No matter what industry your business is in, lead generation is a vital element in the growth and success of your company.
Lead generation is done by advertising through multiple channels. The more audience you reach, the more they become aware of your product or service. And that could lead to more customers.
These channels can be paid or non-paid sources, like referrals and search engine results. And the channel that generates more leads is email marketing. That doesn’t mean you only stick to using one channel only.
But before we delve deeper into it, there are three basic things that you MUST never forget in lead gen.
- Audience — your lead gen strategies should always be customer-centric
- Budget — your strategies should fit the budget you have; otherwise, you’d end up failing.
- Skill — does your team have the skills to do the lead gen strategy you created?
Create a Strong Content Marketing Strategy
Content marketing is an effective lead gen strategy. Sadly, a lot of businesses are not using putting in a lot of effort to create content that attracts clients.
An effective content marketing strategy includes quality research. In other words, you have to dig deeper and find out what appeals to your target audience. What kind of topics engages them? What kind of language appeals to them?
There are a lot of tools available to take the guesswork out of this. These tools can help you track the keywords your target audience is using. Once you know that, you’ll be able to create relevant and engaging content for your audience.
Aside from using the right keywords, effective content answers the questions your target audience is asking. One of the best ways to find out is by Googling it. For example, if someone is looking for a lead generation tool will type “what is the best lead generation” type of question, and Google will generate different kinds of questions.
According to Kinsta, you can use this simple framework in writing useful content:
- Do keyword research to find a popular question
- Create an article that answers the question
- Follow SEO best practices for your article
- Satisfy the required word count
- Edit and publish your article
Just make sure the question you chose will make for an evergreen topic and just a passing trend; otherwise, that content will be dead in just a few months.
Guest Post on High Authority Sites
Guest posting is one of the underrated lead gen and link-building strategies that still work wonders. But how does guest posting work in the grand scheme of lead generation?
When you guest post, you get links that improve the SEO of your website. It also generates more traffic to your website, especially if you guest post on high authority websites with a large following.
According to Moz, both link building and guest posting work on the same principle. They provide a secondary metric that bridges the gap between a stranger and a customer. When a stranger comes across your product or service, he does not become a customer immediately. They become a lead first, then you nurture them until they convert. Nurturing takes time and for that, you need to reach out to them in a much more meaningful and personalized way. The guest posts and the links you create are the touchpoints that guide the stranger to become a lead to become a customer.
Use Email Marketing
Email marketing hasn’t lost its magic yet. It is still one of the most effective and cheapest lead generation strategies. With careful planning and research, you can generate thousands of leads through email marketing.
Here are some tips for creating a killer email marketing strategy:
Get personal, but not too personal
Personalization has a lot of benefits, especially if that email addresses their needs. According to Epson, 80 percent of the customers are more likely to buy when they receive a personalized experience.
However, in a study conducted by YouGov, 32 percent of the participants get turned off by personalized messages because it feels like an invasion of their privacy. Meanwhile, 29 percent don’t like their names in emails.
Keep the subject line short and simple
Research shows that 49 percent of email recipients open their email based on the subject line. More so, emails with the most open rates are those with subject lines that are 6 – 10 words and have a sense of urgency or exclusivity in them. It can also be a witty or funny subject line. Here’s an example from Shutterstock:
Don’t forget the freebies
People love giveaways no matter how small or simple they are. Giving a simple tool, template, or premium content in exchange for their email is not a bad idea. In fact, emails that offer freebies have a 26 – 66 percent click rate.
Optimize for mobile
No one would want an email that looks bad when you open them on your mobile phone. 80 percent of users use their mobile phones to open their email. So you should have a responsive email so that no matter what device they use, they have a wonderful experience.
- Segment your emails
- Segmenting your email lists allows you to send relevant information and use the right tone of voice. According to Lyris’s Annual Email Optimizer Report, businesses that use segmentation have seen a 24-percent increase in sales.
- Send at the right time
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it is the right time to send because each business type is different. Here’s a chart from SendinBlue that shows the perfect time to send your email for which type of business:
Related: Email marketing: What does 2022 hold?
Leverage Influencer Marketing
This strategy is fairly new compared to other lead gen strategies. But as social media takes precedence, online influencers are now the king on different social media platforms. They have millions of followers, and their voice is an authority in the niche where they are in.
Building a relationship with an influencer and partnering with them to market your business can help you grow. Here are some tips on how to leverage this lead gen strategy:
Identify the key players and experts in your industry/niche
Look for the different influencers related to your industry on various social media platforms. You can also conduct a survey on your potential buyer.
Research them
Look at the influencers’ following. Are they similar to yours? After you identified them, create a shortlist of who will make the biggest impact on your business. But before you start hunting, create a persona for your influencer and reiterate your value proposition from the eyes of the influencer.
If you are the influencer, for example, you might ask what’s in it for you. You might also think if you want to champion the product or service.
Engage with them
Once you identify who the influencers are, start engaging with them to build a relationship. You can start by sharing their content, liking their content, thanking them if they shared yours, asking for feedback, leaving a comment, and more.
Measure results and make adjustments
Creating an influencer program takes time but as you measure, you can make adjustments along the way.
Copy Your Most Successful Competitor
All of us want to be the original. But the reality is, that only a few have that one brilliant idea that all others copy. But imitating someone is not bad at all. China slowly built its economy by offering cheap imitations of popular brands until it became the major economic player in the world today. Now, no one is laughing at China.
In the same way, copying your most successful competitor isn’t so bad. What they’re doing right can also benefit you. The challenge is how to make it your own — something that reflects your brand and your product/service.
Be More Visible On Social Media
Social media might not be a popular lead generation strategy. But the truth is: that your audience — your target customer — is on social media. Every day more and more businesses are using social media than other existing media to engage with their customers and prospects.
So how do you generate leads on social media? Start by finding out where the large percentage of your target audience is. After that, create content that is relevant to them. Find out what they are looking for and answer those questions.
Related: Social Media Marketing: Top 9 Keys to Generate Leads and Boost Sales
Conclusion
Lead generation needs patience and tons of research. Learn where the majority of your target audience is and create the best strategy that can win them over to you.
Take time to know them and be mindful of how they interact with your brand or business. Always test what strategy works and optimize them for the best results.
