🕸️ How to Optimize Your Social Media Profile for Lead Capture

Happy Halloween! 🎃

Few things are more horrifying than the social media profiles of small business owners. They are terrifying. 😱

Over the past ten years, the majority of profiles I’ve seen are stale and lack clarity and consistency. A disjointed afterthought that costs businesses thousands, if not, tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

Social profiles miss opportunities due to:

• Headshots that are unprofessional or 10-20 years old

• No banner/cover image or one that doesn’t utilize the prime real estate

• Little to no clarity on the target audience and the offer

• No call-to-action (CTA)

What business owners overlook is that their social media profiles are often their first impression, in a world where their current and future customers spend hours every day consuming content on social platforms.

Your social media profile is a direct reflection of your brand and the quality of service you provide.

Social media accounts are the largest marketing funnel businesses have and an optimized profile can drive thousands of potential customers to a business’s products and services.

Let’s get your profile out of its coffin and into the light. Here’s how.

5 STEPS IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES:

1. Upload a recent, professional headshot 🧟

2. Make your banner a billboard 🏴‍☠️

3. Clarify what you do 🧛🏻

4. Pin featured content📍

5. Use call-to-action for lead capture 🕸️

Step 1: Upload a recent, professional headshot 🧟

People want to connect with other people.

Dogs sniff butts. People look at faces. It’s science.

Having a strong personal brand allows your business to have a friendly face that people trust.

Your personal brand begins with your headshot. If it’s a janky photo that resembles Tom from Myspace, your pet or heaven-forbid your profile photo isn’t of you at all, it’s time for an update.

Don’t think your professional headshot from JCPenney twenty years ago will get you off the hook either. People don’t have to know what you look like today to know that’s not what you look like anymore.

I know you’re holding on to the old you, but people want the new, authentic you and that old headshot breaks trust.

Once you’ve gotten that new headshot from a local photographer, your colleague at the office with their new iPhone 15, or you’ve cropped yourself out of those beautiful family photos you just took, upload that sucker to all of your social profiles, including the ones you don’t use anymore. ✅

Step 2: Make your banner a billboard 🏴‍☠️

The banner image/cover photo is the biggest piece of real estate available on social media accounts. Opposite of the current real estate market, it’s free.

Yet, most people don’t invest in it.

After your headshot, people look at your banner, hoping to better understand what you’re all about. When they see a stock image, a personal photo, a solid color, or no banner at all, they lose interest.

Your banner is your billboard. In less than 2 seconds, a person should be able to know what to expect from you.

Share who you are, what you do, who you help, and what problems you solve. This could be in the form of a call-to-action (CTA).

Step 3: Clarify what you do 🧛🏻

In the bio section, real estate inventory is low, so clarity is critical.

Craft your tagline using this formula:

I help/coach/teach/train/work with {who} {do what} {how}.

Here’s a great example of a clear tagline. 👇

Step 4: Pin featured content📍

Pinned posts on Instagram, pinned tweets on Twitter/X, and featured content on LinkedIn create opportunities to provide free value in the form of lead magnets or highlight your top-performing content to provide social proof and further build trust.

Start with something free that’s packed with value. When your audience is well-established and trusts that you’re here to help and not just looking to sell something, go ahead and include a paid product or service.

Step 5: Use call-to-action for lead capture 🕸️

Once people have gotten to know you a little through your social media profile, give them the next step using a call-to-action (CTA).

They may or may not take you up on it right away, but having one on each social profile will ensure it’s there for them when they’re ready to take that next step toward the solution you offer.

Each social profile has the option to include a link to an external website or landing page. Include a link to the action you want them to take next, keeping in mind that they’re still getting to know you, and trust hasn’t fully been established yet.

Your best bet is to direct them to a free resource or newsletter where you can capture their email address to begin nurturing the relationship with consistent value. This also protects your business from social platform changes that could affect your audience and your ability to reach them.

Pro Tip: Add your call-to-action to the location field on Twitter/X and your bio on Instagram, and turn Creator mode on within LinkedIn to turn your link into your CTA. Here’s an example of Justin Welsh directing people to his newsletter.

We’ve moved from a physical-first world to a digital-first world. Social platforms are our digital communities.

Even if our business serves our local community, our brand has the opportunity to reach far beyond city limits to a global audience.

First impressions are still everything. Make yours count.

Have a spooky and safe evening, my friends!

ONWARD TOGETHER.

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