How Top Brands Are Going Social for Lead Generation

Liz Brohan, CBD Marketing Bridget Kulla, James Hardie Building Products Paula Scheller, Firestone Building Products Ted Fay, Culligan International

The sharing of ideas and experiences is what moves humanity forward.”

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77% B2C marketers reporting

customer acquisition through Facebook

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277x

How much more effective LinkedIn is at generating leads than Facebook or

Twitter

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77% B2B marketers who have

acquired a customer via LinkedIn

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Build and Promote

• Encourage prospects to visit your social media pages

• Provide the value needed to keep them there • Use Search to drive traffic • Share your knowledge • Monitor conversations

and be responsive

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24 to 51 Number of blog posts

needed to kick off lead gen growth

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50 to 100 Incremental indexed pages on Google to

see double digit growth

From Manufacturer to Lead Generator

Bridget Kulla Digital Marketing Manager

James Hardie Building Products

• Global leader, innovator of fiber cement building products

• Aggressive goals for growth • Dominant in new construction • Identified residential repair & remodel market

as opportunity

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Big Challenge

• No visibility into end-customer: homeowner

• Channel complexity – independent contractors,

new construction builders, big box retail, distributors

• No ability to impact conversion • Unable to project against future sales

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Bold Solution

• Develop direct-to-consumer unit • Implement highly integrated lead

generation and nurturing programs

• Revitalize brand platform • Develop infrastructure to support

fulfillment and marketing – Technology systems integration,

mobile app development, measurement and management processes

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Own the lead… and more of the sales process

From Manufacturer to Lead Generator

• Direct and channel marketing programs: – Door-to-door lead generation – Travelling experiential showroom – Events – Microsite – Promotions – Sales tools – Social and PR – Revitalized referral program – Robust lead nurturing program

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Relevant, exciting offer

Social

PR

Events

Contractors

Website

Door-to-Door

SOCIAL LEAD GENERATION

Crawl, Walk, Run

• Job #1: Prove concept of social media as business driver

Channel Partners

Events, Promotions

and Activities

Completed Jobs,

Consumer Chatter

REACH RELEVANCE RESONANCE

Three Pillars of Influence Brian Solis, The Rise of Digital Influence

• Popularity • Proximity • Goodwill

• Frequency • Seasonality • Amplitude

• Authority • Trust • Affinity

Harnessing Channel Partners

• Providing content for reposting

• Contests • Before and after stories • Answering consumer,

posted questions

Be where they will be

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Inform, invite, engage

Ambassador Twitter Feed Where are the James Hardie Ambassadors today?

Corporate Twitter Feed

Integrated publicity and promotion

Reward

• Microsite to reward advocacy – Testimonials – Before and after photo posts – Contractor endorsements – Referrals

Social Lead Generation Results

• #1 referrer to the sweepstakes landing page

• Almost doubled the number of daily engaged users

• Lifted organic reach by 10% in the last year

Like & Follow!

• https://www.facebook.com/JamesHardieBP • www.linkedin.com/company/james-hardie-

building-products

Engaging The Boss via Social Media

Paula Scheller Director of Marketing Communications

Firestone Building Products

• Global manufacturer and supplier • Roofing, wall and specialty products for

commercial buildings • “Roots to Rooftops” • Headquartered in Indianapolis • 1,700 employees worldwide

Our Customer: The Boss

• Contractor • Architect • Building Owner • Facility Manager • Consultant

Reaching The Boss • 30+ shows • Year-round schedule • Engage The Boss • Pre-, during and post-show • Framework for content and lead activity

Social Media “History” • Started early 2012 • Multi-channel approach • Educate and involve product and

marketing teams • Reflects key brand messaging • Trade shows provide focus and “reason why” • Customers and prospects (leads) are there!

How Does This Translate to Leads?

Visitors: Content to Build Awareness

• Passive, but interested • Product and solution information • Booth # • Speaking engagements and demo schedules • Pictures and videos • Case studies and project profiles • Awards • 80/20 rule

Engaged: Content to Draw Them In

• Now an active Fan or Follower • Polls and surveys • Daily offers • Contest to gather data:

– Name – Email – Booth entry only

Engaged: Content to Draw Them In

• Inform, invite, entertain • Help before you sell

– Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn • “Are you coming to our booth event?” • “Come to the booth and register to win.” • “Our new product could be

an option for you.” • “We don’t offer that,

but you could try . . .”

Prospects & Leads: Satisfy Active Interest and Collect Data • White paper, e-book, research paper, etc. • Specific to boss group(s) and/or show • Create landing page for data collection • Refine Call to Action • Social content links/drives to that page • Use social to help schedule meetings at

the show • Direct messaging • One-to-one • Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn

After the Lead: Nurturing

• Online community to: • Obtain and share

information • Project profiles and wins • Recommend products,

systems and warranties • Customer service record

Upcoming Trade Shows

Like & Follow Us! • https://www.facebook.com/FirestoneBuildingProducts • https://twitter.com/FirestoneBPCo • http://www.linkedin.com/company/firestone-building-

products

Using Social Media to Build a Younger Lead Base

Ted Fay

Culligan

• “Hey Culligan Man!” • Classic brand/high recognition • Leading supplier of whole-home

water treatment products • 650 North American dealers • Local water experts • HQ near Chicago • 6,000 employees worldwide

Current Customers

• Homeowner • Older (45+) • Suburban/rural • Needs filtration because

of hard water or water contaminants from sources like well water

New Customers

• Home or condo owner • Younger (under 40) • Suburban/urban • Wants filtration because

it’s a healthy choice, makes their lives better

Culligan Lead Gen

• Via the culligan.com website • Heavy SEO/SEM investment • Drive to “Make An Appointment” • Use social media to develop leads with the

younger demo “new” customer

Using Social Media to Build a Younger Lead Base

Social Media “History”

• Social media start: early 2012 • Facebook & Twitter for consumer engagement • Blog • Sync with strategy to:

– Attract a younger customer to the brand – Begin developing a lead database

with a younger demo – Continue to drive traffic to website/ “Make An

Appointment”

First Steps

• Build audience • Organic only (no ad investment) • Content driven/more-better

– Infographics – Videos – Weekly blog posts – PR and editorial

• Links and outreach

Contest Test

• Facebook with Twitter support • Spring break timing • Small ad budget ($500) • Partner co-promotion • Modest prize • High barrier to entry

– Names AND addresses – Short time frame/10 days

Results

• 500 new likes in 10 days • 300 entries/names &

addresses • 200 winners • 105,000 impressions • Majority of page growth

came from males 18–34

Next

• Engage • Nurture • Repeat

Like & Follow!

• https://www.facebook.com/culligan • https://twitter.com/CulliganMan