The Kick A$$ Beginners Guide to List Building Using Facebook

Are you looking for ways to add new leads to your email list using social media?
 
Great!  This post has got you covered…
 
There are quite a few small businesses jumping aboard the social media train, starting pages and building profiles—but are not truly taking advantage of all that social media has to offer.
 
Building up a following via social media networks is awesome…but—a question that I want to pose to you is… do you have systems in place to turn your social media networks into lead generation channels?
 
I’ve learned in just a short time that list building is not limited to websites.
 
There are tools and resources available that you can use to build a client list via your social media networks. 
 
This is what I will cover in this guide.
 

The Basics of List Building Using Social Media

 
Building an email list helps you accomplish two main things:  for one, it helps you stay in touch with your current and new subscribers and secondly–it will help you build relationships with them.
 
Here is a basic overview of how list building using social media works:

  1. Start an email list
  1. Create a lead magnet (to give interested leads in exchange for their email address)
  1. Setup landing page, then integrate your lead magnet with it
  1. Use social media to drive leads to your landing page
  1. A new lead or prospect will opt in to receive your lead magnet via your landing page
  1. Your new lead gets added to your email list and is now your new subscriber!

 

Starting an Email List

 
Before you can even begin to venture off into building a list via social media, you will need to first start an email list.
 
AWeber is the current email list provider that I am using and recommend that you use as well.  If you haven’t started your email list yet, check out my step by step guide here.
 

Creating Your Lead Magnet

 
As previously mentioned, a lead magnet is a free resource is offered in exchange for a person’s email and contact information.
 
In order to get people interested in signing up for your email list, you will need to create an “Irresistible Lead” magnet.
 
Some examples of lead generation magnets that you can create include:

  • eBooks
  • Audio CD’s
  • Cheat Sheets
  • Tip Sheets
  • Email Courses

 

What Makes an Irresistible Lead Magnet

A great lead magnet should:

  1. Have an attention grabbing headline. Some examples of great lead magnet headlines are:
  1. Provide value to your readers – meaning it should be relevant, valuable and targeted for your audience and solve a specific problem.
  1. Contain actionable tips and advice – this simply means that your lead magnet should contain information that readers can use and implement in some way.
  1. Have visual appeal – creating a lead magnet that is visually appealing is likely to increase your conversion rates and compel visitors to opt in for your offer.

Here is an example of the lead magnet that I have created for the Small Business Sense blog for download via my social media networks:

40_Time_Saving_Automation_Tools_and_Apps_00
 

Setting Up Your Landing Page

 
Creating a landing page used to cost a fortune.  Now thanks to online landing page building platforms like Thrive Content Builder this has never been easier.
 
With Thrive Content Builder, you can create a high converting landing page like the one that I am using below in minutes for your business.
 
Small Business Sense Landing Page using Thrive Content Buildier
 

Setting up Your Social Media Profiles for List Building

 
In my blog post 15 excellent beginners guides to social media marketing, I mentioned that there are 5 main social media networks used by businesses.
 
These networks include:  Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and Pinterest.  This guide will cover list building using Facebook—since it is the most popular social media platform used for businesses today.
 
There are a few tools that you will need to accomplish this:

  1. A landing page (that is connected with your email list) – I used Thrive Content Builder to setup my landing page for this site
  2. A Facebook Fan Page cover photo (You can use Canva) to create an image for free.
  3. A link shortner (Bit.ly) is a great resource that you can use

 
 

Using Facebook to Build a List of Email Subscribers

 
Facebook is one of the most popular platforms for businesses and has more than 1.49 billion monthly active users.  The easiest way to build a list with Facebook is via a Clickable Cover image.
 

3 Ways to Use a Clickable Facebook Cover Photo to Collect Emails

 
 As Donna from Socially Sorted mentioned in her post How to Drive Traffic with a “Clickable” Facebook Timeline, your cover photo can be used to drive traffic to your site and also for:

  • An upcoming Webinar you are hosting
  • A product that you are selling
  • An event that you are hosting and more…

 

How to Collect Email Addresses from Facebook Using  Your Cover Page Photo

 

  1. On your Facebook page, click on your cover photo
  1. On the right hand side of your cover photo, click on Add a Description
  1. Add a description of your Freebie and a Call to Action
  1. Next, add a shortened URL of the landing page that you want to drive traffic to (via Bit.ly) to collect email addresses and build your list.
  1. Click Done Editing to save your changes. Your description should look similar to the image below.

 

Here is an example of my Clickable Facebook Page Cover Photo:

Small Business Sense Facebook Cover Photo

Cover Photo When Clicked (Leads to my Social on Cruise Sales Page)

Cover Photo When Clicked
 
As you can see, list building does not have to be limited to just your website.  Social Media networks are also excellent resources that you can use to collect email addresses to build your email as well.
 
Get more list building strategies for your social media networks in the Take the Lead eGuide that is included in the Social on Cruise Control System.
 
Click here to learn more about it.
 
If you enjoyed this post, please be sure to share it with your friends and others on Social Media.  Thanks!

Adam Hansen
 

Adam is a part time journalist, entrepreneur, investor and father.