Lead Generation Tips and Tricks Using Twitter

Lead Generation Tips and Tricks Using Twitter
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A couple of years ago, if you were looking up the best way to describe Twitter, you probably would’ve come across the term “microblogging.” In the beginning, people weren’t really sure how to describe it. You could send out 140-character “tweets,” which was seen as a great way to generate buzz and visibility for your brand.  

If you look up Twitter today, you won’t find “microblogging” quite so high up in the search results. Users no longer see it as a micro-blog they can use to push out ideas and generate buzz; they see it as a resource for B2B lead generation, connect with prospects, and following influencers.

As a business, if you’re still using Twitter only to attract followers and generate interest in your brand, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity for B2B lead generation  -and eventually sales!

Making that change, and taking advantage of the real power of Twitter starts with adopting a new set of tools, tactics and techniques to engage with and nurture your Twitter followers.

If you’re ready to make the switch, join us for the webinar, "Using Twitter for Lead Generation and Customer Acquisition," hosted by our very own social selling expert, Evan Kirstel.

While many marketers are gradually realizing that Twitter can be used for B2B lead generation and selling, the majority haven’t been successful with it yet.

eMarketer found that 49% of B2B marketers cite social media marketing as the most difficult lead generation tactic to execute. Here are a few things you can do to make your execution easier:

Promoting Original Content on Twitter to Generate Leads


Promoting original content on Twitter is one of the first things most brands do on the network – and  with good reason. The question is, are you promoting your content the right way?


For B2B lead generation and nurturing, your content is the fuel that can drive those relationships. Rather than simply tweeting about your latest blog post four times a day, use your content to start a conversation and attract the right kind of leads.

When you tweet ask a question that will get people engaged. In addition to posting it to all of your followers, send a Twitter Direct Message (DM) to a few leads you’re in contact with, that you feel will appreciate the content (and maybe even share it with their connections). 

TwitterDM

Now you’re finally going out step beyond broadcasting – you’re engaging.

Attracting Relevant Leads though Social Selling Tactics


Engagement is just the beginning – and a crucial one, of social selling. As you your Twitter following grows, your potential customers, partners, employees and advisors will all be a simple tweet away.

Knowing this, do you still want to waste this network by only using it to create “brand awareness?” When you reach this point, Twitter can become a sales tool - just like e-mail marketing or phone calls. Setting your business to enable social selling will give you and your sales team a whole new way to reach out and connect to leads. As a marketer, make it a habit to send your sales team useful content on a weekly, or even daily, basis, to keep potential prospects engagement – and keep a record of what’s being sent out in your CRM or marketing automation tool.

Instead of automatically reaching for the phone to get your 5-12 touches with a lead, consider sending them a tweet to add a new layer to your relationship. A recent report from IDG Connect shows that 57% of B2B IT buyers are using social networks as part of the research their purchase decision process.

Twitter Tools You Can't Afford Not to Use for B2B Lead Generation


In addition to helping you manage your lead generation and social selling efforts, there are Twitter tools
available that can give you deeper insights into your audience, your post performance, and the ROI of your Twitter efforts.

Here are a few that we can’t live without:

  • Crowdfire App: This is a powerful tool for gaining insights into your existing Twitter followers and relevant users you should be following. Originally called “JustUnfollow,” the original value of Crowdfire was in weeding out inactive followers and those who had unfollowed you. Use it to manage your Twitter network and adjust your strategy to find valuable leads and connections. It’s not about how many followers you have – it’s how valuable and relevant your network is. 
  • HubSpot: With their social media marketing module, HubSpot is a great tool for managing your Twitter presence and integrating it with your overall marketing strategy. A good Twitter strategy shouldn’t exist in a vacuum, it should power and build off of your content marketing, email nurturing, sales automation and other inbound strategies.

Screen_Shot_2015-06-25_at_5.16.57_PM

  • TweetDeck: TweetDeck is an official Twitter platform, which you can use to manage, track, and monitor multiple accounts from. Use it to monitor Twitter Lists, schedule tweets in advance, create searches to track topics and hashtags, and send DMs.

These tips should give you some idea of how your business will need to adapt to a social media lead generation strategy – but they’re just the beginning.

Want to Learn more? watch our on-demand Webinar "Using Twitter for Lead Generation and Customer Acquisition." with Evan Kirstel and turn Twitter into a selling machine!

 

Twitter for Lead Generation

The Penguin Team

by The Penguin Team on June 25, 2015

As a leading B2B digital marketing agency, We help B2B Technology Companies, enterprise software, and hardware companies increase brand awareness, reach more qualified leads and close more customers. Penguin Strategies is a Diamond Partner of HubSpot.

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