Increasingly, we are asked how social media can generate leads. Social media has a clear place in the toolkit for both account-based marketing (ABM) and lead generation activities. This is a more involved conversation, but to simplify, ABM makes sense when you know exactly who you are interested in reaching and an agreement or sale has a high ticket/margin potential. Lead generation makes sense for programs that have a larger prospect base and lower product or program cost. And, in many programs, there is a bit of mix between the two approaches.
Which is right for my business: account-based marketing or lead generation?
The answer depends on what you’re selling, who you’re selling to, and where you’re at in your business (i.e. do you have the sufficient budget and team for a targeted account strategy).
It doesn’t necessarily have to be one or the other. You can run lead generation campaigns while simultaneously using ABM to win or expand important deals. ABM is typically used for B2B prospecting and lead generation for B2C, but there are numerous examples of cross-over or both being used. It is more about the precise definition of the prospect, hence the need for sales, marketing and data analytics to work together.
Social media plays a distinct and important role in both approaches. It can help you reach out directly to individual targets in ABM and is very efficient in generating leads for broad prospecting. But, social can play a most critical role in providing additional content and credibility in the consideration/conversion stage. And, best of all, a prospect turned customer/client is now a potential referral agent and that is where social media shines! If you are not sure how social media should play in your business, we are glad to offer a complimentary mapping of how to leverage social in your own sales funnel.
Regardless of prospecting approach, you can build a value-driven online presence that flows through social media and cultivates potential clients in several important ways:
Showing up consistently where your audience is, with content that makes a difference to their day, builds the relationships that blossom into customers and eventually long-term fans.
Whether you’re marketing to one or 100,000, communicating your unique value is what wins conversions. To learn more about how to win conversions, set up a call with us today!