Two US-based studies released recently by HubSpot and Edison Research are serving up some valuable insights into how to grow lead generation through an enhanced social media strategy.
While Edison Research confirms that social media use is now most definitely mainstream (with more than half of Americans aged 12+ now using a least one social media account), Hubspot explores in-depth the wide array of factors that influence lead volume. Harnessing data from 4,000 businesses, the results are detailed but the good news is, it’s not necessarily difficult to bring in viable leads. Here’s how:
1. Create frequent business blog posts
Is there a magic number when it comes to blog posting? Perhaps so – businesses that post daily will generate five times more traffic than those that post weekly or less, according to Hubspot, with the likelihood of customer acquisition increasing significantly in line with frequency of posts. If high-quality daily blog posts are unfeasible, then aim for as often as possible to edge noticeably ahead of the competition.
2. Grow a steady library of blog posts
Naturally, it takes time to accumulate posts, but a well-tended blog will outperform other blogs in terms of traffic and lead generation. Hubspot’s stats reveal that blogs that have built up at least 51 posts see 53% more traffic than those with 20-50 posts. Interestingly, blogs with more than 100 posts see triple the traffic, while those that have racked up 200+ posts experience 4.5 times better results. Although it can take six-12 months to start seeing improved lead generation, don’t give up and post at least two to three times each week.
3. Proactively grow a Twitter following
While we reported last week that TechCrunch currently sees more social traffic referred via LinkedIn than through Twitter, we weren’t suggesting toning down Twitter marketing. Now Hubsport confirms the power of the Twitter audience, with the news that companies with 1,000+ followers saw 6 times more traffic and 5 times more leads than those with 25 or fewer followers.
4. Increase your Facebook fanbase
A greater Facebook reach can make a real impact on the bottom line. According to Edison Research, Facebook is the one social network that users are happy to allow influence their purchase decisions. Meanwhile, Hubspot found that businesses with a fanbase of 501-1,000 fans saw 3.5 times more traffic than those with 1-25 fans, while companies with 1,000+ fans had 22 times more traffic.
