If you’re a B2B company owner trying to increase the number of leads on your website, you've come to the right place. As we're about to explain to you why running a lead generation campaign is the way to go.
Lead generation is one of the fastest and most effective strategies at your disposal. But what exactly is lead generation? And what techniques does it encompass?
Initiation of Interest
It may be obvious, but before we dive in, it's important to define what a lead is. A lead is a person who has demonstrated interest in your business. Therefore, lead generation is the process of cultivating customers for your product or service. Generally, marketing techniques used for generating leads fall under the umbrella of advertising, but may also include non-paid sources such as SEO, word-of-mouth, email, and more.
These days, lead generation is mainly done online, through a variety of sources, with the final goal of converting them into loyal customers. Gathering and analyzing data of potential customers plays a central role in the lead generation process, as it provides businesses with insightful information that can be used to attract, convert, and also delight users.
The First Steps
Usually, leads hear from a business after making the first move. That is, after opening communication by submitting personal information on a landing page, subscription, survey, or any other type of gated content.
The information submitted is then used by businesses to personalize and open communication from their end, and to make sure that the lead is relevant and likely to convert.
You may be thinking: but why? I have lots of traffic, so if one lead doesn't pan out, then there is always another.
Well, having a lot of traffic to your site might sound appealing, but if they don't convert into long-lasting loyal customers, then it does little good, not to mention, indicates that your site may not be properly optimized for conversion - and thus you might want to work on your website to make it user friendly - or that the visitors you’re attracting don’t represent your desired target audience.
Instead, you should focus on generating the right type of traffic. And once generating the right type of traffic, you can focus on differentiating leads. Remember! Not all leads are created equal. So, take the time to single out the ones that are relevant and ready to convert, and one's that won't.
With that in mind, start by gathering insightful data from your leads. This data will not only help you distinguish which leads are relevant but also ensure you're one step closer to converting them into long-lasting loyal customers.
Finding the Balance
Ideally, when starting a lead generation campaign, you should always try to find the right balance between different marketing channels so you can optimize results and minimize costs. You’d want to focus mostly on online channels, for lead generation, as they allow you to:
- Locate decision-makers in specific industries and companies
- Customize your lead generation efforts to different audiences
- Be active, anytime and anywhere
- Network with potential customers
- Grow your professional network online faster
The Most Effective Channels
There are many channels you can choose from when starting a lead generation campaign. Forms and landing pages, for example, are a great channel to start with as they have a very high impact on conversion rates and overall lead generation results.
Another great channel is social media - in fact, social media is probably the most effective channel for lead generation. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that any follower or visitor represents a lead. To become a real lead, a social media user will have to, at least, visit your website, and it’s your task to ensure this happens by simplifying the whole process. One effective strategy to do this is to add links and CTAs that lead to your site in any post shared on social media. These links must lead audiences to relevant and informative pages on your website, such as; landing pages, newsletters, blogs, and so on. You could even consider allowing for newsletter signups directly on social media channels, which would shorten the marketing process.
To complement your social media lead generation efforts, you should also work on content marketing at the same time - this is the production of quality content that can be either written or visual, for example:
- Webinars are a great example of visual content that engages users and plays a central role in turning them into leads. Find a theme you know your target audience is interested in and plan a webinar around it.
- Videos are another engaging type of quality visual content with the most viral potential and popular appeal.
- Reports and blogs represent two incredible sources of written content for lead generation. Creating compelling content will serve as turning you into a thought leader in your industry, provide your audience with valuable information that will engage them, and turn them into leads. Further, the production of quality blog posts, increase the chances of appearing and ranking high on search results, more than any other form of content.
Final Note
We've laid out some essential best practices and strategies for building an effective lead generation campaign. But it doesn't end there. Of course, the goal is to obtain leads, but, to ensure they convert and turn into long-lasting loyal customers, you must do what you can to nurture them.
After all, users have access to a variety of products and solutions, and it won't take much for a customer to seek out another solution if they are unhappy.
So, demonstrate how your business is the most suitable solution on the market, and stand out from the crowd by creating nurturing content. Through this, you can effectively educate your target audience, not to mention, provide them with valuable information that will keep them coming back for more.
Want to know more? Reach out today to find out how we can help you with your lead generation campaign.
