<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So when we talk about lead generation, we\u2019re also talking about how to qualify and score those leads. How do you evaluate whether someone is a good sales prospect?
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, you\u2019ll have several opportunities throughout the lead generation process:
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Targeting. <\/strong>Create marketing content and ads which appeal to specific customer profiles. If you can reach the right people, then your leads will automatically be of a higher quality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Qualifying. <\/strong>Learn more about your leads as soon as they\u2019re generated. Use interactive content to collect information about their tastes, demographics and shopping habits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Segmenting. <\/strong>Use the information you\u2019ve collected to divide leads into even more specific groups. Then follow up with targeted messages such as email marketing, special offers, and more interactive content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
There are loads of different channels for lead generation. You could run Search Ads, attend events, start an email list\u2026 even put up posters with QR codes! But in this article, I\u2019m going to focus on social media<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/h4>\n\n\n
\n![\"how](\"https:\/\/wwwcdn.cstmapp.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/CMOs-most-important-media-channels.png\")
Chart courtesy of Smart Insights
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s because social media is a hugely powerful engine for lead generation. Social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest mean that brands can reach more people than ever. Across the world, social media reaches about 50% of the population – and in the US and Europe, the figure is closer to 70%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"how](\"https:\/\/wwwcdn.cstmapp.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/global-social-network-penetration-rate-as-of-january-2020.png\")
Chart courtesy of Statista<\/a>
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only problem? You don\u2019t own your social media connections. Your business is built on borrowed space. So once you\u2019ve found those leads on social networks, you need a way to get them onto your own email lists, CRM systems, and databases.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s where interactive content comes in. Read on to find out what interactive content is, how it helps with lead generation, and how it can perfect your social media strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is interactive content?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Interactive content is content that responds to your followers and makes them part of your brand story. It could be something as simple as a Facebook post where people share comments – or as advanced as a fully-fledged mobile game.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen you\u2019re focusing on lead generation, the interactive content you create should do 3 key things:<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n- \n
- Collect<\/strong>. Get data and insights about the leads who interact with your content. Get contact details, so that you don\u2019t have to rely on social networks for contact with your customers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Respond<\/strong>. Personalization is a major trend in digital marketing right now. The best interactive content will react to users – for example, a quiz that offers personalized product recommendations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Empower<\/strong>. Your interactive content should make leads feel empowered and in control. You can do that by giving them access to exclusive information, helping them tailor the customer experience, or giving them tools to enjoy themselves and be creative.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
When you get it right, interactive content will produce qualified leads who know and trust your brand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow lead generation with interactive content is different<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
So, let\u2019s recap: interactive content can help you generate high-quality leads, and <\/em>provide you with more information to keep refining your lead generation strategy. That\u2019s already a pretty sweet set-up.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut there\u2019s more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"how](\"https:\/\/wwwcdn.cstmapp.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/static-and-interactive-content.png\")
Source: Business2Community
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThere\u2019s plenty of evidence to show that interactive content is more memorable and motivating for consumers. When people engage with your content – instead of just passively viewing it – then they remember your brand, your products, and your style.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s also an especially powerful source of data and metadata. With conventional ads or email marketing, you can find out a few key points: How many people viewed? How many people clicked?
