4 Free Ways to Secure More Leads as a Social Media Manager
We’ve been asked on several occasions how we go about sending cold emails to potential clients, and the truth is: we don’t. We’ve been fortunate enough to implement several strategies that have allowed all of our clients to discover and come to us first. If you’re looking to grow your biz as a social media freelancer or agency, read on for 4 FREE ways to secure more leads!
LEVERAGE SEO
When you’re on the hunt for a new product or service, where is the first place you turn? For most of us, the answer is Google, so if you’re looking to secure more leads, optimizing your website for search engines should be one of the first places you start.
Search engine optimization is the process of incorporating relevant keywords that your audience is actually searching for in your website’s copy to increase visibility across search engines.
When conducting keyword research, we love using UberSuggest. It makes it super easy for our team to search for keywords and identify two key data points:
Average monthly searches: this is the average number of people searching that keyword each month.
Competition score: this is a score on a scale of 1-100 that tells you how hard it would be to rank for that keyword (aka how much competition there is). The lower the score, the easier it is to rank on the first page of a search engine for.
Because of this, an ideal keyword will have a high number of monthly searches and a low competition score. Once keywords have been identified we bake them into several places:
Website copy: titles, headings, subheadings, body text, etc.
SEO titles and meta descriptions
URLs
Alt text
Anchor text
Recently, with the intention of securing more leads specifically, we created dedicated landing pages for complex services or particular audiences we want to reach. For each page, we included keywords that our ideal lead would be searching for. See below for two examples:
TikTok Management Services → Not only does this landing page help break down how a complex service like TikTok works, but it also gave us the opportunity to go after keywords businesses in need of a TikTok SMM might be searching for.
Social Media Marketing for Interior Designers → This isn’t something we mention often, but unintentionally, our agency has created a somewhat “niche” in the interior design industry. After achieving exponential results for our first few clients, word of mouth boomed! Since then, our design clientele has continued to flourish and rank among our longest partnerships to date. To attract even more clients in this industry, we created a landing page speaking directly to them and their pain points, while also targeting keywords they’re already searching for.
ESTABLISH YOUR EXPERTISE THROUGH A PORTFOLIO AND BLOG
Once you’ve started generating traffic to your website through SEO, establish your expertise by creating a digital portfolio that conveys your value. We use our Portfolio as an opportunity to showcase:
Current and past clients
Past work
Case studies + results
Testimonials
Another strategy to establish your expertise is the creation and maintenance of a blog. Not only are regular blog posts great for SEO purposes but they also allow you to demonstrate your extensive industry knowledge. At Homemade Social, we share blogs on a weekly basis highlighting the latest digital marketing tips, trends, and tactics.
In addition to having your own blog, consider writing guest blog posts on non-competing sites that have a similar target audience. In 2021, for example, we wrote a guest blog post for Create & Cultivate on 5 Social Media Trends to Watch. The post was then shared to their blog, newsletter, and Instagram account with nearly 1 MILLION followers, furthering the reach and awareness of our agency. The backlink to our website in the blog also helped boost SEO for us.
OPTIMIZE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES
Next, make sure your social media profiles are optimized for lead generation. Update your bio with a clear and concise message that includes a call-to-action directing users to your website.
Then, refer to your post analytics to ensure you’re sharing content that your audience finds valuable. This will keep them engaged with your brand and increase the likelihood of them sharing your content with others. To increase the visibility of the content, include relevant hashtags and keywords. This will help you reach a larger audience, including potential leads who are searching for content related to your industry.
Lastly, think of your social media like a “mini portfolio.” Share client wins, case studies, or testimonials to act as social proof for potential leads that come across your profile.
CREATE LEAD MAGNETS
A lead magnet is a FREE valuable resource offered in exchange for information, like the consumer’s email address. The idea behind this is that you have to give some to gain some. In order to organically generate more leads, try to attract your audience with an irresistible offer. At Homemade Social, we do this by regularly releasing free downloads filled with our top social media tips, tricks, tools, and more!
Take, for example, our 30 Days of Instagram Reels Freebie. By providing only their name and email address, our audience unlocks a 17-page download filled with 30 unique Reels ideas, a list of our most recommended tools, and tips for getting started! Lead magnets like this are key because they attract and provide solutions for consumers with specific needs that are aligned with your business’ offerings.
Once someone has opted into a freebie, set up tags and email sequences to up-sell them on a higher-ticket item, like your services. Ready to get started? Here’s a list of 10 additional lead magnets that you may want to try:
Templates
Crash course
E-books
Checklists
Guides
Workbooks
Webinars
Consultations
Cheatsheets
Product Trials
We hope you found this blog post helpful in learning new ways to secure more leads as a social media manager! For more lead generation and onboarding tips, be sure to join the waitlist for our best-selling Onboard Like a Homie: Client Onboarding Bundle. We might be bringing it back realll soon. 👀
xx,
The Homies
