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Instagram Lead Generation
With more than 2 billion monthly users, marketers are jumping on their opportunities on this app to promote their products and increase brand awareness. This process is known as Instagram lead generation, which aims to convert profile interactions into sales.
If you are active on Instagram, whether business or personal, then you are probably aware of the volume of advertisements that appear on the daily feed. And I’m sure we can all admit that we have at least visited a brand page, or even purchased a product, after seeing an ad.Â
More and more are adding Instagram to their content strategy, to help increase their reach and sales. With the ease of adding links, product tags, shopping, and running advertisements, Instagram can be a great source for driving your business.Â
What is lead generation?
Lead generation can be defined as a marketing process that involves piquing the interest of the community with a certain brand, product, or service and converting those interests into sales and/or client relationships. As you can imagine, this is an essential goal for businesses to keep afloat and profitable.
“Leads” refer to prospects and can come from different sources: events, ads, blog posts, personal referrals, etc. As digital marketing takes over, the majority of leads are now coming from emails and content marketing.Â
How lead generation works
This process depends on the brand and what your sales goals are. Lead generation can be divided into two types: inbound and outbound. Inbound refers to using indirect methods to attract customers, such as SEO strategies, social media content, webinars, podcasts, newsletters, etc. Outbound is using more traditional marketing methods such as cold calling, direct mail, and offline ads.Â
Since we are focusing on Instagram lead generation, that would follow an inbound marketing process:
User finds your brand or business
The first step of lead generation is when a user becomes aware of your brand or business. This is why it’s essential to diversify your content and plug all essential elements such as blogs, pages, websites, and company updates.
User clicks on a CTA
This is where calls to action (CTAs) come in handy. A CTA prompts a user to take action and can be added via buttons, messages, images, etc. Here you will want to drive traffic to any specific pages or products.
Customer visits a landing page
After clicking on the CTA, the user will be directed to the landing page of your choice. Here you can include an offer, discount, or trial to further encourage the user to try out your products.
Using Instagram for lead generation
Now, you may be wondering, is Instagram the right choice for lead generation? Does it really work? What I say is, it won’t hurt. Whereas you may not want to put all your eggs in one basket, adding this to your marketing strategy will complement your efforts.
83% of users discover new products or services and 80% of Instagram users admit that the app helps them decide whether to buy a product or service. With these statistics, it’s obvious that the network is helping boost brands.Â
As the Instagram algorithm and targeted ads continue to develop, brands can find their niche audience and ideal customers, in just a few easy steps.
Instagram lead generation tips
Of course, none of this can be done without a clear plan and strategic tactics to implement the strategy. Here are a few tips you can use to help increase leads and drive sales:
Utilize Instagram Ads
As mentioned earlier, Instagram ads can help target your specific audience. In order to create ads, you must have a business account as well as a Facebook Ads Manager account. Through this platform, you can create and customize campaigns and analyze your results.Â
Run campaigns on both Instagram and Facebook to maximize results and cross-promote your content.
Optimize your bio
The bio is the first message and glance that users get from your brand. It needs to cover all the bases and sum up the value of your business. Since you are limited to 150 characters and one link, you need to nail only the main points. What are they?
- Profile Image: This is the face of your profile and the first association that users make with your brand. Make sure it’s professional and true to your brand.
- Accurate brand description: In order for users to understand your brand, your bio needs to clearly explain what you provide. This is where you can add your value proposition, and why they should invest in your products or services.
- Website or store link: Here is where your bio drives traffic! By adding a link to your bio, you can strategically direct traffic to a specific site. Either link your website, or store or try using a tool like Metricool’s SmartLinks, so you can have all your links in one. This link in bio tool will display all important links, such as upcoming events, highlighted blog posts, and other social media pages, etc. This is a great way to generate leads right off the bat.Â
- Company Category: Select a category for your business, which will display under your name. You can use the search bar inside this category section, to choose among thousands of categories.Â
Find the right hashtags
Hashtags help group your content, so users interested in related topics can better find you. Therefore, it’s important to use those that include what resources or help you can offer and what categories define your content.
Research the correct hashtags for your content and create a plan for how you will implement them. Click here to read this guide on how to use hashtags on Instagram.Â
Stay active
If you start getting on a good roll and then all of sudden you disappear, your followers may not be as invested when you come back. However, if you stay on top of posting, you are going to continue to grow on this platform.
Scheduling content can help you alleviate those last-minute hiccups and content slips. Metricool’s planning feature allows you to schedule up to one month’s worth of content, across all social media platforms. Learn how to schedule Instagram content with Metricool here.Â
Measure your results
This last point is arguably also the most important. In order to grow on this platform, you need to analyze your campaigns, strategies, and tactics to understand if they are working. With Metricool’s Analytics feature, you can measure your Instagram content through easy-to-use graphs and essential metrics to help improve your strategies.
Instagram can be a great method to increase leads and drive your sales. And while you are doing this, you can also boost brand awareness and your marketing strategy.