While there is definitely a lot of information out there for generating Web design leads, it can be confusing how you can actually start generating leads with each popular platform.
We’re going to break down the confusion today and show you golden strategies to make your content count on each platform, to create just one outcome: to generate more Web design leads and improve the status of your business this year.
Short of calling this a seamless system, we’re going to make sure that all the content that you are going to produce this year is going to hit their marks constantly, and also help build your Web design empire from the ground up.
Facebook is the king of social media. It has more than a billion users as of the last tally and the social media giant is not going to be losing steam any time soon.
Using Facebook as a search engine for products and services has also become exceedingly common in recent years that you should expect people to be knocking on your page, asking for your services. But there’s a gap between that event and now. You need to establish your presence first on your Facebook page. Here’s how you can do that:
1. Get into your audiences’ minds and think: what truly matters to them? What will get them engaged and interested and willing to share and like your posts? We don’t just want to provide good content to Facebook users; we need that content to be highly shareable and engaging. There is a key difference between informative and shareable.
You need to shape the content to make it friendlier to ordinary readers. It shouldn’t be alienating either – so industry jargon (especially the most technical type of jargon) – has to take a back seat. We want people to genuinely share content on the platform because they think the content is cool and that people should read.
2. With Facebook, variety is everything. People might seem distracted on this platform, but they have a good memory of what type of content gets posted. They appreciate variety because so many others are posting the same types of content every time. They appreciate refreshing posts that aren’t just a single picture or a plain text.
Generic posts that say something to the effect of “how are you guys doing?” will no longer work. It’s actually easy to remedy this problem: go for variety in the most genuine way possible. Create content outside of Facebook and link to that content. Create videos that are Facebook-worthy and use a variety of approaches to engage people.
A video can be humorous, sad, or even terrifying (if you’d like to try that out). The point here is you can definitely improve engagement by appealing to what people already like on the platform. While you’re at it, think about publishing press releases with exciting news, and of course, photos – memes, snaps of what you are working on, snaps of an upcoming case study, etc.
3. The key to engaging people on Facebook is actually talking to people – and the fastest way to elicit a response is by asking questions. Each post can end with a general or specific question so that people can share their thoughts. Of course, people have a natural propensity to share their thoughts, but when you actually invite them in, to do it, and then you’re paving the way for better engagement.
4. Create a regular post-cycle that will not flood your followers’ newsfeed. When you are managing a Facebook Page, you have likers and followers – these folks see your content, but you don’t see theirs. They expect you to provide things of value on their newsfeeds, but they don’t like it when you post too frequently.
When all they see is your content, they will instantly feel that you are trying to hard to impress them. Try to strike a balance between informative, engaging, and humorous, and try to post about twice a day. Sometimes a post can be as simple as a meme or a quote – the important thing here is they see you regularly, and you are able to establish regularity with how many times they see your Page’s feed on their newsfeed.
5. Separate your Twitter posts from your Facebook posts. We know that it can be tempting to cross-post content, but in reality, this is just a super lazy way of doing things because Twitter has its own culture that couldn’t be more different from what’s going on in Facebook.
Facebook culture is all about the gab that takes place after the post. Twitter is about retweets, likes, and how people thread across different responses to the main tweet. See the difference? People on Twitter are not going to appreciate that they have to jump over to Facebook to get your content. So it’s not the best idea at all.
6. Host contests on Facebook. This is one of the fastest ways to make a post go viral. Ask them to share the post and then tag a few of their friends. By doing so, you will be able to organically grow your reach and the number of likes on your page, while providing something that they can look forward to. Just make sure that you are ready to run the contest to its conclusion, otherwise, people are going to view your Facebook Page negatively, and we definitely do not want that.
LinkedIn may not have as many users as Facebook, but it does have its own strengths. Managers and decision-makers are constantly on the platform, looking for information and raring to build fruitful connections with other businesses and decision-makers. Here’s how you can establish a good presence on LinkedIn:
1. The first step is of course to create a company page. Now unlike Facebook, the content of this page is going to be focused a lot on what your business has to offer. It will be focused on industry expertise, what you have been up to thus far, and how you are positioning yourself in a competitive market. Basically, you will be showing other businesses your DNA as a Web design company, in an authoritative fashion that’s going to rock customers and make them want to do business with you.
2. Create a company description that is on point, historical, and relevant to the needs of your target businesses. Your company description will be your customers’ “first impression” of your business, and before they take a look at anything else, they would want to take a look at how your company has grown through the years.
Or if you are a relatively new company or business, you can talk to them about your strategies, your other customers, and how you intend to be competitive in the coming years. Your company description will dictate whether other LinkedIn members will be stepping into the domicile, or leaving. What could you say that would make them want to “go inside?”
3. To create a legitimate appearance on LinkedIn, you need to ask your employees to connect with your company page. This may not sound fancy, but trust us, it matters to people that employees are formally affiliated with a LinkedIn company page.
By connecting to your employees, you are also connecting to your employees’ networks, and this helps amplify your actual and potential reach. People are going to see your company profile on your employees’ profiles, and they might want to connect with you, too. Encourage your employees to add their position in your business to their LinkedIn profile. This will help spread the word and improve your reach as well.
4. When you go on to LinkedIn, you can use your LinkedIn company profile to recruit or hire or establish yourself in a particular position in the field. The best position is always to be a thought leader, as this can get people to connect with you the best way possible – as people who want to learn from your vast expertise and unique experiences in the market.
5. Now that the basics are done, it’s time to pay closer attention to what you put on your company profile. Like other pages on the Web, it’s imperative that you also optimize your company profile to attract search hits from specific keywords. Apart from your company profile, your posts and LinkedIn articles should also have the right keywords.
You can share relevant content from other websites, but it’s important that you create great content on your own and have people comment on your posts, too.
Google’s algorithms have long favored social media posts that are shared, commented on, and liked a lot, so keep this in mind. LinkedIn’s culture is pretty similar to Facebook in this regard: connect with people and interact with them, and that is how your audience grows organically.
Another great thing about LinkedIn is that it has its own system of distribution content that it thinks may be relevant to other people in the system. Content that has hashtags are frequently distributed to LinkedIn newsfeeds, greatly amplifying the reach of such posts over time. And the more relevant your content is, the better its chances of reaching a wider audience for free simply because this is how LinkedIn’s algorithm works over time.
6. Can you promote webinars and products on LinkedIn? You sure can. Actually, LinkedIn’s business environment makes it even easier for people to take action because of the pervading culture. Creating memorable, actionable content can boost your campaigns and help you get started in engaging your public, and yes, generating more Web design leads.
The formula for great, actionable content, as is observable from the top rankers of LinkedIn’s ecosystem is: you start off with a human interest story (this is the first layer), then under your layer, you work in the business aspect that connects with the human interest element.
You have to make sure that the business layer of the narrative doesn’t change the tone of the story, but instead, enhances it with business sense. The final layer would be the conclusion, where you can promote your gateway product, webinar, or anything else under the sun. The important thing here is that you should create content that is not only actionable but relatable, so people will feel an immediate affinity with it.
7. Start engaging people in groups. There are so many groups on LinkedIn that require rich and reliable content. The platform thrives because of professionally-written content and you will be surprised at how even the mediocre ones get mileage. Get the word out and make sure that you are always putting your best foot forward whenever you publish new content. You can tag your employees, or simply people on your LinkedIn circle.
8. If you are unable to create the content yourself, then it’s best to reach out to professionals who can do it for you. We are not just talking about writers, but also folks who can do graphics and video for you. Niche familiarity is a must – and the more your content team is attuned with the needs of your market, the better of you all will be.
