Lead Generation
After you have identified your target audience, the next step is to determine how you will reach them with digital marketing. There are two ways to do this: Outbound and Inbound Outbound marketing is when you reach out to people to generate interest in your product, or it can be through cold calling, direct email, billboards, radio, television, magazine and newspaper ads respectively. Inbound marketing focuses on attracting people by creating content that is relevant to them. You draw them into your business with content that fits their needs and interests.
Which should one choose? While it’s a decision you need to make while keeping your target audience and buyer personas in mind, 86% of people skip TV commercials. 44% of direct mail is never opened. 91% of email users have unsubscribed from corporate emails to which they previously subscribed. Inbound marketing not only helps generate leads but also increases customer acquisition. 3 out of 4 inbound marketing channels cost less than each outbound marketing channel. If we go by these statistics, it is obvious that inbound marketing is much more effective and offers a higher ROI than outbound marketing. This is mainly because customers are bombarded with information from left to right and in the middle. This has made them more selective about what type of content they want to consume.
Customers are also spending more time actively researching and identifying the brands they want to interact with. So now you want to make it easier for your potential customers to find you, rather than the other way around. While inbound marketing is great, you definitely shouldn’t rule out outbound marketing. Depending on your target audience, certain outbound marketing tactics can be beneficial.
Trade shows, conferences, events and content published in print media can help to reach specific groups of people. Lead Generation Channels – Website, SEO, Email Marketing, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing.
Website One of the easiest and most effective ways to generate leads for your business is through your website. Having an engaging website that looks good and is easy to navigate can help you build a pipeline of potential customers. It is important to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly as most users access websites on their mobile devices.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) People often use search engines to search for products and services. You can have a website and social media presence, but the only way a potential client can find you is if you rank high on a search engine results page (SERP). The ranking depends on how SEO friendly your website is. SEO includes the keywords found on your website and the type of links included in your content. It is not enough to have a website. You need to make sure it’s search engine optimized so people can find you when they search for specific keywords and phrases related to your business.
Email Marketing Email marketing is considered to be one of the best ways to generate leads. Most B2B marketers say they consider email to be one of their top free organic sales channels. It is also the channel that offers the best return.
Content Marketing Content marketing is considered the second most effective when it comes to lead generation. You need to make sure your content is interesting, useful, and adds value to your leads to generate leads. That alone does not guarantee traffic, because your content must also be easy to find on the platforms that your target group visits most frequently. You can experiment with different types of content like blogs, videos, and infographics to see what works best for your audience. Luckily, it’s easy to keep track of engagement through various analysis tools. You should regularly evaluate the performance of your content to determine which of these formats is most effective at generating leads and focus more on that.
Social Media Marketing If you’re looking for more leads, you need to take advantage of social media. 54% of social media users use this media to search for products. Not having a social media presence or not using it to generate leads is like leaving money on the table. The above channels help lay a solid foundation for lead generation.