If you struggle with content marketing lead generation, there’s no reason to feel alone. In 2017, the top marketing priority for 70% of businesses was generating leads and converting them into customers. Perhaps it’s a top priority because it’s such a difficult thing to accomplish. There are a few tips and tricks you can follow to make sure you’re on top of the lead generation game and it starts with understanding two simple statistics:
- 36 percent of marketers use Twitter as their primary source for lead generation. 49 percent use Facebook, and an astonishing 64 percent use LinkedIn.
- Companies with 401-1000 pages on their website secure 600 percent more leads than companies that have only 51 to 100 pages.
These statistics should serve as a guide for your next lead generation campaign. If you have yet to jump on LinkedIn, it’s definitely time, and if your website is still in its beginning days with fewer than 401 pages, it’s time to devote more time to content creation. Let’s explore four more surefire ways to generate leads without breaking the bank.
1) Start With Content Segmentation
If you lack web development skills, it’s usually best to outsource some of your lead generation tasks, like content segmentation, which displays content to site visitors based on relevancy; this means you will need to create various versions of content for each segment you are targeting. According to Kissmetrics, content segmentation can increase conversions by 400%.
Creating different versions of content for each segment you are targeting is quite simple; your content creation specialist can easily accomplish this goal for you. Making sure the content displays appropriately for each targeted segment, however, is a bit more difficult. A professional web developer will be able to help with the coding that ensures content is displayed according to the segment the site visitor falls into.
2) Use Case Studies to Prove Your Worthiness
Just because a person is interested in your product doesn’t necessarily mean they will benefit from it. This is why distributing case study content on your website or through emails is a surefire way to generate qualified leads. When you allow leads to see the types of clients you have worked best with in the past, this helps them determine if they should take the next step and contact you to set up a consultation or appointment. Case study content also enables you to prove yourself as a company that can meet and exceed the needs of its clients.
To generate leads with case study content, you can take one of two routes:
- Publish the case study content on your website or blog
- Ask website visitors to give you their email address in exchange for a case study download
Following the second route listed above is an excellent way to grow your mailing list, but remember, just because 500 people give you their email in exchange for premium content does not mean they are all qualified leads. You will need to send a followup email a few days later asking readers what they thought of the content. This followup email will serve as a reminder of your brand to the readers as well as help you determine which ones are qualified leads and which ones aren’t. Those that are qualified will likely respond requesting more information. Hopefully, they will have responded on their own before the followup email was even sent.
3) Get Real With Live Chats
Once you have a prospect in sight, you need to hit them with a lead magnet as soon as possible, like a live chat function; this is a sure way to grab their attention. Think about it. Someone lands on your site because of a search request, so they already know you are offering content that will be of value to them. When a live chat feature pops up and asks them if they would like a free PDF full of even more valuable content, they are likely to respond with a yes. All they have to do is provide the live chat bot with an email address and their good to go. Essentially, a live chat feature is the same as having an on-call salesperson around the clock who knows how to generate leads for you. Some companies have even reported a 400% ROI on live chat functions.
4) You Can Never Guest Post Too Much
Quality content comes at a high cost. Many professional content creation specialists charge anywhere from 10 to 15 cents a word. Some are even known to charge $1 per word. With that being said, it comes as no surprise that you don’t want to give away content for free, but sometimes in doing so, you can generate leads. Guest posting on as many authoritative sites as you can is an effective lead generation hack by driving more traffic to your site. The goal here is to find leaders in your industry that have high domain authority and guest post on their blogs. This lead generation hack is simple to deploy and requires no use of external apps. If you think industry leaders will be leery to publish your content, you’ll find it comforting to know that many of them hop on the guest posting bandwagon because it provides them with free content. Just make sure the content you ask them to post provides value to the reader and is free of grammar and spelling mistakes. Most importantly, make sure it includes a byline with your company’s name as well as at least one embedded link that directs readers to your site.
Don’t Give Up
Generating more leads with visual content isn’t going to happen overnight. Research has shown, though, if you don’t give up, visual content WILL enhance your lead generation campaign. So, don’t give up. As you continue providing social media followers and site visitors with visual content, you will eventually see an increase in consumer engagement and lead generation.
Reach out today if you want to speak with a top B2B marketing agency in the world.