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWith interactive content, you get a much more detailed picture. You can find out which products are most popular, you can learn how people like to shop. You can even ask them direct questions or send them personalized offers based on the opinions they share.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s one of the reasons why I\u2019m concentrating on social media in this article. Interactive content helps you move beyond the basic metrics of views, likes and follows. An interactive approach to content can totally transform your social media and lead generation strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that’s enough theory for now! Let’s look at some real examples of interactive content on social media. We’ll start with quizzes and surveys<\/a>. And mini-games!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nInteractive content for lead generation: quizzes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Let’s start with a simple example of interactive content on social media.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nImagine that you run the social media account for a small beauty brand. You have several thousand followers on Instagram and Twitter. Your followers are very active, and you regularly run polls, lead question-and-answer sessions, and share photos from your community.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut you want more. You’re aware that you don’t own your audience; it depends on those social media platforms. And you’d like to learn more about your individual followers because you’re not sure that your mass-targeted offers are hitting the mark.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe solution? You create an online quiz<\/a>. When followers tap the link in your Stories or on your bio, they’re taken directly to the quiz app. They answer a few questions about their beauty routine and share their full name and email address. All that information feeds back into your CRM, where you can segment your followers based on their quiz responses, and email out personalized offers and deals.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nHere’s an example of a quiz shared on Instagram, with personalized product recommendations:
<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Beauty](\"https:\/\/wwwcdn.cstmapp.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/beauty-quiz-1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWith one link, this brand collected email addresses and product preferences from potentially thousands of followers. They also received a major boost to their post views, likes, and comments – because everyone loves interactive content.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd the beauty of customized, interactive content is that it can be adapted for lead generation for almost any brand or industry.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nHere’s an example from a sports brand, which shared the quiz with their audiences on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Generate](\"https:\/\/wwwcdn.cstmapp.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/social_media_trivia_quiz_to_collect_leads-1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nBranded mini-games for engagement and conversion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Branded mini-games<\/a> are another way to engage, entertain and learn more about your followers.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nJust like a quiz, branded games motivate social media users to interact with you outside the social network and share more information. And as we saw in the example above from HelloPadel, once you get followers outside their social networks, you can build an over-arching community based on your brand.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou might be thinking that mini-games sound more complicated than quizzes, or more expensive to run. But in fact, just as branded games are becoming more popular with marketers, they’ve also become more affordable and easier to build.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nHere’s an example of a Chinese New Year game by a major hotel chain. They shared the game, and the winners, on Facebook:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Generate](\"https:\/\/wwwcdn.cstmapp.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/example_game_collect_leads-1-1.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut the game itself stood alone. This fun memory game was created with an Easypromos game app. The hotel marketing team just had to pick a theme and add images and text:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Chinese](\"https:\/\/wwwcdn.cstmapp.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/memory-chinese-year-collect-leads-1.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Game apps also have an advantage over simpler content (such as quizzes), because you can invite users to log in to play. This means that each user sets up an account that they can return to – playing repeatedly, building up rewards, and trying different challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Result: users are more engaged, and share more data over time. That gives your lead generation campaign even more power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
Learn more about the user login system<\/a> for Easypromos game apps!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nNow follow up those leads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before you get started creating your own interactive content, I just want to make one final point.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou\u2019ve run a great campaign, smashed your lead generation targets, got a ton of useful data\u2026 Now follow up those leads<\/strong>! If you don\u2019t follow up, all your effort and creativity will be for nothing.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nFollowing up can take many different forms. As always, it\u2019s up to you and your preferred channels of communication. You could send out an email blast. Make a point of answering every comment on your Instagram. Give a coupon to everyone who interacted with the content.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nHere\u2019s a very extravagant example, from LinkedIn. The social network keeps an eye on its most active and high-profile followers. When they use LinkedIn for a major achievement – such as finding a new job – the social network sends them a gift and reaps the reward of positive publicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Generate](\"https:\/\/wwwcdn.cstmapp.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/LinkedIn-post-1-1.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At its heart, a social network is just one big piece of interactive content. So in this example, LinkedIn has rewarded someone for interacting, using the tools, and sharing information about themselves. And – as with all the best interactive content campaigns – everybody wins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
![\"New](\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/19559696\/597cacd6-4ec8-466f-b760-668ad10d25f2.png\")
\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t - Respond<\/strong>. Personalization is a major trend in digital marketing right now. The best interactive content will react to users – for example, a quiz that offers personalized product recommendations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Qualifying. <\/strong>Learn more about your leads as soon as they\u2019re generated. Use interactive content to collect information about their tastes, demographics and shopping habits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n