Business owners, marketers, and salespeople are very well aware of how important lead generation is. In order for people or businesses to be able to buy products or use services, they first have to become leads — they have to express a certain level of interest into the products or services. To generate leads, businesses have to come in contact with prospects, either by calling them, getting them to their website, or — getting them to visit a Facebook page.

Facebook can be a powerful lead generating tool. If you’re a business owner who hunts for leads online, you shouldn’t miss out on all the opportunities that Facebook provides you. And if you already have a Facebook page for your business — and what business today hasn’t — you’re almost halfway there.

Use Design and Facebook Features

For a while, Facebook didn’t allow calls-to-action in the cover photos. But a few years back, that policy was changed. You can now add a CTA to your page’s cover photo, and you should do it.

But you shouldn’t completely disregard the photo itself. Following Facebook‘s guidelines will ensure that your page’s cover photo is up to the standards. You should design a cover photo that pulls attention to your call-to-action, ideally by including some short and effective copy. While you’re at it, you might also want to design a couple more cover photos, because you will want to change them from time to time.

There are some advanced options and features you can use as well. With a little bit of know-how or a good tutorial to explain to you how to do it, you can add lead-capturing opt-in forms to your Facebook page. And you can also customize the tabs on your page to make them more interesting, and draw attention to different offers you’re placing over Facebook.

Pay Attention to What You Post

Facebook revolves around content. The content you post is what will get your Facebook page noticed, but notice is not all it takes to turn a prospect into a lead. But you have to start somewhere, so make sure that your updates feature attention-grabbing content. You want to do whatever you can to get first-time visitors to like your page. If they don’t, they probably won’t be coming back. High-quality images, useful advice, and interesting information are the hallmarks of quality content.

You can also create contests and events. Both of them are great for grabbing attention and increasing awareness, and you’ll need that if you want to attracts prospects you can then convert to leads. You can organize giveaways, webinars, and competitions.

The important thing to remember is that Facebook can be used to funnel visitors to your website. If you’ve set up your online strategy in a way that places your website in the center of your lead-generating efforts, you’ll want to add links back to your website in everything you post on Facebook.

Behave Properly

If you thought that Facebook is a good place for direct selling, think again. There’s nothing that can turn off people as an aggressive selling style, and if every post you make on Facebook looks like an ad, you lead-generating endeavor is bound to fail. Remember, content is what gets you leads on Facebook.

You can also become active in groups and communities where your targeted audience is likely to appear. You should use them to establish yourself as a helpful person who offers good advice and insight, and not a person whose sole goal is to sell people things. Get involved in conversations, and if you have some content that can be genuinely helpful, provide links to it. And then, if those groups and communities allow you to post information about your contests, sales, and discounts,