Drive Leads on Facebook by Getting Customers to Gab

What can a regional supplier of HVAC products and services teach you about Facebook? Plenty. I've already explained how Steelmaster Buildings gets leads on its Facebook page using a similar strategy. Today I'll give an update on how Amanda Kinsella, of residential HVAC provider Logan Services, is getting along. She is continuing to generate leads and tracking ROI to the penny on Facebook. Yes, Facebook. A Simple Approach Drive prospects to your page and get them talking about themselves. At first it sounds too simple. But that's the beauty of it. Here's the short version: grab customers' attention and "ethically bribe" them to visit your Facebook page. Sure, use a contest ... BUT ... make sure you provide an incentive for prospects to talk about themselves. Bribe Customers to Talk About Themselves Get a bowl of candy. Then, hand it out. Free. Just like at a trade show booth. Why do vendors set out a bowl of candy? To encourage you to linger? Yes. But smart booth attendants know the key to success is not using candy to talk about what they're selling. Generating leads is 110 percent about getting prospects talking about themselves first. A Strange Place to Start Don't be fooled by the bad advice online about how to generate leads on Facebook. We're being hoodwinked into believing social media is a no-cost way of generating customers. Wrong! It is a low-cost strategy. Smart, targeted advertising is often where to start: Buy attention. Pay for advertisements in places your target market can be found. For example, Amanda is a one-woman marketing team at Logan Services. This small business serves a large chunk of territory in the Dayton, Ohio region. Amanda keeps it simple—buying ads where her target market hangs out. She invests precious budget-dollars in local newspapers, TV and radio spots. This creates attention she can work with ... that she can push towards Logan's Facebook page. Her lure? A free heating or air conditioning system for a customer who needs one. She runs a contest on Facebook that gives away a multi-thousand-dollar residential HVAC system! Sound crazy? Keep reading. She's been doing this for a few years now—generating positive ROI. Tactic No. 1: Use an Incentive to Spread the Word Any fool can run a contest on Facebook. But when giving away thousands of dollars in equipment and a service contract, Amanda has to be SURE her investment will pay off. She needs guaranteed leads that will generate thousands in profit for Logan. When potential customers (from the ads) first started landing on the Facebook page, Amanda told them about the catch. Nobody would win a new furnace unless a minimum of 200 prospects entered the contest. Her prospects needed to: tell Logan why they needed the system (in a few sentences); and spread the word about the contest. Amanda put her prospects under incentive to help make sure Logan got what it wanted—leads! You can do the same. Tactic No. 2: Use Your 'Thank You' Page After prospects filled out the contest application, they were presented with an opportunity to get a quote from Logan on the contest "thank you" page. On average, 20 percent of all contestants started requesting quotes. Prospects were realizing, "Hey we need a furnace sometime soon ... and we may not actually win ... so why not check out Logan's prices anyway?" This is the power of good direct response social marketing design and this is why you should know people like Amanda. Tactic No. 3: Give Customers an Incentive to Talk Human beings love to talk. Especially about themselves. Your potential new (and existing) customers are no different. Once Amanda's hopeful contestants spread the word (and reached the minimum threshold) they were given a chance to enter the contest. To enter, prospects filled out an application. The contest form captured valuable insights ... stories on why the prospect needed a new furnace so badly. Talking about themselves naturally revealed details about current and future need for Logan's products and services. Convincing customers to talk about themselves is how Amanda grew her database of qualified leads well into the hundreds. That was just in the first year. Exactly How She Did It Here is a visual example of how Amanda "ethically bribes" customers to talk about themselves ... in ways that reveals leads for her sales team to gently follow-up on. YOU can do the same. See how it works? Today, Amanda uses the same lead generation model for Facebook. It works, so why change it? She also exploits her captive audience on Logan's Facebook page. As you can see above, these are people who have come to expect giveaways. So, Amanda gives away regularly! In this case, cash. Gift cards. Amanda's reward? More leads at even less cost. Here's the rub: She's not spending on ads for these leads because prospects been "trained" to keep in touch with Logan. Lately, they're hungry for energy saving tips that save them some money. But most of all, prospects and customers are on Logan's Facebook page accessing the latest contests. It wasn't always easy for Amanda. She struggled for a long time. Amanda tried everything to get potential buyers to talk with her on Facebook. But nobody wanted to talk with a HVAC company. Not even about subjects like saving money on taxes and other energy tips she provided. But today is a different time for Amanda!

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Drive Leads on Facebook by Getting Customers to Gab

Jeff Molander

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Jeff Molander