For businesses to grow and expand, lead creation is essential. To find and attract potential customers, nurture them through the sales funnel, and eventually turn them into paying clients, strong lead generation strategies & techniques are necessary.
In this post, we will look at several effective lead-generation strategies and techniques. Now that you are aware of the differences between the inbound and outbound lead creation processes, let’s focus on the lead generation procedures you will employ in each scenario.
Inbound lead generation strategies
The basis of the inbound lead-generating strategy is lead-generation marketing. The latter includes discovering marketing avenues that will draw in prospective clients. Depending on the topic, different sources of inbound leads are used (search engines, social media, and content marketing being the most prominent).
Content marketing
Almost 80% of B2B businesses use content marketing for lead generation. The possibilities for content marketing are endless; blog posts, competitions, and images are only the tip of the iceberg.
Certain content formats will perform better than others, depending on your objectives and your audience. Analyze the content that generates the most inbound leads, then focus your efforts there. Here are a few examples:
- Articles and guides: One of the best ways to get business leads, particularly B2B sales leads, is to create high-quality blog material because it draws readers to your page and establishes you as an expert. Before writing any article, conduct in-depth research, optimize your wording, and publish only the necessary facts.
- Lead magnet: Any downloadable material you’re willing to part over in exchange for an email or relevant information can be used for this. E-books, study guides, cheat sheets, case studies, and more may be included. Send highly targeted, customized marketing using the information collected in emails once they have been authenticated.
- Videos: Videos help people understand things more clearly. Provide videos that address the lead’s inquiries while adhering to the same principles as written content. Remember to include a link that takes readers to a landing page, lead magnet, opt-in form, etc.
- Podcasts: As they have become an essential component of our motivations for work and professional self-development, they are an excellent approach to creating new leads. 1/5 of persons in the 25–34 age range listen to podcasts weekly, and 1/3 do so monthly. Try using them in your inbound lead generation plan if your business niche permits it.
Social media
Six hours a week is all that is needed for 66% of marketers to produce leads from social media.
With social media, you can promote your brand publicly and integrate blogging, targeted advertising, and other features onto a single platform. Though every platform has advantages and disadvantages, inbound prospects will discover you there, particularly if you participate in relevant sponsored postings and advertisements.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO, according to about 59% of B2B marketers, has the largest influence on lead creation. Make sure your lead-generating website is the first thing customers encounter when they are searching for products, services, or answers to their problems. Use terms and phrases that are relevant to these search queries throughout your content and pages to achieve this.
Pay close attention to the search queries. By establishing relationships with other websites and obtaining a large number of backlinks, link management makes it feasible to maintain off-page SEO. These strategies will help you reach your intended lead-generating objectives.
Outbound lead generation strategies
Because they haven’t expressed interest in your offer voluntarily, leads that are identified may be more difficult to convert. On the other hand, the so-called cold leads can be converted just as quickly with targeted and personalized marketing.
Content broadcasting, cold outreach, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising are a few common outbound lead generation techniques. While lead generation can be done manually or automatically, for free or for a fee, PPC is a paid alternative.
PPC advertising
PPC is a useful tool for improving inbound marketing, but it may also play a major role in driving large sales volumes through sponsored lead creation. Facebook, Google Search, ad networks, and numerous other paid sources offer a wide range of targeted traffic options for running sponsored advertisements.
These leads are often obtained through unique landing pages made for each campaign. More intricate lead-gathering forms are another feature of paid lead-generation marketing initiatives. This is done for a very straightforward reason: you want your company leads to be as enhanced and targeted as possible right from the start when you pay for traffic.
If you are aware of your ideal target market and have the sales capacity to handle a large volume of warm leads, this is an excellent strategy. But there are two important questions you should always have the answers to when organizing a campaign: Do I have enough money to spend? And what is the price of a lead?
Cold outreach
To engage in cold outreach, you must first conduct lead sourcing and then reach out to possible leads through cold calls or emails.
While attending marketing or sales events, you can engage in face-to-face lead sourcing. Alternatively, you can use lead-generating tools to look for contacts from a variety of sources.
Numerous lead generation businesses provide solutions to fit any budget or requirement. Because of this, lead sourcing, whether done manually or with the aid of free email discovery software, may be done for free. The following are ways to vary the types of leads you generate:
- Professional social networks (with the LinkedIn lead generation approach, you can simply obtain the contact data of your second and third connections; around 80% of leads originate from this platform).
- Social networks (lead generation via Facebook and Twitter).
- Company websites.
- B2B directories (check out our list of the top websites for generating B2B leads).
- Results from search engines, particularly Google.
Determine your target market, identify the ideal business, choose the contacts you must contact, and utilize an email finder to generate leads.
Make immediate contact with your potential customers as soon as you have their contact information. You can do this by cold calling or sending them an email.
- Cold email: One efficient outbound B2B lead generation technique is cold emailing. Especially when you utilize an email marketing automation solution that enables you to create highly tailored emails, modify their scheduling, and monitor the effectiveness of your cold email campaigns, it enables you to market to hundreds of potential leads.
- Cold calling: This is probably the most conventional approach to generating leads. Additionally, cold calling is still effective, even though it appears to have been replaced by more modern methods. You must conduct thorough research, write a script, choose the best moment to reach out to your lead, and never stop following up.
Content sharing
The distribution of content can be used for outbound lead-generation strategies & techniques, even if it is seen as an inbound method. Use your helpful guidance, for instance, to strike up a discussion with a possible lead.
Techniques for Lead Generation
The process of developing lead generation strategies & techniques is intricate and requires a great deal of research and labor. However, there are a few lead generation suggestions that can make it simpler (and more effective):
Develop an engaging CTA
Your landing page should always look fantastic, but to get the lead to sign up, your CTA needs to be appealing. When writing the CTA, consider the desires and worries of the potential customer.
Make your landing pages and website mobile-friendly.
Nearly 60% of users said they would never suggest a non-mobile-friendly website. Verify that everything is shown properly and that your lead can register using a mobile device.
Provide sustaining content.
Like a high-quality automobile, evergreen content requires more work up front, but it will pay off much more quickly than content based on trends.
Remember to use email marketing.
Email marketing is still the greatest option for businesses in 2023, per several studies. Utilize it for lead nurturing, onboarding, updating, and, of course, sales.
Be trusted and reliable.
Subscribers anticipate receiving more than one email when they sign up. To be in front of your leads at all times, develop an email drip campaign with informative content and select the ideal email frequency.
Establish a referral program.
Referrals are a terrific tool for any kind of business. In exchange for a little extra incentive, allow your clients to post a referral link that will bring you fresh, focused prospects.
Integrate methods for generating leads
Make sure that leads continue to pour into your sales funnel. Take action, try outbound lead creation techniques, and depend on lead generation tools if you find that inbound marketing isn’t producing the number of leads you need.
Conclusion
To sum up, to attract, engage, and convert potential consumers, effective lead generation necessitates a strategic strategy that includes several kinds of strategies & techniques. Utilizing social media, SEO, email marketing, content marketing, and other channels, you may design an all-encompassing lead generation plan that generates leads and propels business growth.
