What is a Lead Generation Strategy?
Your lead generation strategy defines the activity, and its execution, behind capturing the attention and interest in your product/s or service/s from your target market.
A lead is someone who is much warmer than just a random prospective client. It denotes someone who is on the verge of investing in your product or service. Someone who needs that extra push and proof to believe in the value of what it is you are offering to them.
Why is a Lead Generation Strategy Important?
Generating quality leads online is the foundation for any successful marketing strategy. Establishing a strong pipeline will help to maintain and support your business’s growth year on year. To generate a healthy and consistent number of leads online, your strategy should incorporate a balance of both inbound and outbound marketing techniques.
Below, we’ll explore five of the most effective strategies for generating leads online.
1. Content Marketing
One of the most fruitful ways for businesses to connect with their audience and find new customers is through content marketing. Content marketing builds trust with new and existing customers in a way no other form of marketing can rival. It also allows you to educate your consumer with the information they need to make an informed purchasing decision.
Content marketing should be at the heart of your marketing strategy. Research indicates that 88% of B2B marketers use content marketing as a lead generation tactic. It is an ever-evolving process that can consist of multiple components under any one campaign. Here are just a few examples you can use to kick-start your content marketing activity in 2020:
Video
Video streaming platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo, along with social networking channels like Instagram and Facebook, receive tens of millions of visitors every single day. Leverage this free traffic by creating content such as ‘how-to’ videos, product demos, or Q&As to complement your niche.
Video is a great way to bring your content to life and drive engagement with your audience. It’s also a surefire magnet for website traffic, with videos boosting organic search traffic by as much as 157%. The popularity of video shows no sign of slowing down, and it’s one of the most powerful ways to encourage online conversions.
Podcasts
The ability to stream content from any device is quickly gaining mass-market appeal, with podcasts being an innovative and useful tool for generating leads.
Podcasts can help to significantly improve your brand’s visibility, with Google finding and listing them if you host them on your website. What’s more, once recorded, you can upload them to the likes of iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud to give your content a bigger audience. It is a great evergreen approach to your marketing strategy since leads can continue to flourish well beyond recording. Consider hosting interviews, Q&A sessions, or educational discussions to inspire your audience and showcase your area of expertise.
Case Studies
Case studies or in-depth customer reviews are another great source of content marketing. They illustrate your product or service’s value from a ‘real-life’ perspective that your target market can directly relate to. Today’s consumers can be cynical about sales-driven messages. Case studies are an effective way of supporting your brand legitimacy and conveying your USPs without over-selling what you do.
2. Email Marketing
Despite the new technologies and channels that the modern marketer now has at their disposal, email marketing remains one of the best strategies for lead generation today; with 59% of B2B marketers citing it as their top channel for revenue generation.
One of the key trends in email marketing at present is automation. Email automation offers several benefits to your business, but ultimately simplifies your lead generation process. From straightforward email send-outs to complex campaign management and data analysis, automation removes the legwork of regularly keeping in touch with your audience.
Nurturing your new leads is an essential, but often neglected, part of lead generation. Automation will streamline your workflow in the form of welcome emails, targeted blog updates, and personalised birthday greetings. It will help you build and nurture lasting relationships with your leads.
3. Social Media Marketing
Your social media channels can be a goldmine for leads when you get your strategy right.
Decide what channels are most popular amongst your audience. Consider various demographics when making this decision, such as age range, profession, and personal interests. For example, LinkedIn would be a prime channel for your B2B lead generation strategy if your target audience comprised professionals and key decision-makers within a specific sector.
Social media enables you to interact regularly with your audience, on a broader scale than most other methods of communication. It helps foster brand awareness and provides trackable metrics, making it a prime spot for capturing and nurturing new leads.
4. Paid Advertising
Paid advertising can also be a hugely effective way of generating new leads online. However, strategies such as Google AdWords can end up costly and time-consuming. One way to reduce costs is to consult with an expert or agency to ensure your strategy is functioning effectively and you’re reaping the rewards you hoped for.
Facebook Ads are also a popular choice with paid advertising, because of the simplicity they offer its users. It provides a wide range of demographics which you can use to target your audience precisely. Businesses can quickly reach numerous people within a set time frame and budget.
5. Website Optimisation
A critical part of your lead generation strategy is ensuring your website is optimised for conversions. Add contact forms to the landing pages which generate the most traffic on your site. You can also implement strong calls-to-action (CTAs) in the form of buttons or neat pop-up windows. Consider using CTAs such as free trials, for example, ‘Try our free 30-day trial’, to help encourage demand for your service or product. And offer useful links to blog posts or video content to provide visitors with the information they could be searching for.
With most search traffic attributed to mobile users, it’s also vital to optimise your landing pages for mobile.
Do you want to generate high-quality leads online?
Simply Media can help you to find the right leads at the right time. We’ll help you to build an effective lead generation strategy with ethical and transparent data collection. To discover how we can help your business grow, contact us today and find out more.