Generating Online Leads to Grow Your Business
When you’re ready to grow your business, increasing website traffic is usually one of the first things that comes to mind. But growing a business is not just about getting more views; it’s about connecting with the right people. An online lead generation strategy equips you to do just that. It allows you to draw in potential customers who are genuinely interested in your products or services.
Understanding Online Leads
Online leads are people who have shown an interest in a company’s products or services. They may have provided their contact information through a website or another lead-generation strategy. Unlike traditional leads gathered by cold calling, leads acquired online expect to hear from you because they’ve already shown some engagement with your brand.
It usually takes more than one interaction with your brand for someone to become a paying customer. That’s why lead generation is about capturing these potential customers’ contact details so you can engage with them over time. You can send them targeted content that helps build trust and keeps your brand at the top of their minds.
Types of Online Leads
Online leads can come from multiple sources and fall into different categories.
The most common types of online leads are:
- Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL). These leads have engaged with your marketing activities but aren’t yet ready for a direct sales approach. For example, a person who fills out a form on a landing page to receive access to your content is considered an MQL.
- Sales Qualified Lead (SQL). These leads have actively shown an interest in purchasing your product or service. If a contact fills out a form asking specific questions about what you offer, they move from being an MQL to an SQL.
- Product Qualified Lead (PQL). These leads have used your product, often through a free trial or limited version, and have taken actions that indicate they are interested in becoming paying customers.
You can tailor your marketing strategies for these different types of leads to guide them through your sales funnel.
Lead Generation Strategies
Just like there is more than one type of lead, there’s more than one way to convert a lead to a customer. Here are some of the most common methods explained further.
Content Marketing for Leads
Content marketing is one of the most effective strategies for attracting and capturing leads online. When you create and share helpful, relevant content that addresses the needs or interests of your potential customers, you not only draw traffic to your website but also build trust and credibility.
One of the critical components in content marketing for lead generation is Calls to Action (CTAs). These prompts guide your visitor to take a specific action, such as visiting a landing page. When visitors find your content valuable and engaging, they are more likely to click on your CTA, taking them to a landing page where you can capture their details.
Your content may range from blog posts and infographics to more in-depth materials like whitepapers and e-books. For example, you might create a comprehensive guide or research study that’s valuable to your target audience.
By providing content that solves a problem or educates your potential customers, you’re fostering a sense of loyalty and positioning your brand as a thought leader before they even make a purchase.
Social Media Lead Generation
Social media has become an increasingly important tool for generating online leads. Many shoppers turn to platforms like Facebook and Instagram to read reviews and gather feedback about a product or service before purchasing. If you lack an active social media presence, potential leads might not consider your business an option. In other words, if potential customers can’t find your brand on social, it sends up red flags.
Select where to focus your social media energy based on where your target audience spends their time. Post regularly and engage with your audience. You can share links to your blog posts, interact with your followers, and even run contests to keep engagement high and encourage new followers.
Email Marketing Tactics
Email marketing is a powerful tool for nurturing and converting online leads into loyal customers. When someone subscribes to your email list, it strongly indicates that they’re interested in what you offer. Don’t let them down!
Consider creating an email schedule or using a marketing automation program to help you send timely, targeted messages to your users at crucial stages in the buying process. You can tailor your messages to different audience segments, ensuring each subscriber receives content relevant to their needs and interests. Your goal should be to keep subscribers engaged, guide them further down the sales funnel, and strengthen your relationship with them.
Pay attention to key email marketing success metrics such as open, click-through, and conversion rates. These measurements will help you understand your audience’s behavior and refine your strategies for future email campaigns.
SEO and Lead Generation
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a critical element for generating organic online leads for your business. More than 65% of consumers conduct online research before making a purchase. If your website ranks high in search results for relevant keywords, you have a better chance of capturing these potential customers.
SEO involves simple optimization techniques to make your website more visible in these search engine results. These include optimizing your written content, incorporating targeted keywords, and updating your site regularly to meet search engine algorithms. When done correctly, SEO can dramatically increase the visibility of your website to people actively seeking the types of products or services you provide.
Paid Advertising for Lead Generation
Paid advertising is a highly effective method for generating leads online. One of the most popular forms of paid online advertising is Pay-Per-Click (PPC), offered through platforms like Google Ads, Bing Ads, and Facebook Ads. In PPC, you pay a specific amount each time someone clicks on your ad. The cost per click can vary widely based on the targeted keywords or phrases.
The power of PPC lies in its ability to target specific search queries. This high level of targeting often results in a good return on investment (ROI), as the leads generated are more qualified and more likely to convert into customers. PPC is also often less expensive than traditional print advertising, and measuring its effectiveness is more straightforward.
Lead Nurturing and Conversion
Do not skip the lead nurturing step! It is a critical part of converting potential customers into actual buyers. It’s the process of building and maintaining relationships with people who have shown interest in your product or service but have yet to make a purchase.
Content marketing is one of the most effective tools for lead nurturing. Through relevant and valuable content like blog posts and email newsletters, you can stay top of mind, guiding your users closer to a buying decision over time. When you engage with your leads meaningfully, you can show them all the value your business can offer.
Lead Scoring and Qualification
One of the biggest challenges in lead generation is figuring out which leads will most likely become customers. Lead scoring is a systematic approach to evaluate and rank leads based on their potential value to your business. By assigning a numerical score to each lead, you can prioritize and focus your resources on those most likely to convert into customers.
The criteria for scoring could include actions a lead has taken, such as filling out a form or using a coupon, as well as their level of engagement with your brand, like frequent interactions on social media. Having a lead scoring system makes your conversion process more efficient and effective.
Overcoming Lead Generation Challenges
We make it sound so easy, but leading people from awareness of your brand to making a purchase isn’t simple. Many businesses face challenges as they craft their lead-generation strategies. Let’s look at some challenges you might experience and how to fix them.
1. Low Conversion Rates
The issue: Many companies can see increased website traffic but still experience low conversion rates. This problem can occur from issues like poor website design, complex forms that are cumbersome to fill out, or offers that aren’t compelling enough to prompt action.
The solution: Optimizing your website’s user experience is one of the most effective ways to increase your conversion rate. A/B tests, simplifying forms, making call-to-action buttons more prominent, and compelling text about the products can help overcome the issue.
2. Ineffective Nurturing
The issue: When you don’t have timely and relevant content ready for each stage of the customer journey, potential customers can lose interest and move on.
The solution: Marketing automation tools can segment leads based on behavior, preferences, and stage in the buying cycle. Personalized content can then be sent out to each segment, ensuring the material is always relevant and engaging.
3. Small Budget
The issue: Not every business can allocate a large budget to marketing and sales efforts.
The solution: A limited budget doesn’t mean you can’t have an effective marketing strategy. Channels like social media marketing and email campaigns can be incredibly cost-effective. Plus, you can allocate your limited resources more wisely by continuously monitoring their performance and testing different variations for better ROI.
Boost Your Lead Generation with Content Journey
If you need to step up your lead generation game but are already overwhelmed with your to-do list, you’re not alone. Content Journey equips busy business owners and marketers with a tailored lead-generation strategy to meet their growth goals. By creating tailored content that speaks to your target audience, we ensure you’re not just generating more traffic but gathering the right kind of leads. Want help attracting leads and converting them to customers? Contact us today.
