4 Detailed Ways to Generate Leads from Instagram
According to statistics, Instagram has 1 billion active monthly users as of June 2018.

40 billion photos are shared and there are 25 million businesses on this social network. If these numbers don’t make you create a profile for your business, then you are missing a huge number of potential clients, big time. Instagram is expected to be one of the most used social networks by 2019, mainly because Millennials and the Gen Z are slowly leaving Facebook and are joining this photo sharing app. Although the youngsters make 60% of all Instagram users, we can’t leave behind the other 40%. That means that everybody who owns a business can’t afford not to be here, because it’s the place where you can find your audience and reach them.
One important thing you should have in mind when starting on Instagram is that having a lot of followers and likes is not the end goal of your presence. You are there to grow your business and you can’t do it by just posting pictures and getting likes. Even with the most engaging profile, you don’t have direct contact with your potential customers. Also, you don’t have control over who sees your posts and you don’t know if you are reaching the right people — the ones that need and will buy your product or service.
They might miss some of the important info that you are trying to share with them, like promotions, discounts, new arrivals, product launch etc. That’s why you have to make sure that you will grab the email address of every person that sees your feed and make sure you deliver the news to them.
The big question that’s hanging over our heads is — HOW?
First of all, you have to have a great bio with a clear Call-To-Action. Don’t confuse your followers with too many hashtags, so the link won’t stand out. Use your limited space to make it clear what you do and present them with a link. Whatever you do — make the link short and sweet. Don’t put links like this — http://www.femina.mk/%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8/%D1%88%D0%BE%D1%83-%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%B7 … and goes on forever. It won’t look professional or that you know what you are doing. Use services like bit.ly if you have no choice.
So (drum rolls) we have 4 super effective ways of lead generation for Instagram:
- Give them something they can’t refuse — your followers are not going to give you their email just because you asked. They don’t want spammers, so you better give them something worth having. That can be a free ebook, white paper, coupon, educational video or a free consultation worth a certain amount of money People don’t think twice before leaving the email for the free stuff — and the stuff is called lead magnets.
In the case of the lifestyle blogger Gabrielle Bernstein, she gives her followers a free meditation album. That alone speaks how well she knows her audience because her niche is people that are interested in spiritualism, meditation, and healthy living.

The law firm Sprout Law who caters to women who need legal advice about their business gives their followers Female Founder Resource Guide. Very interesting and click-worthy.

This is a very effective way to get emails from your targeted audience. You are giving them value for a place in the inbox. That’s how they won’t feel tricked and they will gain trust that your company is happy to have them on board. Then, eventually, they will become your satisfied customers and future brand ambassadors.
Don’t forget to put a trackable link in your bio so you’ll know how many leads you got and who left their email. This is very valuable information because you’ll know how to customize and tailor your next content to get even more followers, engagement and to amplify your romi.
- Ask them to sign up in your bio — the old fashion and honest way. Of course, in order for this to work, you need to have an amazing and straight-forward bio that lets the users know who you are and what you do.
BuzzFeed Food doesn’t even have a bio — they just ask you to sign up. And you run to click the link because you are already drooling from the amazingly delicious videos they post.

You have two choices — either have a killer bio (but you still need great photos) or a feed that speaks for itself.
- Ask for it — in Instagram Stories — another straightforward way to ask. The good thing is that everybody who is intrigued by your content will rush to sign up for the newsletter. You can make their lives easier (and easier means more sign-ups for you) by inserting a link in the story or by using the Swipe Up feature.
- Make a contest and post it on Instagram — (along with the other social networks). Not all of your followers are on one social network, so in order to reach everybody you have to post your content everywhere you have a presence. Contests are a great way to build your brand, to get massive engagement from your audience and drive the serious return on investment from social media.
You can also ask for a photo or a video as a condition for entry, and in this way, you will generate UGC (user-generated content) which you can use in your future posts. People LOVE the recognition of their efforts and will talk more about your brand. But be careful — in order for people to give you their precious email to enter the contest, the prize must be worth it, like for example an expensive trip, exclusive product or a shopping spree.
Make landing pages for better conversion
Your work doesn’t stop here though. You can’t just post the link and let your followers do the rest. As we mentioned before — you have to make it easy for them. Don’t let them think too much or they will click the X button and leave forever. That’s why you need to have a well-designed landing page to go with your link. By well designed, we mean simple, with one straightforward CTA. People need to know what they are getting, and that is the most important thing.
Also, it will help a lot if you have a landing page that shows up only to those who click your Instagram link so you’ll know how effective is the link.
For example, the following tasty landing page is perfect. Lovely header, a one-sentence explanation with what you get and an email form is everything you need.

Instagram is a very good way to engage your followers, potential clients and future leads. Whichever strategy you decide to implement, make sure that it is correlated with your overall marketing strategy. That way you will ensure your actions are structured and aligned with the overall company goals. And remember, always give value.
Originally published at vrootok.com on September 5, 2018.

