Growing more leads begins with taking a balanced approach
Attracting and sustaining sales leads is at the top of any business’ priorities. It’s always a continuous challenge to find quality prospects—whether you’re a B2B or consumer marketer. While every marketer is looking for ways to grow leads, it also seems like there is never a shortage of snazzy new lead generation techniques and applications that appear on the horizon. And although some can be effective for specific types of markets and sales cycles, we think that a broad-based approach can be applicable and effective for almost any kind of business or industry.
We believe that the components of a well-rounded lead generation program should include a combination of the following three strategies:
- Traditional marketing channels
- Content marketing
- Social media engagement
Traditional marketing channels
Why should you consider traditional marketing tactics as part of your overall lead generation program? Because when used strategically, they still work. When you’re establishing a brand, traditional channels like TV, print, and even radio naturally lend themselves to drama and narrative—key elements to creating a memorable initial impression. What about direct mail? Isn’t that all but dead? A recent USPS survey revealed that over 40% of people still read or scan direct mail pieces. And if mature audiences are a large part of your customer base, they are still overwhelmingly more reachable through traditional media than through digital channels.
Traditional methods still have considerable reach and power in attracting attention among consumers. You obviously wouldn’t want to base your entire lead generation program on them, but if you’re looking to introduce your brand and launch your lead generation process in dynamic fashion, don’t dismiss these tactics.
Content marketing
This has proven itself to be one of the most reliable methods for establishing credibility in your brand, especially among B2B marketers. Forbes reports that over 70% of B2B marketers use content marketing to help generate leads—and 60% of B2B decision-makers say that content provided by companies help them make smarter purchasing decisions.
One of the easiest ways to disseminate meaningful content and start a dialog with prospects is through a blog on your website. Time and again, blogs enable you to highlight your expertise and experience, position yourself as a thought leader, and also create a voice for your company. Give visitors content that addresses common questions and issues in your industry—and helps place your products or services as the logical next-steps to solving a problem or achieving a goal.
Creating strategic landing pages that includes infographics, videos, and other eye-catching, easy-to-digest, and shareable content is another great way to showcase your expertise. And be sure to create landing pages with gated content (such as whitepapers or ebooks) to capture contact information. You can find more ways to build your content marketing program here.
Social Media
This is a no-brainer component to any lead generation program. Research has shown that 78% of small businesses obtain at least a quarter of new customers through social media.
Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter provide a great opportunity for knowledgeable individuals in your company to engage in discussions and share insights on topics that are most relevant to prospects. In addition, these channels provide an ideal portal to content on your website and landing pages, and enable you to direct visitors to information or services that address specific needs.
Determining the right mix
You’ll need to figure out how much each of the above channels factor into your overall lead generation program mix depending on your market dynamics and prospect demographics. But each one can play an important role in capturing attention, delivering meaningful information, and maintaining engagement with your prospects at various contact points. A balanced approach to lead generation provides, at the very least, a solid starting strategy—and can give you additional direction, insight, and flexibility to test and tweak tactics for better success going forward.