Most businesses understand the value of a quality lead. Although it would be great if people would visit your website once and then make a purchase, that’s simply not how most purchasing is done. For most people to actually pull out their credit card and make a purchase, they first need to have some kind of a relationship with a business so that they trust them.

Social media is a great way to build that type of relationship. When someone follows your business on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or another social site, they will be exposed to your content on a regular basis. This will not only keep your business on their mind, but it also means they’ll start to build a connection to your brand. Because of this relationship, many businesses categorize their social media followers as either leads or current customers. And if you want to take things a step further by getting them on your email list, that’s much easier to do when you already have an existing social media relationship.

What Role Do Social Media Agencies Play in Lead Generation?

Although social media can be used to generate quality leads, that doesn’t mean it’s easy or guaranteed. Before you can start building a relationship with anyone, they first need to have a reason to follow you. And in order for someone who follows you to be a quality lead, they need to fall into the right demographic.

A common mistake businesses make is trying to increase their social media follower count as quickly as possible. While that may provide an ego boost, if a business is going after anyone and everyone on social media, that strategy isn’t going to have a positive effect on their bottom line.

A social media agency can help you avoid this mistake by formulating a targeted plan. Because agencies have lots of experience filtering through social media platforms and finding specific demographics, they’ll be able to pinpoint the one you want to target. From there, they’ll be able to gather lots of information about the type of content that demographic likes.

By having all of this data and compiled into an actionable format for your business, your social media efforts will be targeting the right segment from the very beginning. That includes ensuring resources are only being invested into social networks that are the right fit for your business.

Another common social pitfall for businesses is they start out with lots of enthusiasm, only to have their efforts wane off within a few months or even weeks. Since it takes time and consistency to build a the type of following that can generate leads, a social media agency can help formulate and execute a long-term strategy to ensure that no social efforts lose their momentum.

Since there are so many ways a great agency can help with social media, if you’re serious about generating targeted leads through your efforts, enlisting an agency’s help is the way to go.

Michelle Hummel is CEO of Web Strategy Plus a full-service digital marketing agency. She was recently nominated for the Woman-Owned Business of the Year! She’s a passionate Social Media Trainer with 15+ years of successful online business development, sales, and marketing experience. She also holds a valuable Internet Marketing Degree however with the ever-changing world of web marketing she strives to learn something new every day. 

She travels Nationwide visiting her 22 Social Media Enthusiasts Chapters delivering in-depth social media training. She also provides Social Media Certifications through founding Web Media University. A current contributing editor to The Franchise Dictionary Magazine and she has written 3 books in her series called, “The Social Media Magnet: Everything You Need to Know to Attract Customers with Social Media”, where she shares her best-kept secrets to success. She also specializes in helping Franchisors and Franchisees develop an integrated web marketing program to drive leads. She’s available for interviews via email, telephone, Skype video, news segments on location and more. Just let her know how she can help!