8 Ways to Use Organic Social Media to Generate Leads

No cash burning tricks, no fancy ads. Just straight talk on getting those numbers up with what's already in your pocket.

It's all bare-bones, it's smart, and it might just be the best thing you haven't tried yet.

1. Lead magnets

A lead magnet is a free, valuable item that you offer to your audience in exchange for their contact information. It could be an eBook, a whitepaper, a free trial, or even a discount code—whatever grabs the attention of potential customers.

Lead magnets work because both sides win: your audience gets free, useful stuff and you get their email or phone number.

Once you've got this cool lead magnet ready, the next step is to let people know about it.

This is where social media becomes your megaphone.

Post about what you're offering and highlight its value. Then, make sure to clearly explain to your audience exactly what they need to do to get it.

Usually, it's as simple as sending you a direct message or commenting on the post.

You must have seen a lot of these kind of posts in the wild - “Comment DOWNLOAD to get my 27-step process on how to...”

You can use tools like Scrollmark to automate the whole process for you. When someone shows interest in your lead magnet by commenting on the post or sending you a DM, Scrollmark can automatically send them a DM with the lead magnet.

It's smooth, it's quick, and it’ll make your life a whole lot easier.

Below is an excellent example of how Codie Sanchez created a lead magnet and then pitched it to her social media followers.

​​This strategy is brilliant because the comments and retweets send positive engagement signals to social media algorithms, which helps boost the organic reach of the post.

In Codie’s example, each person who commented was sent an automated DM with the link to a landing page with the gated content, so she could get their email address.

But instead of doing this and lowering the chances of conversion, tools like Scrollmark let you do the exchange directly in the DMs.

The user gives their email address or phone number and they’re sent link for direct download.

The contact informaton provided by the user sits nicely in the Audiences tab of Scrollmark, ready to be exported to your CRM for omnichannel campaigns.

With the help of AI, Scrollmark personalizes the messages using profile information and their behaviour during the conversation.

So, if someone reaches out to you, they won't just get a generic response. They'll get a message that feels like it's just for them. This personal touch makes a big difference in converting leads.

2. Contests

Contests are a double-edged sword in the best way.

First, they're lead magnets on steroids. You're not just passively waiting for leads, you're actively engaging an audience that's eager to participate.

Second, the shareability factor of contests can exponentially increase your reach. People love sharing contests with friends, which amplifies your visibility without extra effort on your part.

Now, the downside - not all leads from contests are going to be your next big customers. Some are just in it for the freebies.

But that's where lead nurturing comes into play.

You need to have a system for filtering out leads that won’t convert and focus on potential customers who are or might be genuinely interested in what you offer.

For example, simple conditionals in Scrollmark can help you segment your leads based on their profile, how they’ve interacted with you in the past, if you’ve tagged them a particular way, and so on.

At the same time, listeners in Scrollmark let you send tailored messages to contest entrants based on the actions they take.

Both of these features of the flow builder help in focusing your nurturing efforts on high-quality leads.

Then you can automate personalized follow-ups with every participant, making it easy to start the nurturing process immediately.

Here’s how you can easily run a contest on social media to get leads:

• Decide on the prize, rules, and how participants can enter. Make sure it aligns with your target audience's interests.
• Use your social media platforms to launch your contest. Make the entry process simple—like, share, tag, or comment.
• Set up Scrollmark to automatically respond to each entry with a personalized message. You could ask a follow-up question to gauge interest or offer a small thank-you gift for participating.
• As responses come in, use Scrollmark to segment your leads based on their engagement. This will help you tailor your follow-up marketing efforts more effectively.
• After the contest, review the data collected through Scrollmark. Which messages had the highest engagement? Which segments were most responsive? Use these insights for future campaigns.

Keep in mind that the goal of your contest isn't just to give something away, it's to build relationships and discover potential customers who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.

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3. Giveaways

Giveaways are a fantastic way to engage your audience and attract new followers.

