Lead Generation Doesn't Happen on its Own
Field of Dreams lied to us. If you build it, they won't come. That is, you can't rely on just the existence of your business to gather new and recurring clients. You have to not only put your name out there, but you have to show your potential customers that your product or service is better than anyone else's. So, no matter how beautiful your website, how attractive your storefront or how awesome your product, you have to dangle the carrot. In other words, you better make sure your lead generation game is on point.
Here are five helpful tips to generate new leads for future clients that'll stay.
#1: Helpful Marketing
Nothing instills trust in a brand than helpful marketing. What is helpful marketing? It's exactly how it sounds. As a business, you won't get very far if people don't trust you. Generate leads through being helpful and offering free advice. It'll build your reputation as an expert and the customer will appreciate the free help.
The effectiveness of helpful marketing can be compared to the film
Miracle on 34th Street when Santa tells the mother where to find a toy she's looking for at a cheaper price. Sure, good ole' Saint Nick may send her somewhere else, but he gained her trust and future loyalty.
Tip: SoHelpful is a popular helpful marketing site that allows your customers to easily schedule calls with you. Integrate SoHelpful right into your website with attractive widgets.
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Ho Ho Holy Lead Generation, Santa![/caption]
#2: Question and Answer
No matter how many times our parents tell us not to trust what we read on the internet, we've never stopped asking questions or giving answers. While the majority of answers are ridiculous, inaccurate or horribly mean, this isn't what we're telling you to do. Generating leads through question and answer sites builds your authority on a subject. Businesses that know what they're doing obviously attract customers. There's no faster way of establishing authority than by providing quality answers to questions your potential clients might want to know.
Tip: Try Quora, an attractive question and answer website that builds feeds based on personal interest. How can Quora help with lead generation? If you're a service provider, let's say a graphic designer, you would focus your interests on graphic design, art, etc., and your feed will fill up with questions that people with common interests will ask. That's when you swoop in and give the best answer possible.
#3: SEO/PPC
Search Engine Optimization is not just essential for lead generation. Your website won't even be visible if you don't apply SEO to your website. This circles back to the whole "If you build it, they will come" lie. These days, it seems like there are more websites than grains of sand, so unless your website is close to or at the very top of a Google search page, clients won't find you. If clients can't find you, you don't exist. Being visible on a SERP will generate leads if customers are doing a general search for a product or service you offer. SEO takes some time to build, but nobody will tell you it isn't worth it.
Pay-per-click advertising is a fast-forward, yet an expensive version of SEO, which is an excellent way to generate leads at the launch of your site. By all means, invest in PPC, but our advice is to focus on long-term SEO, which has been proven to be more profitable.
Tip: Not to toot our own horn, but
Awkward Media specializes in producing quality SEO that puts your website at the top of search engines.
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When Sherlock Holmes can't even find your site[/caption]
#4: Twitter
Twitter has consistently been a useful tool for lead generation. Don't underestimate the power of a tweet. Think of the character limit as an elevator pitch. Sell your service or product in a short sentence. The value of words will surprise you. The limited word count appeals to our shortening attention spans, which is why a catchy, click-worthy tweet is so appealing for businesses. And like all other social media platforms, following the right people will lead to organic followers. Engage with your followers and the accounts you follow: retweet, reply, hashtag.
Tip: Without being spammy or distasteful, use every part of Twitter to sell your business. That includes your header photo, profile pic, and bio.
#5: White Papers/Ebooks
Showing potential clients that you're as good as you advertise can be easy with white papers or ebooks. White papers are free documents with attractive graphics that present a problem and a solution about a particular topic in detail without overtly advertising your services. Remember, it's NOT a convoluted advertisement. Obviously, the subject matter of the white paper or ebook is related to the service or product you offer, but it's not the purpose of your white paper. The white paper is meant to be informative and in-depth. It's your chance to show off your knowledge on a subject and build your reputation.
Tip: There are many ways to get white papers and ebooks wrong. Do your research and take your time writing it, as you will be judged harshly.
Want to Start Implementing Lead Generation Now?
If you think that lead generation is a static activity that you do once and never have to worry about ever again, then you a) haven't read this article (go back and try again!) and b) still think that if you build it, they will come. The point is, every company's job is to constantly fight to find clients and keep them happy. If you want big guns fighting in your corner,
contact us today and we'll show you just how obsessed we are with building brand empires.
