For most small businesses, generating customer leads is the ultimate benefit of creating and maintaining a social media presence. But to make social media an effective lead generation machine, the first things businesses need to do is to generate a following.

The more followers a business has for their social media presence, the better reach they will have. And having a better reach increases the potential to generate more leads. So at the very core of social media for lead generation, businesses must take steps to increase their reach.

Here are some helpful tips for businesses wanting to expand their social media reach.

Prioritise the social networks where followers are likely to be
Businesses need to focus their efforts on the social media networks where their customers and target audience are spending time.

It can take a lot of time and resources to maintain multiple social media accounts, so businesses should make sure that they are prioritising the social networks that matter. That involves spending time researching customer personas so you know where they are on social media. Other ways to find out where your business’s target audience is on social media include:

• Asking current customers
• Running a survey to an anonymous audience
• Seeing where competitors’ content is shared

Optimise your business’s social profiles
It is key for businesses to consider how they can optimise their social profiles. This includes choosing an easily identifiable username, uploading a recognisable photo i.e. your business logo, including clear and concise descriptions of your business and leading users back to your website with a link.

Add social sharing buttons to all your content
Businesses should add social sharing buttons e.g. “Share on Facebook” or “Tweet This” etc. to all of their content; individual blog articles, email messages, landing pages and so on. Encouraging and enabling audience members to share content means you’ll have better potential to reach a broader audience that extends beyond your direct network of followers.

Share useful, valuable content
Businesses need to make sure that their social media presence is something that is worth following. Make sure all of your social media posts consist of valuable, useful, and engaging content that has the potential to attract more followers. When in doubt, businesses should use the 80/20 rule: 80 per cent of content posted is helpful and valuable, and 20 per cent can be self-promotional.

Interact with followers and those who mention your business
Most social networks involve making connections. Therefore, just as businesses should be regularly sharing insightful content, they should also be interacting with followers to build a loyal, engaging following. Take the time to reply when people mention you on social media, thank them if they say something nice, answer their questions if they have them, and make sure to respond to negative comments.