Social Prospecting: Identifying Potential Customers That Fit Your Sales Team

Customers are the lifeblood of every business. Their support keeps your firm in motion.

To achieve your business goals, it’s crucial to acquire new customers who will patronize your brand. In this age, traditional channels like print, radio, or TV ads are already out of style. Social prospecting has now become the go-to customer acquisition approach for many companies.

Social prospecting uses social media platforms like Facebook, 𝕏, LinkedIn, and Instagram to connect and interact with potential customers. With over 4 billion users worldwide, social media channels are a treasure trove of prospective customers for your brand.

In this guide, you’ll discover how social prospecting works and its benefits for business growth. 

What is Social Prospecting?

Social prospecting pertains to the use of social media platforms to find prospective customers. This practice identifies users who fit your ideal customer profile. Then, you connect with them using high-quality content that guides them into your sales funnel.

Common platforms for social prospecting include:

• Facebook
• 𝕏 (formerly Twitter)
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• TikTok
• YouTube

Examples of Social Prospecting

Example #1: Say you’re a B2C handmade jewelry brand. You want to boost your sales by finding new customers on social media. For visual products, Instagram and Facebook are the best platforms.

Here are some ways your brand can engage in social prospecting:

• Post high-quality images of your jewelry products to attract potential customers.
• Utilize hashtags such as #handmadejewelry or #DIYjewelry to increase the visibility of your posts.
• Like or comment on the posts of other jewelry enthusiasts.
• Write blogs and articles to showcase your fashion expertise.

Example #2: Say you own a consulting firm for startups and small firms. In this case, LinkedIn would be your go-to social prospecting platform. 

Here are some ways your firm can engage in social prospecting:

• Publish informative articles on topics that benefit startups, such as marketing strategies and cost-cutting tactics.
• Offer free webinars or e-books that provide guides and tips for startups.
• Join startup and entrepreneur groups on LinkedIn and participate in conversations.
• Connect with and send direct messages to prospective clients.

How to Perform Social Prospecting

The end goal of social prospecting is to turn users into paying customers. However, it takes deep and nurtured connections with people to lead them from social media to your website.

This connection must be genuine and personal. People must feel that you care about and value their unique needs and interests. Once a solid connection is established, customers are more likely to appreciate and support your brand.

This “forge a connection” process of social prospecting can be intricate. So, we’ve simplified it into five easy-to-follow steps below:

1. Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Our journey starts with identifying the people most likely to acquire your product or service—a.k.a., the “ideal customer.”

To do this, specify certain attributes of people relevant to your niche or industry. Companies can analyze their current and previous customers to identify the types of people (or businesses) that typically support their brand.

Consider a B2B marketing company that provides marketing services through copywriting, print advertising, and web design.

Upon analyzing its previous customers, it finds that its “ideal customer” tends to be:

• Startups and small or medium-sized enterprises in the tech, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail industries.
• Located in the United States or Canada.
• Employing 50 to 200 people.

But what if you've just started your business and only have a few recent customers?

In that case, you'll need to rely on research and educated guesswork.

Say you’ve just opened your handmade jewelry store and are in search of prospects online. You’ve only had eight customers so far, and they aren’t enough to define your ICP.

In the meantime, infer the qualities of people who may be interested in handmade jewelry. For instance, your possible ICP can be:

• Women between ages 18 and 45.
• Students and young professionals
• Interested in local fashion 
• Followers of small fashion influencers online

2. Determine the Social Media Platforms to Engage With

Alright, now that you have an ideal customer in mind, you need to determine where to find them.

In other words, identify the social networks they flock to. 

This step is a cakewalk if you’re familiar with the user demographics of popular social media platforms. For instance, people across various age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds are avid Facebook users; professionals and career-oriented individuals often use LinkedIn; Gen Z and millennials are heavy Instagram users, and so on.

It’s possible to use multiple social media platforms for social prospecting. After all, over half of Internet users use two or more social media platforms.

More importantly, you must also determine exactly where to find your prospects on each platform. 

Let’s revisit our B2B marketing company example.

You might need to join groups on Facebook or LinkedIn to find entrepreneurs who might benefit from your services. Keywords like “business beginners” or “social media marketing” can help you find these groups.

Of course, before you join your target group, make sure to have a professional social media profile. Use a high-quality profile picture and cover photo, and add a memorable bio. Remember, first impression matters in social prospecting, so be sure to get this stuff right.

Moreover, high-level mastery of your chosen platforms is essential for successful social prospecting. 

For instance, on LinkedIn, the ability to use advanced search filters will help you quickly find people (or businesses) based on job position or industry. Or, if you use Twitter, you can take advantage of its hashtag system to identify trending topics and conversations. And if you often miss posting on time, study the native schedule post features of Twitter or Facebook. 

3. Offer Valuable Content

Content is the heart of social media marketing. To grab people’s attention to your brand, give them relevant content that can entertain, educate, or advise them.

You can use various types of content, but stick to those that resonate with your target audience.

Our B2B marketing company example can post content like:

• Blogs or articles on effective marketing strategies.
• Infographics, reports, or case studies.
• Educational videos about business, marketing, and advertising.

In content creation, quality is always above quantity. So, there’s no problem taking your time to produce stellar content. However, strive for consistency to keep your brand relevant. Regular posting helps ensure your brand stays top-of-mind for your audience.

We understand that consistent content creation can drain your creative juices fast. Therefore, we recommend enlisting the help of AI tools for social media to produce content drafts for you. 

4. Engage with Your Audience

Successful execution of step 3 leads to an increase in your followers. Prospective customers may reach out to inquire or seek advice. This is your chance to forge connections.

Swift and direct responses to people’s messages are important. If they ask a question, address it first before promoting your website, products, or services. People appreciate brands that provide solutions rather than those who overtly push their products under their noses. 

Once the user feels satisfied with your response, move the conversation to a channel that can lead them into your sales funnel. 

For example, if an entrepreneur asks for social media marketing tips for their tech brand, provide valuable suggestions and then offer your social media marketing services, inviting them for a consultation via phone.

Off the inbox, another way to engage with customers is through post comments. Share your insights with other members to highlight your skills, knowledge, and expertise. Thoughtful comments can boost your brand’s online presence, attracting more prospects to your products and services.

5. Conduct Personal Outreach With a Compelling Message

So, you’ve already found your prospective customers and connected with them. Now’s the time to reach out and offer your products or services.

Don’t be the lazy type, and avoid templated messages (no one likes that!). Instead, craft personalized messages that demonstrate your brand’s genuine desire to talk with them. You can reference specific information from their profile or recent posts to show that you actually care for their needs. 

When presenting your products or services, focus on highlighting the benefits and relevant features to your prospects. You may use data and statistics to back up your claims, but use simple words to express your ideas and viewpoints.

Of course, if the prospect failed (or forgot) to respond, don’t be shy to follow up. Give it a day or two to nudge them and remind them of your latest message.

Social Prospecting Made Easy With HighPerformr

A strong social presence is key to successful social prospecting. With consistent and high-quality content posting, a solid brand can build meaningful connections that lead to long-term growth.

HighPerformr uses generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to create informative and relevant content for your business. Using social listening, you can monitor your audience’s social activity to help you ignite impactful connections and convert them into paying customers.

Get better ROI today from social media. Try Highperformr today!