Looking to generate more leads but not sure where to start? Consider social media, suggests Lisa Marcyes, senior social marketing manager for Marketo. In a blog post, Marcyes points out the major opportunities to find new business on social networks. “Companies employing lead generation strategies on social media are able to achieve better results throughout the funnel—building brand awareness and generating conversions, achieving better sales productivity, producing higher revenue growth, and creating a sense of community for advocates and followers,” she writes.

In her post, Marcyes shares seven best practices for social media lead generation, such as:

• Sharing special offers, such as sweepstakes or giveaways. These campaigns are fun for followers (who doesn’t love a freebie?). They also can capture great lead data when you include an entry form. Allow for sharing, which will drive further engagement and spread the campaign to more users (giving you even more names for the lead list).
• Creating polls and surveys, which is a win-​win for you and your followers. You can get insight straight from your target audience, and they get to express their opinion and offer feedback. Want to make the poll more enticing? Offer an incentive!
• Going live to engage with followers in real-​time. Position yourself as an industry expert, spread brand awareness, and entertain followers using Twitter chats and Facebook Livestream. “You can also drive cross-​channel traffic by directing participants to branded content, landing pages, and offerings,” Marcyes adds.

Marcyes shares four other suggestions in her post, all of which are easy to implement. If you’ve been unsure about using social media to generate leads, now is the time to take the plunge. Marcyes points out that “75% of B2B buyers and 84% of C‑level/​Vice president executives [incorporate] social media as a key part of their decision-​making process.” Using her advice as a starting point, see what social media can do for your lead generation this year!