Instagram has gained a lot of importance in recent years when it comes to marketing. Not only is the user base more active, but is mostly composed of young people.
Combine that with the ability to interact with your audience in multiple ways and you have a platform that rewards your marketing efforts.
While not exactly the best choice for the B2B sector, Instagram remains the best platform to reach and engage with younger people for the B2C sector.
So, if you’re a business that wants to sell to the younger population and need to generate leads using Instagram, you’re at the right place. I’ve been trying and testing out different strategies to generate leads and I’d like to share those with you.
But before we get to that part, let us understand what makes Instagram so effective and why your lead generation strategy must include Instagram in it.
What Makes Instagram Effective at Lead Generation?
Coming from the perspective of a user, Instagram feels more natural as a platform to interact with people. Facebook was on the right path too but I feel it got commercialized too soon and lost its ability to let people connect and interact.
Here is what makes Instagram Lead Generation so effective:
A Growing User Base
High Daily Active Users
Facebook Has Lost Its Bling
Don’t get me wrong, Facebook is still the top option for business advertisements and the B2B sector. But Facebook has lost its appeal to younger people. They even lost half a million daily active users recently.
The majority of Facebook’s active users are aged above 40 now. So, unless your products are targeted to that demographic, Facebook isn’t the best option for you.
Well Adapted To Changes
Multiple Interactive Options
Instagram allows for multiple ways the users can interact with a brand. You can host polls, ask questions, collect feedback, create countdowns, etc. As a result, users are kept engaged and convert into leads easily.
Now comes the part you’ve been waiting for. Let’s dive into Instagram lead generation strategies to get your business growing steadily!
Top 10 Strategies for Instagram Lead Generation.
Optimize Your Instagram Profile
A user comes across your post and finds it interesting. The first thing they will do next is to check your Instagram profile. You need to ensure your profile has been optimized to convert the audience into customers.
Start with making things clear, who you are, what all your offer and what makes you special. Follow that up with a link in your bio. The link should either lead the audience to your website or a high converting landing page.
Provide Value Consistently
This was borrowed from content marketing and tested for Instagram lead generation strategy and surprisingly, it worked wonders. By value what we mean is to give something to your audience that addresses their pain points.
Wardrobe blues? post about styling ideas. Are shoes looking old? Share ideas to restore their shine. Are plants not flowering? Post solutions to that.
Optimize And Use The Link In Your Bio To Its Full Extent
The aim here is to drive your audience to take action. The most direct way to convert the audience is to have them act from a post or story and click the link in your bio.
The first prerequisite for Instagram lead generation is to have a link that leads them to a high converting webpage. Other things to ensure are:
- Ensure the link is short. You can use Bitly for this.
- Add a strong CTA just above the link. This will make people click on it when they first check your profile.
- Publish posts and stories promoting the relevant link you have in the bio.
- Ensure the link has UTM Parameters to enable tracking.
Add Links To Your Instagram Stories
Instagram allows businesses and accounts with over 10 thousand followers to embed links in their stories. You can post stories to create curiosity among users and follow it up with a story with an embedded link.
The users can be prompted to swipe up to load the link and have them land on the designated webpage. Now, if you have a webpage that is effective at converting, you can use this tactic to generate more leads regularly.
Engage With Your Audience
The entire idea of a good social media strategy is to build a good functioning relationship with your audience that isn’t a sales first approach. It shouldn’t surprise you that the first prerequisite of being on a social platform is to socialize and interact.
By regularly engaging with your audience on topics that are not directly related to your offerings, you create a bond. This bond enables you to build trust and familiarity.
When your audience is well versed with your brand, whenever they need a type of product you offer, they will make a purchase directly from you.
Partner Up With Influencers
That’s not all, 70% of the youngsters trust influencers more than traditional celebrities when it comes to brand endorsements. Partnering up with an influencer can significantly benefit your Instagram lead generation.
Ensure you choose the right influencer who resonates with the core values of your brand. This way you will deliver a consistent message to your audience.
Post About Your Bestsellers Frequently.
It is common consumer psychology that people will not make a purchase or take an action when prompted the first time. This makes it necessary that you post about your bestsellers more often.
With your bestseller, you already know that you have a product that not only sells well but produces positive impressions and reviews. You can combine these positives with frequent posting and create a positive lasting impression on a newer audience.
With the focus of the post continuing to be your best-selling product, you can experiment with the design, theme and tone of the post.
Host Contests And Giveaways
This strategy works for accomplishing various objectives, Instagram lead generation is just one of those. Giving your audience an incentive to sign up for a newsletter, complete a survey, tag friends in comments, etc. is a good way to generate leads.
You can even partner up with an influencer and widen the scope and reach of your content and giveaway. With the wider reach and framework of the contest/giveaway, you can harvest a large number of leads with minimal investment.
Instagram allows you to have a few action buttons on your profile. By default, you can choose between Call, Text, Email or Directions. Out of these, the call and text buttons are useful if you wish to generate direct sales inquiries.
Your options aren’t limited however, using third-party solutions like Resy, Eventbrite or Grubhub, you can integrate buttons that facilitate immediate conversions like purchasing tickets, making reservations, signing up for the newsletter, etc.
Use Instagram Lead Ads
This is usually the first suggestion a lot of marketers will make but I suggest you try this only if you want quick results. Instagram lead generation is simplified using lead ads.
You get a lot of control over the target audience and other parameters of the lead ad campaign. You will require a Facebook page to run these ads as the ads are managed in the Facebook Ad Manager.
Final Thoughts
Instagram lead generation is not only effective but easy if you have the right strategies. People are spending more time online than ever since the pandemic and you can use this to your business’s advantage.
Mix and match the strategies I mentioned above to best suit your business and its lead generation objectives. You can either opt for the organic way or pay for lead ads and attain quick results.
Just make sure you focus on Instagram in the long term not only for lead generation but for digital marketing in general!
