Biggest Technique for Turning Social Media Followers Into Leads
If you’ve never heard of a lead magnet, don’t sweat. Probably you and like 95% of business owners out there.
I’m here to introduce you to it and explain why I think you want to get on this idea ASAP.
What is a Lead Magnet?
Great question.
A lead magnetic is anything you offer to your soon-to-be customers in exchange for their contact information, with the intention that your lead magnet will lead them to purchasing your services or product later.
Your lead magnet doesn’t have to be free, although they typically perform better if they are.
No matter what, your lead magnet has to provide an insane amount of practical value to your customers in order to be enough to entice them to actually email or phone number with you.
The name “lead magnet” refers to how your awesome giveaway will attract people towards you.
In more practical terms, a lead magnet can be:
A PDF download
An educational email series
An exclusive video, webinar, or online training
Access to special resources
A guide, how-to, or template
A list of resources
…basically, anything that would get your ideal customers to say, “Ooo! I want that!” and exchange their email address for it as quickly as possible.
A Few Examples of Lead Magnets
I’ll offer you a few examples of different lead magnets different businesses might use:
Contractors may offer a list of all their favourite brands and products from those brands
Realtors might offer a guide to maximize the profit homeowners will take home in a sale
Window Cleaners could create a how-to guide on mixing their signature window cleaning spray
Restaurant Owners might offer a recipe on one of their best selling dishes
Tattoo Artists may offer a “How to draw XYZ” guide packed with secrets
Wedding Photographers might offer a wedding day planning guide for brides
Life insurance agents might have a price calculator to show people how much they need to be putting away every month to retire comfortably
Of course, the sky’s the limit on what you want to share.
It Won’t Work if It Isn’t Valuable
This part really bears repeating because you’ll throw up your hands and complain that lead magnets suck if you underestimate the value component.
If your lead magnet isn’t something your customers would actively pay for, it likely isn’t good enough yet. It has to provide enough value to really blow their minds that you’re giving it away. This is how you get closer to making them a customer.
I can hear the objection, “But won’t I be giving away all of my best secrets if I do this?” and I’ve got an answer for you.
Most People Don’t Have the Time
You can teach people how to do all kinds of things. They will eat it up and they will have the best intentions to do it. A small percentage may even take a first stab at it.
But your business likely offers people two things that your lead magnet can’t:
Someone to do it for them (or mentor them through it)
Someone to fix it when things go wrong
Your lead magnet may help people mitigate both of those risks, but it still doesn’t matter because the peace-of-mind for most people ends up being worth the cost.
Most People Want Safety, Not the Best of the Best
Here’s a wild fact: Most people don’t want the best of the best when they are buying something, they simply want want to know that they are getting something with a guaranteed return of some kind.
People are more motivated by the fear of losing something than they are the excitement of gaining something.
What this means for you is: Do everything you can to make your business seem like the most logical, safe, guaranteed option out there on the market. Your lead magnet, more than anything, exists to build rapport with your soon-to-be customers in a way that doesn’t feel salesy or gross.
How to Implement a Lead Magnet
There is no limit to how you can do this, but here are 2 ways:
Beginner Method: Post about your lead magnet on social media (make it enticing!) and tell people to DM you to get access. Then, simply send them the link where they can download it (or send the file itself).
Expert Method: Sign up for a service like Mailchimp or ConvertKit where you can capture their email address and routinely email them and build rapport over the long term. This is a far more effective strategy because it gives the customer more time to warm up to you.
Lead Magnets Involve Follow Up
To be clear: exchanging your lead magnet immediately isn’t going to earn you money right then and there. You have to then nurture that lead (the person who showed interest in your lead magnet) and ask for the sale only later.
Think in stages. Recognize that fewer people will be at later stages than beginning ones. This is totally normal. Don’t take it personally.
A lead magnet doesn’t automatically convert your followers into paying customers, but it does get you one significant step of the way there. The rest is up to you.
Great Lead Magnets Lead to Your Main Service
One last parting thought on lead magnets here, in case it isn’t obvious yet:
Your lead magnet should lead back to your main service in some way.
Don’t write a lead magnet about something that would never be connected to something your customer may spend money on. The best lead magnets will (sneakily) demonstrate a void in your customer’s life that will cause them to want to make a change.
And, wouldn’t you know it, because you’ve built that fantastic rapport with your soon-to-be customer through your unbelievable lead magnet, you’re the first person they call when they’re ready to buy.