They're simpler than contests because usually, participants only need to perform small actions like following your account, liking a post, or tagging friends.

This simplicity makes giveaways a go-to for quick engagement boosts and lead generation.

Before you launch your giveaway, know what you want to achieve:

• more followers,
• increased brand awareness, or
• maybe direct engagement with a new product

Your goal influences your call to action (CTA), whether it's asking followers to "like and share" or "tag a friend."

As participants engage with your giveaway, you can use Scrollmark to capture leads by encouraging users to submit their email or phone number for an extra entry or exclusive update.

This way, you're increasing engagement and at the same time building your contact list with potential customers interested in what you offer.

After your giveaway ends, Scrollmark can automate the follow-up process:

Send a thank you message to all participants, offer a consolation prize (like a discount code), and keep the conversation going.

This helps convert one-time participants into long-term followers and, eventually, customers.

The success of your giveaway hinges on how well it resonates with your audience and how smoothly it runs.

By automating the tedious parts and focusing on creating a memorable experience, your giveaway can get you leads, up your engagement, and make your brand presence pop on social media.

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4. Hashtag challenges

Think of hashtag challenges as the wild, unpredictable cousin of the flash mob, but all online.

If you hit the jackpot with creativity and timing, it's like striking oil in your backyard—leads just bubbling up to the surface.

So, how do you make this happen?

Hashtag challenges are about getting folks to do something—anything, really—slap your custom hashtag on it, and share it far and wide.

You need to get your crowd in on the act, making noise, and painting social media with your brand's colors.

When done right, these challenges can skyrocket in popularity, bringing a ton of visibility to your brand.

The secret sauce? Keep it simple yet snazzy.

Your challenge should be a no-brainer for anyone to jump on but cool enough to get them actually wanting to. It's your open mic night—could be showing off a quirky way to use your product, busting a move, cooking up a storm, or a crafty hour project—as long as it vibes with what you're all about and gets people pumped.

Here's where the magic happens: push everyone to share their (master)piece with their challenge entries with friends and followers to spread the word even further.

This not only amplifies your reach but also creates a sense of community and engagement around your brand.

And as the hashtag wave gets bigger, pull out Scrollmark to reel in those leads. Toss them a bone—exclusive sneak peeks, a shot at glory, or a sweet deal for joining the fun.

The goal is to convert the buzz and engagement into a tangible list of leads.

Hashtag challenges are not just a laugh and a half;,they're a crafty way to mingle, show off your brand's fun side, and build a band of followers itching to see what you'll throw at them next.

5. Live streaming

Livestreaming's totally changing the game for businesses eager to connect directly with their audience and nab leads in a way that's genuine and grabs attention.

There's something special about livestreaming.

It tears down walls, letting you and your audience get up close and personal in the here and now.

This straight-from-the-hip chat builds trust and gets folks leaning in to hear more about what you've got up your sleeve.

It breaks down barriers, allowing you to interact with your audience in real-time.

Because let's face it: seeing is believing. When potential buyers can catch you and your crew live, fielding questions and showing off what you do, your street cred skyrockets.

Old-school sales funnels feel like running a marathon with hurdles. Livestreaming? It's your fast pass to face time with your prospects and customers. This hands-on approach is gold for drawing in quality leads who are already liking your vibe.

Check out Brendan Hufford's approach.

He hit the live button to dish on the ups and downs agency owners face.

This wasn't just another webinar. It hooked a niche crowd—those agency heads looking to buff their biz—while also speeding up the whole trust vibe through real talk about real struggles.

And the cherry on top? No replays. That lit a fire under folks to tune in or miss out.

Livestreaming's charm is in its no-frills approach. Forget about high-tech setups or throwing wads of cash around. A smartphone, decent Wi-Fi, and you're streaming live to the world on YouTube, Twitch, or straight through social media.

