LEAD GENERATION
Lead generation is one of the most efficient ways to ensure a healthy, long-lasting relationship between business and customer.
Leads are one of the main raw materials that keep the digital marketing machine running, so generating leads has become an essential process for every type of company and industry.
WHAT IS
LEAD GENERATION?
- Lead generation is one of the most sought-after services among professionals and companies today. What used to be called prospects or contacts are now called leads.
- The goal and end result are the same: converting a contact into a sale. Lead generation stems from an obvious need to speed up contact acquisition, to later convert them through digital or non-digital actions.
- It used to be common to do telemarketing from phone directories, completely at random and without any kind of targeting. Today it's possible not only to target, but also to nurture those contacts through digital marketing strategies across multiple communication channels.
WHAT ARE
LEADS?
- In short, leads are business opportunities for your business. They're users who have provided their contact details — such as name, email and phone — in exchange for a valuable offer — such as useful, relevant content, spreadsheets, ebooks, infographics, etc.
- In other words, they're people who have already shown interest in your company's topic and would probably like to know more about it, both its products and/or services and other information.
- The interest is on both sides, and the secret is to offer high-value content. Then, later, nurture that lead intelligently to turn them into a customer.
HOW DO YOU GENERATE LEADS FOR A BRAND?
eBooks
The eBooks are one of the most classic offers for lead generation. The advantage of an eBook is that it lets you go deep into a topic and explore it at a level that probably wouldn't be possible in a blog article.
Webinars
Webinars are another widely used format for producing content and generating leads. Through voice and video, webinars have a more personal touch that brings potential customers closer to the company.
Surveys and studies
Surveys and studies are also widely promoted, common formats in certain markets.
Tools
Tools help your potential customers solve more complex problems. They can be part of your solution or something completely new. If they're part of your solution, tools also play an important role in moving the lead forward in the buying process, as they act as a "sample" of how much better the work would be with the full solution
Infographics
Infographics are great content for creating value for your audience. They're visual representations of your content, alternating text and images, which makes this type of content very dynamic. They can also be a very efficient lead generation strategy.
Free consultation
Another efficient lead generation strategy is offering free consultations that help with decision-making, helping potential customers achieve their goals. However, it's important to stress that the focus should genuinely be on helping, not closing a deal.
Templates
Templates are basically ready-to-use models for any context, such as spreadsheets, presentations or anything else that makes a task easier. Templates work very well for generating quality leads because they're so practical.
Email courses
This content format is very valuable for both leads and the company itself. For leads it's very useful, as they receive content in an order that makes learning easier. For the company it's interesting because you can analyse how leads interact with the different content.
Video series
A short video probably isn't valuable enough to promote on a Landing Page. But a more in-depth video lesson, a longer interview or a series of videos on a particular topic can make up a valuable set of content and be used for lead generation.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF LEAD GENERATION?
- When you invest in lead generation, business opportunities increase. That's because you attract your audience with precision, reaching people genuinely interested in your business; after all, they showed that interest in the first place.
- Another advantage is higher sales team productivity: working with leads already filtered by the marketing team gives salespeople better working conditions.
- The possibility of increasing your conversion rate, as long as there's solid planning based on previous results and data, so the visits you get aren't lost and visitors are identified.
- With lead generation you can assess your visitors' interest in your offers and see how your conversion is doing. A good conversion rate is a sign that your content appeals to your persona
- Understanding the lead's buying stage is also important. Companies often focus only on leads ready to buy a product or hire a service. But thinking this way wastes a large share of leads who are still at the learning and consideration stage and aren't yet ready for your offer. You always need to think about the Buyer Journey.
MAIN CHANNELS FOR GENERATING LEADS
Website
A well-built website fed with highly relevant content lets you capture leads through newsletter sign-ups, other forms or tool/solution trials. The main goal is to turn visitors into buyers. To do so, make sure the layout, CTAs, forms and content are high quality.
Blog
A blog is a great channel for building trust between your brand and potential customers. Anyone can find your blog through online searches, so it should be optimised for search engines. Readers should be encouraged to return to the blog to consume more content and take action through the CTAs in your posts.
SEO and Content Marketing
Your content is the foundation of your communication efforts. Content marketing lets you create and distribute educational, relevant content to engage consumers. Search engines value high-quality content from high-quality websites. So think of your content as the fuel for all your marketing campaigns.
Social Media
Social media marketing is one of the most used today and has become an indispensable strategy for most businesses. It lets potential customers search for products, learn about them and even buy through social media.
Paid Ads
Businesses pay for clicks on their ads on search engines like Google. They're an excellent way to promote your products and services at the top of search results. These ads are highly targeted and can generate qualified leads.
Email Marketing
Email is an excellent form of communication and an important tool in a marketing strategy. It's one of the most widely used lead generation tactics and also one of the best and easiest ways to communicate.
HOW DOES THE LEAD GENERATION
PROCESS WORK?
Landing Pages
A landing page is a web page (also known as a destination page) where users are sent, with a single goal; one of the most common is capturing user information through forms.
Forms
Forms are usually placed on landing pages and consist of a set of fields that capture information before the user clicks the button to receive the offer.
Offer
The offer is the valuable content your company provides on the landing page. It must be valuable and relevant enough for users to feel interested and be willing to exchange their personal information to access it through the Call to Action.
Call-to-Action
A Call to Action (CTA) is a small image, button or message that encourages users to take some kind of action. When it comes to lead generation, this action encourages users to click the button so they can get the offer (ebook download, infographic, etc.).
