How to get inbound leads from social content

We seem to have an unquenchable thirst for followers, likes and comments.

Yet, in recent weeks I've talked with a ton of influencers who have said, despite the veneer of popularity on Instagram and LinkedIn - they are getting no leads.

I hear "likes don't pay the bills" from people, then they obsess about impressions.

So, in this article, I want to share with you how to get leads even if you have a tiny following and low engagement.

You don't need a big following or high engagement

This is the biggest myth people have. If you get more followers it will solve all the problems. So, we keep chasing more reach and engagement. 

But you don't need to do that. If you are reaching 500+ people per week, you should be getting leads. Even if it is only one per week. If you aren't getting leads, now amount of scaling up your reach will solve it.

It is really hard to build a large audience that resonates with your message, it's actually a huge investment. 

But, for most people reading this, they don't need thousands of clients, they need 20. Out of 7 billion people on the planet, you need 20 people. 

You need the right followers - that's what matters.

You can make more money with a couple of hundred of the right followers than a couple of thousand of more broad followers.

Once you dial in your message and content, you can start to appeal to and attract the right people.

To get one lead, you need to attract, nurture and convert one person. 

Think about your content as if it is written for one person and you  won't go wrong.

You need to deliver specific value

You don't want to waste time attracting people who won't buy or don't need you. So, we've got to attract and deliver value for a very specific group of people. It's expensive to try and appeal to everyone. So, if you want to get inbound enquiries, you have to focus in on a small group of people with a common buying motivation.

For example, if you are a coach and help people with mindset issues around money. That can be a very broad group of people.

You could help people who have a money mindset issue around spending. Around pricing their services or even around their job role and asking for a pay rise.

These are all the same issue, but the motivation and manifestation of the problem is different in each situation.

So, focus on one of these...

For example, I help people get clients - that is the primary motivation I serve. 

That means I create all my content wrapping around that buying motivation.

So, when I talk about LinkedIn or content - it's about helping people getting clients.

Add Value in the Overlap

The overlap between the buyer motivation and what you offer is where you should be creating content. I call it 'adding value in the overlap'. This is the place where you can create content which will attract and interest the people who really need your help.

When you deviate from the overlap, you start to appeal more broadly and you lose focus. Doing that every now and then is no big deal. If you do that consistently, you will struggle to make any impact.

As you start to do this, even though you might have a small following, you'll start to attract the people who resonate with your message. If you do this with your content consistently, you'll start to attract a steady flow of leads each week, all of them will be wanting the same thing "Get clients from LinkedIn" - you see how this works.

We so easily forget that our content isn't for us. Our content is to help people who are a few steps behind us on the journey, so we have to make it helpful for them, where they are right now. Most of the reasons people struggle to generate leads can be put down to two things:

• Their message isn't speaking to a specific ICP and their problems.
• Their strategy isn't being implemented consistently.

I've met so many people who have moved across so many social channels, so many tactics and fundamentally the problem is strategic - their message and ICP is unclear. It doesn't matter how hard you push it, it just won't resonate.

What do we mean be add value?

My audiences motivation is getting clients, so all my content, has some form of practical tips around that goal and objective. From content, sales calls, outreach, anything to do with getting clients, I share. I don't worry about if I give too much away, because I know for every person who uses it without me there will be someone who wants my expertise to help them do it.

If someone took every piece of content I have created, they would probably have all the answers. 

BUT... they wouldn't have step by step guidance and they wouldn't have someone to help them put the jigsaw together.

Confident but not arrogant

Maybe it's because I'm British, but for a long time, I struggled to be confident in my content. I'd use passive voice. Passive voice in social media marketing is a sure fire way to be disappointed. It's often waffly, wordy and indirect. Active voice is confident and clear. When you use passive voice you don't give people confidence. It's like unwritten doubt in your words.

The hard part is, being confident without stepping into arrogance. I used to struggle with the "I don't want to come across as up myself" and as a result, I'd revert to passive voice. If you've used a passive voice for a long time, every time you use active voice, it can feel like arrogance. You just have to get over this as what seems like a tiny thing is holding you back.

How do you avoid arrogance.

If you care about your ICP, believe in what you do and be yourself - it's really hard to step into arrogance.

I like to use hemingwayapp.com, to check for passive voice as a check against be understating.

Have a very clear call to action

I place a call to action on 50% of my content. It's such a simple CTA but it brings me leads every week. My call to action is "DM me 'WIN' if you want to get clients on LinkedIn" - it works too. I consistently get WIN in my inboxes. 

Having a clear and simple way people can take action is critical. It takes all the pressure of your prospect. They can send three letters and I can do the rest.

Having a clear call to action and being confident in it, is so important to driving people to take action. 

8-21 Touchpoints

Before I wrap up, I want to remind you of one thing.... stop chasing that 'one post that will change everything' instead think of every post is moving you forward. All the latest data tells us that success from content comes after someone has consumed anywhere between 8 and 21 pieces. That means

• Staying focusing on your ICP and buying motivations
• Being consistent in posting
• Always adding value in the overlap
• Having a clear call to action

At any given time, you have people at different stages of the journey, some just discovering you, some getting to know you and some getting ready to buy from you.

I can tell you with confidence, in today's market, people make enquiries later in their decision making journey than they ever have.

This means if you do the above and you get leads, the conversion rate will be significantly higher. 

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🙋I'm Dean. Thanks for stopping by.

Here is what you can do next ⬇️

➕ Follow me to see me in your feed

💬 Tell me what you think in the comments

💰 DM me ‘WIN’ to get clients on LinkedIn

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