But you do need to run a few things before the livestream to make it a hit:

• Plan your livestream like it's the main event. Line up topics and points to keep things rolling without any awkward pauses.
• Tell everyone about your livestream way before it happens. Put it all over your social media, giving everyone a heads-up with teasers of what they can expect. This build-up makes sure you're performing to more than just your cat.
• Start teasing with countdown posts, giving a little sneak peek of what's to come with each one. Encourage your followers to signal their excitement with comments like "CAN'T WAIT" or "COUNT ME IN."

Use Scrollmark to catch those signals and turn them into a solid lead by snagging their details for the event.

Once you've got their attention, keep the reminders coming with Scrollmark's help.

When its showtime, make it a two-way street by encouraging live questions and reactions. Answering on the fly not only keeps viewers hooked but also showcases your expertise.

This engagement isn't just fun, it’ll give you a ton of insights into your audience's needs and interests.

But don't let the magic end when the livestream does.

Save that precious content and repurpose it into bite-sized clips for social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok. This way, your livestream keeps on giving, drawing in leads and interest well after the live lights go out.

6. Brand or influencer campaigns

Teaming up with other brands and influencers who've already got your audience's eyeballs? That's like stumbling into a secret passage to Leadville.

It's a smart play: grab onto their cred and fan base to give your own brand a megaphone.

The trick is to find those partners who fit with your crowd like peanut butter with jelly.

This vibe not only rockets your visibility but slaps on a badge of coolness and trustworthiness that's social media gold.

Start with who you know. Your current partners are the low-hanging fruit of potential collaborators and they're ripe for the picking. They dig your brand, making them prime for teaming up on some killer content or sweet deals.

And don't sleep on the influencers already crushing on what you sell and are fans of your product.

Their real talk about your stuff brings a level of realness to your campaigns that hits right in the feels.

For example, Kajabi's collaboration with pilates influencer Cassey Ho made the most of her genuine love for the platform to create engaging content that naturally attracted leads.

Imagine teaming up for a dynamic duo act across Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, showcasing the best of what both you and your partner bring to the table. This kind of mutual promotion is like a magnet, pulling in people who are on the lookout for exactly what you're dishing out.

Then, consider hosting a webinar or a live session with a unique spin, where both your team and a partner brand's experts share insider info and insights that your joint audience craves.

This approach positions you as the go-to authority in your field, turning the session into a powerful lead magnet rather than just another sales pitch.

Take Leadpages and eWebinar – they crushed it with a workshop that wasn't just a plug fest but actually schooled folks on ace landing pages.

They nailed it by hosting a webinar that provided real value by teaching webinar users how to craft more effective landing pages.

Teaming up with influencers and brands means merging forces to cook up something epic.

With some savvy planning, a keen eye for value, and smart moves with tools like Scrollmark, these alliances can be pure lead-gen magic.

7. Referral campaigns

Launching a referral campaign with the help of your social media followers is like creating a big network effect that will net you leads.

It's straightforward: your followers spread the word about your products or services, and in return, they get cool rewards.

Customers referred by friends are 18% more likely to stay with you and provide a better LTV.

But first things first, you gotta have a sweet deal in place.

Offer incentives your followers can't resist—think discount codes, freebies, or exclusive access.

The key is to give them something valuable enough that pushes them to share your brand with their friends, family, and followers.

Once you have that in place, spread the word everywhere. Use your socials, newsletter, website to let everyone know about your referral campaign.

You might want to think about setting up a dedicated landing page with all the details and mechanics of the referral program. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen referral programs fail because things aren’t clear, people don’t know what to do next, and they don’t know how exactly they’ll get their rewards.

A nice landing page with all the info makes it easier for your followers to understand how they can participate and what they'll get in return.

You also need to make referring easy. This is crucial. Hook your followers up with everything they need: their own referral codes, simple share links, and maybe some ready-to-go posts or cool graphics.

The easier it is for them to refer, the more likely they'll do it.

