October 21, 2019 8:40 pm

Elizabeth Redd

How to do Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing enables you to attract more attention when you create and share content. Social media marketing platforms are great places to engage with your audience, but they aren’t the best places to make sales.

To make sales, you want to use social media marketing to drive traffic to your opt-ins, to build your list. Your email list provides the best and easiest opportunities to make sales.

Start with a Lead Magnet

Lead magnets referred to as an ethical bribe, but today lead magnets are much more than that. They’re valuable content that your audience can use right now to solve a problem. 

They can help you grow your list by offering multiple ways for your audience to enter your list by downloading gated content. The gated content requires an email address to get it, which in turn puts them on your email list into a segment based on what they downloaded.

A good lead magnet:

  • Solves a Specific Problem
  • Works Quickly
  • Provides Immediate Gratification

They can be in multiple forms, including:

  • eBooks
  • Infographics
  • Slideshows
  • Quizzes
  • Apps
  • Checklists
  • Cheat Sheets
  • Reports
  • Videos
  • Webinars

Practically speaking, anything that truly is helpful to your audience can turn into a lead magnet. You can present the lead magnet in many ways, using social media. Let’s look at some ways to use social media to build your list with a lead magnet. 

 

Ways to Use Lead Magnets to Build Your List on Social Media

There are numerous ways you can use social media marketing to grow your list with a captivated audience who will stay on your list, tell others about your list, and buy your offers and even become long-term customers and fans of your products and services.

Promote Your Lead Magnets Regularly

When you create a lead magnet, don’t just wait for people to show up on your blog or website to grab the lead magnet. Instead, promote it like you would any product you’ve created by spreading the word on social media.

Use the scheduling functions or software like Hootsuite.com to help you share each lead magnet more than once.

Lead magnets, for the most part, should be evergreen options. While they can motivate people to join your list, they can also be used to segment a list. Segmenting your list means you don’t have to worry so much about freebie seekers.

Using tags to move people through your list funnel helps you deliver just the right information to the segment, creating a healthy email list environment and experience.

Add a CTA to All Social Media Marketing Profiles

Most of your social media profiles allow for some form of link or HTML or even a button. Create a call to action that leads to an opt-in page with a freebie for each social media platform that you use. Don’t use the same landing page for every social media platform.

Each audience is slightly different and unique. Plus, remember the more options you have for your audience, the more likely they are to get on your list and stay on your list.

Use Content Upgrades in Blog Posts & Promote on Social Media Marketing

When you create a new blog post, always add at least one content upgrade, which is an in-content link to an opt-in of some sort. It may be a checklist, a more in-depth report, or anything that is easily downloadable and relevant to the content of reading that provides more information for them.

It’s a great way to prove your expertise on a topic, and it grabs their attention while they’re already reading about the issue, so the likelihood of someone signing up for your list to get that additional content is high.

Add a Signup Button to Your Facebook Page

Set up a Facebook Page. Keep it active and add a signup button. In your scheduled posts, add a reminder to sign up for your list via your signup button. To add the signup button, you “edit” the button and add the link to your signup form.

It’s that easy. If that doesn’t work to get more signups, consider adding a “learn more” connection with your opt-in form and freebie.

Host a Contest & Giveaway

A fun way to build your list on social media marketing is to host a contest and a giveaway. A giveaway involves giving away something free of value to your audience and to anyone who signs up. Organize a giveaway on social media, and it should be significant and valuable to get enough buzz.

One way to do that is to have a contest instead. Everyone who enters the game gets signed up, but only some will get the big prize. Be careful with what you give away.

You want the giveaway to be something valuable only to your primary audience and not attractive to just anyone.

Although, if you tie it up into a contest that requires the entrants to do something, sometimes that can work fine even if the prize is money.

Enable Sharing of Your Email Messages

Most social media marketing today, including Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, allows some form of promotion. If they offer it, you practically must do it because that’s the only way to get more eyes on your offers.

Thankfully, it’s easy and inexpensive to set up. You’re likely to get many signups if you promote something your audience feels is valuable to their success.

