Whenever we hear a business’ plan to ‘increase followers’ as part of their B2B marketing strategy, we know straight away that disappointment is likely just around the corner.
But why? Well, focusing on followers moves your attention away from what you actually need: leads…
That’s right. *news flash*. Leads > followers.
Honestly, social media metrics can be a business mindset killer – and we get it – we love seeing the ‘likes’ rack up on our social posts too. But we’d take a full-on enquiry or demo request over a bunch of likes and a few more followers any day of the week.
Allow us to clarify.
a real-life example…
A few weeks ago, one of our posts received over 50 likes and nearly 3,000 views, but zero leads. That’s right. Zilch.
However, a more recent post later received half the amount of views but two phone calls…and phone calls are? Yep, that’s right..leads! 🌼
And the lesson learned? Crafting a message that generates curiosity and interest in your services is a much better B2B strategy than obsessing a tad too much about futile followers – who in all honestly are probably only useful for a few likes.
In reality, powerful storytelling messages work wonders, even if you don’t have a huge following. There could be a hundred people scrolling past your post on their feed, and all it takes is one person to resonate with your story and believe in your powers.
A strong lead-generation marketing strategy doesn’t just look good on the outside either, it’s about striking a chord with your audience, who you know inside-out and transforming into a bouquet of flowers that their day needed.
Let’s break it down a little more…
follower-chasers are essentially chasing shadows
While follower-chasers think about:
❌ content they share on social media
❌ pretty images they should use on their blogs
❌ how much engagement content gets
❌ content calendar debates
lead-capturers are getting it right by focusing on:
✅ their ideal customer profile (ICP)
✅ specific pain points the ICP needs help with
✅ value-driven activities to build relationships (e.g. webinars)
✅ optimising lead generation levers (e.g. funnels, customer stories)
And bad growth decisions end up rearing their ugly heads as counterproductive symptoms too. Have you started to notice any of these 🚩?
🙁 multiple marketing brainstorming conversations
🙁 wasted marketing spend
🙁 over-hiring
🙁 the overwhelming feeling of disappointment
If so, it may be because you’re in need of refocusing your efforts towards lead generation.
Lead gen is all about maximising growth and revenue through efforts that build visibility, credibility, and trust from the specific high-quality prospects most likely to turn into leads.
Remember: prospects = potential leads = high-value customers
must-know lead generation tips
So, what are the best results-orientated tips for generating those all-important leads through blooming brilliant content? Here are five…
1. tell human-to-human stories
We’re big believers that thought leaders are storytellers. Revolve your marketing around value-driven activities, real-life human experiences, and super-shareable content based on the knowledge you’ve learned firsthand. Authenticity is key.}
2. keep tabs using tracking tools
Tracking and understanding your ROI is essential for nailing your lead generation. Knowing where your biggest customers come from gives you insights into your audience’s behaviour – in turn letting you know what platform and content type is most worthwhile.
3. never underestimate the power of an offerRemember, not all prospects are ready and willing to chat and hand over their money right away. Be willing to nurture prospects at the start of the buyer’s journey with smart CTAs that resolve their pain points and hard-to-say-no-to offers and incentives.
4. quality > quantity
Your content quality soars when it’s optimised with the right kind of copy for your target audience. Think deeply about the message you’re trying to get across as a thought leader and be a consistent source of expertise (just regular enough to value quality > quantity).
5. use social media to warm up followers
Instead of pinning ‘gaining followers’ at the top of the checklist, we like to see social content as a form of brand awareness and a way of winning over your followers first – then you can gently guide them to your website, webinar, that all-important lead call, or any other CTA.
The truth is, it can take a lot of time and brainpower to become a trusted thought leader that nurtures leads down the buyer funnel – but just one big 💵 client can totally be worth it.
And next time you notice yourself staring at and obsessing over the follower counter, try to realign your attention to leads instead. After all, they’re who will truly make a difference.
We hope this has helped rewire your B2B growth strategy.