If you own a business, most likely you’ll know that it is very important for you to implement strategies to generate leads.
The growth of a business relies on first leads, and converting those leads into sales.
According to Hubspot,
- The best three lead sources for B2B companies are SEO (14%), email marketing, (13%), and social media (12%).
- The best three lead sources for B2C companies are social media (17%), SEO (16%), and email marketing (15%).
Here we’ve put together some valuable lead generation strategies you can implement and scale quickly.
But first, let’s define lead generation.
What Is Lead Generation?
Lead generation in marketing is the act of attracting prospects to your business and increasing their interest through nurturing with the goal of converting them into customers.
The aim is to make easy for your customers to engage with your company.
Said that, we need to differentiate demand generation from lead generation.
Demand Generation vs Lead Generation
Some marketers use them indistinctly. Yet, they are different marketing processes.
- Demand generation is a data-driven marketing process of generating brand awareness and interest in your product or service through the marketing channels.
In other words, if your customers know who you are (your business) but you don’t know who they are, then we are talking about demand generation.
For instance, blog posts and social media posts about our product or service.
- On the other hand, if your customers know who you are (your business) and you know who your customers are, then we are talking about lead generation.
For instance, someone subscribing to your educational newsletter.
Demand Generation Process
First off, you have to identify the content you are going to create.
Popular types of content are:
- Blog posts on your website
- Social media posts
- Infographics
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Case studies
- Resources
Etc.
Once you create the content—marketing assets—think carefully how you are going to distribute it to the right audience.
You can segment the audience with advertisements, for instance.
Lead Generation Process
Your audience has already engaged with your free content. However, you need to create some lead magnets to get contact information from them.
The common lead magnets you can create are the following:
- Gated eBooks
- Gated checklists
- Webinars
- Product trials or free consultations
- Demos
- Email subscriptions
Etc.
First off, you’ll have to do a market research. Understand the needs of your target customer so they will be willing to get that content in exchange of their contact information.
You can run a retargeting campaign with social media ads, pointing to the audience who already visited your website.
5 Strategies To Generate Leads For Your Business
Strategy #1 – Facebook Lead Generation
Inbound leads convert at a better rate than outbound marketing leads. According to the Search Engine Journal, the SEO-generated inbound leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads have a 1.7% close rate.
But taking into consideration that inbound marketing doesn’t produce results in the short term, we strongly advice to implement both: inbound and outbound marketing strategies.
Since the beginning, Facebook has been a good method for lead generation. With Facebook lead ads, users can complete and submit a lead form without leaving the platform. It avoids friction, so it’s key to boost conversion.
Strategy #2 – Ask For Referrals From Current Customers
One strategy mostly overlooked is to ask for referrals from current customers. Yet, not only do cost a referred customer less to acquire but also has a higher potential for retention, according to researchers at the Wharton School of Business.
There are several tactics you can use to succeed in this endeavor. The most common used is to offer a specific incentive. An incentive program could include a gift card, a free next month’s invoice, or even a donation to a charity.
Be patient. Referrals are an effective strategy to grow your business, but it takes time. First, you have to spend time giving value.
Strategy # 3 – Rank In Search Engines With High-Value Content To Generate Leads
High-value content is key to build search engine optimization for your website. That is, the process of making your site better for search engines.
As you create content that users find useful, they are more willing to click to your call to action and move onto the lead funnel.
Related Content: What Is A Sales Funnel And How To Create One?
Strategy #4 – Offer a Lead Magnet
Delivering valuable content is (and should be) at the core of any business. Yet, you have to create also high-value gated content if you want to generate leads.
So it goes like that:
Prospects give you their personal information—usually, their email—to access to the gated content. In exchange for their email, then, prospects have access to an exclusive and valuable content. This is known as a lead magnet.
Related Content: 20 Lead Magnet Ideas To Increase Subscribers
Strategy #5 – Personalized Email Marketing
Once you have direct contact with prospects—because you have their email—it’s time to nurture them.
You have to cultivate the relationship, so you can take them from the prospect stage to becoming a customer.
One of the best ways to do this is with an email newsletter.
Remember to personalize your emails. A study by Experian found personalized emails generate six times higher transaction rates.
Related Content: 7 Email Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
Conclusion
As you’ve seen, your business has many options for generating leads.
If you have time but little money, you can start with the inbound strategies such as creating high-value content. On the other hand, if you have money but no time, then go for paid ads.
For maximum results, use a mix of inbound and outbound tactics to meet your goals.
Let us know if you need some more help. We will be happy to guide you through it.