Did instagram marketing agencies just rebrand themselves as lead generation agencies?

Outbound lead generation has been around for many years. Outbound lead generation is the act of marketing, advertising or publicizing a product or service to potential customers in an effort to generate leads. Outbound lead generation can be done through various methods such as email campaigns, telemarketing, direct mail and print media.

Social media marketing agencies though are now a primary tool for outbound lead generation because companies with ads leads have plateaued and it’s becoming more difficult to buy people’s attention. Outcome-based pricing is also common when hiring an outbound lead gen agency because they can only do their job if they are successful which means generating leads for you.

The hard metrics and of how much this service will grow your business has all meant higher prices and more professional customer service.

You’ll now see old school social media marketing agencies deploying bots, creating CRM, producing real-time data with data visualizing, and even using fancy Saas tools to speak with you like Intercom.

The Cost of Customer Acquisition

One of the reasons that instagram marketing agencies have rebranded themselves as lead generation companies is that they can’t afford to be inefficient or unproductive. Outbound lead gen agencies like Outreach and Outbrain are now using social media marketing to reach people and brands more effectively than before. Outreach provides a full suite of outbound marketing tools, including marketing automation software which can help you nurture leads on your website. Outbrain has over 100 million monthly active users who see them on sites like BuzzFeed and CNN.

So now this means SMMA or Social Media Marketing Companies are forced to compete. If large companies can mostly do it themselves than marketing agencies have to perform in niche and creative ways. They have to lower their costs and offer greater benefits.

The Switch to Customer 1st Model

As companies start to transition to the customer-first business model, they are starting to make more outbound efforts like lead generation part of their growth strategy. The only reason you haven’t bought their product yet is because you aren’t sure what it is and when to buy.

These products are complicated too and highly technical. Maybe your brother in law Jason could explain it, but how is this important to me? It used to be I could walk into the store and talk with someone, but now I’d rather do a quick google search, read a couple articles, watch a youtube video, and then talk with someone.

The Switch to Lead Generation and its Affect on Social Media Marketing Agencies

The lead generation agencies will often use business tools to their fullest potential. They might be working for several companies at once and they only grow when their customers grow. Their business relies upon a win-win model.

That puts Social Media Marketing in an interesting spot. Do they aim for the large consumer or the more small business who rather not read the articles and DIY their Social Media Strategy. Probably the ladder. Social Media Marketing agencies have to make the case that they can get it done so you don’t have to and they have offer something better for your business rather than hiring an expensive Marketing Manger.

Further Reading: “Top 13 Outbound Marketing Strategies in 2018”https://www.marketingdive.com/news/top-13-outbound-marketing-strategies-for-2018/510074/

Traditional Social Media Marketing Agencies are worthless

Traditional social media marketing agencies provide services such as designing images, copywriting and creating ads, but organic leads convert into customers faster because they come pre-qualified and are highly targeted. This is the generation of the informed consumer who actively compared you against another solution and expects to talk with a real person when they want and where they want.

They are looking for something useful and they wanted it from the experts in the particular industry.

What does this mean for you?

Excuse the fancy-jargon about lead generation and outbound sales. If you want more customers than you can grow much quicker online and have ample tools to build your brand for FREE. The main problem will be actively engaging with your customers and grading your own work. So now is the time to have a service the meets your personal needs and not pay for anything else.

If you need more of the right customers seeing your instagram posts then come Socialgrowers and if you are seeking more don’t buy any expensive software tools or hire a team. Hire our team and get back to what you do best like offering a great product and great experience for your customers.