Now, when those referrals start rolling in, it's showtime for you.

Hit up these new potential customers with a warm welcome DM and maybe toss in a little something extra to sweeten the deal for them.

A little bit of that personal touch goes a long way in turning them from maybes into yesses.

You can also bring Scrollmark into the mix to automate the DMs you want to send to referrals. Scrollmark’s AI can then follow-up on its own to nudge them, answer FAQs, and convert them.

Set up automated thank-you messages to followers who make referrals, acknowledging their efforts and keeping them engaged.

And hey, never stop spicing things up. Throw in new surprises, try out different platforms, or ask your crowd to chip in with their own stuff.

Keeping things fresh keeps everyone excited.

8. FAQ campaigns with chatbot

FAQ campaigns with chatbots are a game-changer for businesses looking to automate and improve their social media marketing.

These digital assistants work around the clock, making sure every question from potential customers gets answered pronto.

Setting up a chatbot might sound daunting, but it's pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it.

Platforms like Scrollmark double as chatbots and let you automate responses to FAQs right on your socials.

This means you have a built-in tool that's ready to engage with your audience 24/7.

Scrollmark lets you rig up all the neat tricks—scripts, triggers, and magic words—so every curious cat gets an answer that hits the spot right away.

The cool part about rolling with Scrollmark as your chatbot buddy is how it gets personal.

It shapes its responses based on what people are asking or sharing, making each chat feel like a one-on-one convo.

It slashes costs and frees up your real-life team to tackle the brainy stuff that machines can't handle.

Here’s how you can get the ball rolling with Scrollmark for your FAQ showdown:

• Hunt down those FAQs: Kick things off by gathering all those questions that keep popping up about your biz. Think products, prices, how you ship stuff, or how things work.
• Craft your answers: Whip up snappy, helpful answers for each question. Make sure they sound like you and give people the info they're after.
• Load 'em up on Scrollmark: Now, you've got choices on how to get those Q&As into Scrollmark:‍
  • Manually add FAQ flashcards: If you like getting into the nitty-gritty, go for this. You'll manually key in each question and answer, kind of like setting up a deck of trivia cards. It’s a surefire way to ensure your chatbot knows its stuff.‍
  • Free-form document upload: Got all your FAQs already laid out in a doc? Perfect. Chuck it into Scrollmark in one go. Just make sure it's neat, with clear question and answer sections. Scrollmark’s goal-driven AI will do the rest, reading through your doc and gearing up to chat with your customers.
• Get those triggers ready: Set up your chatbot to jump into action at just the mention of certain keywords or phrases. This will help bring the right answers out, stat.
• Make follow-ups feel like a friendly nudge: After your chatbot has dished out the initial info, use Scrollmark’s journeys to keep the convo going. Send over a bit more info, toss in a special deal, or simply a check-in to see if the user has any more questions.

And just like that, you're all set to let your chatbot mingle, making every chat feel like it's coming straight from you, but without you having to lift a finger every time.

As folks chat away with your bot, they're taking steps down the customer journey path.

If you consistently hit 'em with useful FAQ answers, and you might just see them getting curious about what else you've got. That's your cue to slide into the convo and maybe snag their contact details.

But sometimes, a quick FAQ chat won't cut it for the curious minds wanting the nitty-gritty. And that's when Scrollmark AI can ask them for their email offering them the full scoop via guides, one-on-one help, or updates through your newsletter.

And there you have it, your guide to making the most of the FAQs sitting in a folder on your desktop.

Keep it fun, keep it helpful, and watch as customers start digging your chatbot and converting to leads or direct sales.

Final thoughts

So there you have it—your no-frills guide to making organic social media work overtime, without the overtime pay.

Get creative with what you've got and see those followers not just as numbers, but as real leads waiting to happen.

Give these tips a whirl, keep it simple, and watch as your efforts start to pay off.

If you have any comments or questions, don’t hesitate to ping me on Twitter.

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