Share Everything on Social Media Marketing

When you create anything on social media, whether it’s a blog post, a product, a freebie, a new opt-in, and even in some cases an important email that you’ve sent to your subscribers – it should be shared on social media.

The more eyes you can get on any piece of content that you’ve created, the better and the more likely you are to get signups.

Don’t just share things one-time either. Share regularly and repeatedly. You can use software like Hootsuite.com, Tailwind.com, or Missinglettr.com to help you schedule repeat shares.

Host Twitter Chats

Live chats are a great way to get signups. Twitter has technology that allows you to add “cards” to your account. You can add summary cards with an image or without Photo cards, Gallery card, Product cards, App cards, and Player cards for gamers. 

If you run ads with Twitter, you’ll get access to two more cards, Lead Generation Cards, and Website cards. You can use WordPress Plugins such as JM Twitter Cards or Facebook Open Graph Google+ and Twitter Card Tags to set up Twitter cards on your site. With maps, you’ll get more traffic. 

If you host a Twitter Chat, you can use that to build your list. When someone shares your content, your card will appear, and they’ll be able to find you.

Go Live on Facebook, Instagram & YouTube

Using live events on social media marketing is an excellent way to get more traffic to your social media platforms. When you get more views on the social media platform, such as your Facebook Page, more eyes can see your profile, your story, and your signup forms.

Plus, during the live event, you can point out the opt-in and ask them to get the freebie that you’re offering them that relates to what you’re talking about on the live event.

All of these things work great on social media to build your list fast. Growing your email list will seem almost automatic.

As you create more lead magnets, content upgrades, and other freebies for your audience, there will be more points of entry for them to get on your list.

However, you need to create unique landing pages for each of your lead magnets and for each platform that’s sending you traffic.

Create Special Opt-in Pages (landing pages)

Everything talked about here is an effective way to grow your email list using social media, but the most crucial aspect of this is the opt-in pages or landing pages.

The more landing pages you have, the more ways in which you get more people to subscribe to your email list.

Your opt-in landing page doesn’t have to belong and complicated, but it should be specific to the opt-in you’re offering, and to where the traffic is originating.

Each Landing Page needs these Elements:

  • Your Headline – This should be short and sweet and to the point. Describe a specific benefit to the audience member. You can also ask a question (that you’ll answer), make a promise, poke the problem, or explain that you’ll guide them to success. 
  • A Sub Headline – Since headlines must be short, you’ll want a sub-headline that explains the details further. For example, the headline might say, “Lost Your Keys Again?” to poke the bear about the problem of disorganization. 
  • sub-headline can be longer and say something like Get Your Home Organized in Just 10 Minutes a Day.
  • Landing Page Copy – This can be long or short, but based on s your knowledge of the audience and the niche. It needs to introduce the problem, offer a solution, show how the solution solves the problem, explain the benefits of the resolution, and tell why it’s the best option for their needs. 
  • Opt-in Form – Your form is essential because you want it to be obvious what they must input to get the lead magnet. Studies show that the less information you ask for, the better. 
  • In mind, if you use personalization in your email messages, you’ll want to collect their name and email at a minimum. You can always collect more information later. 
  • Social Proof – Mostly, you want to show them that you’re trustworthy and that other people have received your information and prospered in some way from it. 
  • You have an extensive list, and you can say something like “more than 100,000 people agree,” or you can even put a short testimonial if you have it. Alternatively, if you’ve been around a long time, you can use that as proof. “More than 22 years’ experience” or something like that.
  • The Lead Magnet or Offer – You need to include an offer of some type on the landing page, and they should not doubt the copy about what they’re going to receive. 
  • The lead magnet should solve one problem quickly and provide longer-term benefits once fully implemented. You don’t want them to have to wait to get the lead magnet. 
  • It helps you with prompt delivery and downloads. Leadpages.net and a lot of email marketing software like Drip.com offer the ability to let them get their download instantly, without a double opt-in. 
  • Your CTA – Don’t assume that if someone goes to your landing page, reads all the copy on it, and sees that they can get your freebie that they’re going to do it if you don’t tell them to do it. 
  • Can include the CTA on the form, or within the copy on your landing page. Think outside the box for good CTAs. Instead of “download now” (yawn), try for something more exciting such as, “Heck yeah, I’m In. Give It To Me Now!” or something like that. 

