’t post all your daily stories at once. Pop back on throughout the
day to share something new and engaging with your followers. Each time you do,
your story will jump to first in line on your users’ stories, increasing the
chance that they’ll engage.
- Quality
Is Always Best: It’s important to post several times per day for optimum
lead generation, but if you honestly don’t have anything of quality to say,
it’s better to post nothing at all. You don’t want to lose followers because of
a lame story shamelessly promoting your product without adding value.
- Follow
the 80/20 Rule: You’re probably familiar with the concept that only 20
percent of your content should be promotional while the rest is simply
value-adding and brand-building. Use this rule of thumb with your stories.
You’ll gain a lot more leads by establishing obvious value without constant
promotion.
Tell More Stories
Want to get more people to stop during their mindless scroll
and engage with your content? Tell a story. This is something that no human can
resist, and if the story is relevant to them in some way, they’re almost
certain to want to learn more.
“Stories can be generated from many different avenues. You could tell about what’s going on behind the scenes, how you decided to start your business, individuals you’ve met along the way, the process of choosing a new product, or even what you were thinking about while you ate breakfast this morning,” says Deep Patel, founder of Brandmates. “Paint a picture for your audience in each of your posts, and the story will naturally come out.”
You can also tell fan stories, tagging them in your content.
Give a little insight about a fan who used your product successfully. If
possible, allow them to tell the story in their own words. This creates
authenticity and social proof, encouraging even more followers to reach out to
learn more.
Ask for
User-Generated Content
Another great way to get social proof for your company is
through user-generated content. This is unpaid content posted by your fans. It
might be photos of them using your products, stories of how your services
helped them, or an every-day story with your branded hashtag.
User-generated content is amazing for encouraging other
users to reach out and learn more about your brand. Customers are more likely
to seek more information if they see other everyday people benefiting from what
you have to offer.
To encourage more user-generated content, try one of the following strategies:
- Host a photo contest.
- Create a branded hashtag asking users to post
related content. - Highlight existing fan photos and posts that
relate to your brand. - Offer a promotion or discount for those who post
content tagging your brand. - Host and event where users are likely to take
and post photos with your hashtag.
Any of these strategies can lead to more homespun content
surrounding your brand. As a result, consumers will naturally reach out in
search of more information and value from your brand.