4 Cost-Effective Ways To Improve Your Lead Generation Strategy

Guest Post by Joe Peters, Freelance Writer

Drive Traffic to Your Small Business Website for Less

Lead generation is one of the most important parts of any business strategy. If you’re not collecting leads, then you’re not gathering opportunities for sales. That means that your bottom line will quickly begin to suffer. ​​​

Unfortunately, for a lot of business leaders and marketing experts, it can be challenging to track down new and reliable ways of generating leads regularly. That’s why we’ve put together this quick go-to guide for some of the most successful methods any business can use. ​

Whatever industry you’re in, and whoever your target market might be, you can use the following strategies to boost your lead generation strategy. ​

Email Marketing and Capturing Leads

Email marketing might not be the newest form of lead generation in the digital marketing landscape, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not effective. ​

The wonderful thing about email marketing is that it gives you access to a huge number of potential customers. When someone signs up for your email list, they’re already showing you that they’re interested in your company and what it has to sell. ​

What’s more, email marketing works for B2B brands just as much as B2C companies.

79% of B2B marketers think that email is one of the most effective channels they have for demand generation. To take advantage, all you need to do is find a way to convince your audience to opt-in to your email list. ​

Start with a lead magnet that’s going to convince your customers that they want to connect with you. For instance, you might offer a free download on your website in exchange for an email, or a discount off your customer’s first order.

Once you’ve gathered potential leads, segment them into different groups based on their interests and backgrounds. ​

Segmenting your audience will help you to send more relevant content in your emails, which boosts your chances of happy subscribers. ​

Embrace Social Media for Lead Generation

Another cost-effective way to connect with your customers, besides email marketing, is to reach out on social media. There are tons of different social media platforms to explore today, ranging from Facebook, where you can find one of the biggest and most diverse customer bases, to Instagram for those with a focus on the visual. ​

Do your research before you start building your social profiles to find out which channels your customers use the most. ​

Once you’ve tracked down the right platforms, one of the best things that you can do is to look at the other companies your audience is following. This will give you an insight into what kind of content your customers like to see. ​

Remember, social media is all about keeping your audience informed and entertained. Share plenty of different kinds of content, from videos and infographics to quick messages. ​

You could even set up a customer service strategy that takes advantage of messaging on social media. This is excellent for developing a deeper relationship with your customers and earning their trust. Just be sure that you have enough staff on-hand to handle a social customer service strategy. ​

Add Blogging and SEO to Your Lead Generation Strategy

Content is still one of the most valuable tools that any business can use when growing a presence online. When you create regular blogs, you share your thought leadership and knowledge with the industry. ​

Blogging can be a great way to generate trust and give your customers some useful information that they can use to make the most of your product or services. ​

One thing to remember when you’re creating content is that if you want to get the best results, you need to write for both customers and search engines. Learning how to master the best practices of SEO, from placing keywords to managing internal links, should help you earn a better position in search ranking on search engine result pages. ​

This means that when customers search for a keyword related to your company, they’re more likely to find you. The easier you are to find online, the more leads you’ll generate. ​

As you continue to develop your content marketing strategy, make sure that you stay up to date with the latest changes to the SEO landscape.

Work with Others to Generate Leads

Finally, earning leads is hard work. No-one ever said that you have to do it alone. There are plenty of companies out there and individuals who can help you grow your digital presence and earn more traffic. ​

For instance, if you know a company in your industry that’s accepting guest blogs, writing a piece for their website could be an excellent way to attract new customers. You also earn backlinks this way, which is great for your SEO. ​

Another option could be to network with professionals in your space and take part in interviews, podcasts, and Q&A sessions. This gives you another opportunity to connect with customers who might never have found your business on their own.

A particularly popular way of collaborating with other brands and individuals is to invest in influencer marketing. Reaching out to an influencer in your space and asking them to give your company or product a shout-out is a fantastic way to boost your credibility. ​

You don’t need to work with celebrities to see results either. Micro-influencers are just as valuable!

Start Generating More Leads

Earning leads for your small business isn’t always a straightforward process. There’s no guarantee that any specific strategy will work for you right away. That’s why most companies try a combination of the methods outlined above, along with a few of their own tricks to gain more leads. ​

As you’re exploring lead generation options, be sure to track your results as closely as you can. Measuring the outcomes of your campaigns will give you an insight into which methods to use in the future. That way, you can ensure that you’re only spending your marketing budget on the strategies that are going to deliver a substantial return on investment. ​

Which methods do you rely on most to generate leads? Let us know in the comments below! ​

Guest Post by Joe Peters, Freelance Writer

Joe Peters is a Baltimore-based freelance writer and an ultimate techie. When he is not working his magic as a marketing consultant, this incurable tech junkie devours the news on the latest gadgets and binge-watches his favorite TV shows. Follow him on @bmorepeters

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Editor's note: JKM has not received compensation for publishing this guest post.