Creating the right landing page for your opt-ins accomplishes several things. It ensures that your audience knows what they’re getting. It also shows how you pay attention to detail, whether it’s a free offer or a paid offer. 

Building your Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing: If your work is the same, whether free or not, it will help you build a good reputation as an expert in your niche and an authority in your field. It is an area where having high standards pays off.

Using social media marketing to promote your landing pages, opt-ins, and build your list is more effective than almost any other way of making your email list.

It can create fantastic buzz for your brand at the same time you’re building your list with people who are ready to buy what you’re selling.

About the Author Elizabeth Redd

At 50 Plus Blogging, it's my Mission to show you how to build a community of trust, respect, and relationships by providing tried and tested marketing techniques that help to promote leadership and business growth.

Once again, thank you for this incredible opportunity. I am committed to giving my best and positively impacting this site. Connect with me on Facebook!

This community is worth learning from and embracing the power of 50 Plus Blogging.

Warm regards,

  • What a wealth of information in such a short article! I had to take notes. I think my best take away is adding a sign up button on my facebook page. Oh and giving a better name than download now. Made me think of “I’m in like flynn, sign me in!” It really is those little things that make a big difference. Thank you for sharing your experience with lead magnets and growing my list, I’m definitely in like flynn!

  • Thanks for this great post! 

    I have not don’t social media marketing too much in my career, so this post gave me several good ideas. 
    I think a leaf magnet is very good idea, however would you recommend an ebook or like short pdf?

    Also out of all the programs you’ve tried, which ones do you think has given you the most success?

  • Hi Elizabeth, 

    I thoroughly enjoyed this article on social media marketing and found it very thought-provoking. As a blogger who hasn’t seen 50 in quite a while, I realize that I’m not deriving any significant benefit from social media. I have a presence but see very little traffic. 

    To date, my sole focus has been on search engine optimization. While SEO traffic is an uphill battle, it has the advantage of being highly targeted. Do you feel you have the same ability to target relevant viewers with social media marketing?

    Thanks for your help and the intriguing article, BTW, I love your CTA example!

  • Social media is huge, I know that. But up till this point I hadn’t realized the potential of being able to market to all these people. I’ll certainly begin, from now on, to take advantage of this. I’m excited.

    It has been helpful to examine what a landing page must contain. I send you a huge thank you for opening mine eyes on this topic.

    • Thanks so much for sharing your comment about my article. I look forward to sharing information with you in the future. Thanks a bunch, Ann

  • Absolutely fabulous read here. I am currently using Pinterest as my main form of marketing but am looking to expand to other areas, namely Instagram. I’ve actually never used Facebook before but I feel like for my niche, it would also work wonderfully. You’ve provided lots of excellent tips here, a full guide actually, on how i can leverage these social medias for growing my business. Thanks!

    • Beautiful to connect with you, and I hope you’re having a great day. I appreciate your comments; If you’re like most serious bloggers, you are probably blogging professionally. Check out LinkedIn. It’s more than a digital networking site. It is a place to showcase your content and build a professional portfolio. Thanks, Maria

  • Hello,

    It nice I stumble in this blog. it has been very educative and that gives more ideas on how to update my social media to improve my ways to get my sign -up lead. it is a bit challenging to create a lead to attract more sign up. current I may not have more money to pay for the ads to add to my budget and also very shy to be in front of the camera but with time hope I will defeat my fear. 

    thank you and keep up the good work.

    • It was my pleasure to share this article with you. Eve. No one achieves success without acknowledging the help of others. Thanks so much for your comments about my article. Remember, Facebook is one of the oldest and most accessible social media channels for bloggers. Use it wisely it’s FREE.

  • Thanks so much for sharing a beautiful, informative article with us. The principal element of this article is about social media marketing. It’s really amazing that you covered this subject so well in your post. I have learned a lot from reading your post and gained a lot of knowledge about Lead Magnet. I like to Ways to Use Lead Magnets of the points mentioned in your article. 
    I’ve read your article and enjoyed it and I’d like to share it with my friends by posting it in the Facebook community so that everyone knows about your article and gets to know  Lead Magnets.

    • Social media for blogging is a great way to increase your readership and build a network of readers fascinated with your work.

      More so than either Facebook or Twitter, your LinkedIn profile should be extensive. LinkedIn should act at both your portfolio and digital resume.

      Why is LinkedIn resume important? For some of the high-paying blogging jobs – guest posting, product reviews, and influencer content – employers will want to see your credentials. Thanks for your comments about my article. 

      • It’s my pleasure to share information with you. Please share this information with the Facebook community. I appreciate your assistance very much

  • I am just at a point within my website where I need to consider using social media and have also started looking in to list building and email marketing. Seeing how the two of these work together has really juts opened my eyes so a huge thank you for that.

    Lead magnets are fascinating and I can see how they can make such a big difference. I will certainly be bookmarking this page/site as I feel I will need to continue to refer to it for advise on moving forwards.

    I hadn’t considered needing to treat each audience slightly different on each platform either, but this makes total sense now that you have mentioned it and it will certainly make me approach it very differently to what I thought before.

    A big thank you again

    • In this day and age, there are scores of social media channels, but not all of them are ideal for bloggers. Further, many newer social media channels – like Reddit – are difficult to learn until you’ve mastered the more straightforward social media channels.

      Social media is a place to share tidbits of information. You want to feel comfortable with the channel and use it regularly. Within each channel, you should be able to share quotes from your blog and link back to the blog you want to promote. Thanks for sharing Emma.

  • There are a lot of social media platforms and almost every week, they are adding new ones now which makes them a good place to focus out marketing on. Since they offer a lot of wild coverage and a lot more can really be generated from them by focusing rightly. I really value what you have shared here and it is really great to see here. Thumbs up to you all and thanks so much for sharing this out here

    • It was a pleasure to share the information about Social Media, hoping it was of benefit to you as a blogger Phillip.

  • Very good blog.  Your social media post is very good and inspiring me to go get in contact some more with the people I mix with there.  I really liked your post on becoming an authority in your niche.  The post on choosing your niche is obviously of great value to your readers.

    Your images are pertinent and engaging to the subject matter you provide.  The site engaged me at the level of need to take action with respect to my goals online.  

    A very nice and valuable blog toward enticing people, through engaging content to take action.  Thank you.  Chris.       

  • Thank you for your timely information about social media marketing. I have not yet managed to do well in this area. Please help me answer the following questions.

    Which social media would you recommend a beginner to start with? 

    Should I start with several social media platforms or should I start with one?

    Best wishes and a good one at 50 plus.

    • I want to write a quick note to let you know how much I appreciate your comments. Not much on telling others what Social Media app to use. You might consider starting with Facebook and build yourself a following.

      Facebook is one of the oldest and most accessible social media channels for bloggers.

      Facebook lets you share short and long posts. This variety allows you to share multiple quotes in a day from a single blog.

      Additionally, Facebook groups give you smaller, more focused audiences wherein your blogs may hold great significance. Thanks and stay at home and be safe Wachira.

  • Hi Elizabeth,

    Thank you for this article.  We are thinking about to grow our list, at the moment we are doing it through email marketing, and have not done the social media part yet.  We like the idea about creating landing page for every target market.  You are right, every target market has different need.  Any idea on how to create e-book from your blog post?

    Thanks again Elizabeth,

    All the best,

    Kalle & Marie

    • I want to write a quick note to let you know how much I appreciate your comments. Thanks so much for your comments about my article I am working every day working on improving my articles.

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