In 2017, the buyer’s journey is not what it used to be. With our phones in our hands and subsequently a powerful research tool at the end of our fingertips at all times, we’re constantly engaging with content, comparing products and considering services.
With the changes in how consumers browse for products comes the need to change how you attempt to attract them. As almost everyone is now searching for information on the web before they buy anything, it’s essential for your marketing efforts to include online lead generation.
Lead generation is the process of attaining interest in your products or services. Leads can have many purposes, but the primary goal is to turn somebody interested in your products or services, into a customer.
Online lead generation is hugely beneficial for businesses. In fact, it can be the difference between success and failure. So how do you generate leads?
Digital Marketing expert Nick Gerdzhikov from Hop Online recommends creating clearly defined buyer personas for your target audience. These are your imagined potential customers. They are the people you’re looking to attract to your business, to engage with your products. The clearer you define these profiles, the more successful your lead generation attempts will be.
If you aim your efforts towards the wrong people, you’re not going to get many leads. There is always another option for consumers online. Ensure you have really perfected your buyer or target persona. This will help you to create the right content and utilise the right mediums to attract your audience.
Take the time to learn about your audience. Rand Fishkin from Moz illustrated the importance of social media and influencers in lead generation in his collaboration with Hubspot. Discovering the major influencers in your niche and paying close attention to current events that impact your target audience will help you improve your approach to lead generation. Knowing what’s going on in your audience’s world can help you shape content, offers and advertising to generate valuable leads and engagement.
Social media is a fantastic way of gaining insight into your buyer persona’s interests and activity. Influencers can provide you with a huge amount of information about the people you are targeting, on a personal basis. If possible, there is also a huge opportunity for growth through influencer marketing.
You can’t expect people to give you their information or buy from you without proving your worth. To be able to request anything from people, you should first show them that you have something of value to trade! Search Engine Marketing guru Neil Patel insists you must “Give value before asking for anything”.
Using your buyer personas, answer the questions you know are on their minds – pique their curiosity by engaging with the things you know they’re interested in. This is especially important if you’re providing a service. You need to prove to your potential customers that you’re an expert in your field.
Content is king. It’s the driving force behind your products and services, it’s the story of your business and how your audience will perceive you. Creating targeted content, purposed to delight users, is fundamental to lead generation according to Kate Harrison at Forbes.
Customers need to trust your business before they make a purchase or give out any personal information. Great content can help you to build rapport with consumers and generate important leads.
The digital age has opened up a huge amount of opportunities for consumers to explore the options available to them. It has also generated an incredible amount of ways to attract these consumers! However, there’s a vast amount of competition out there. It’s important to ensure your business is doing all it can to generate relevant and engaged leads.
These tips from digital marketing experts will help you generate online leads for your business, but it doesn’t end there. There are so many ways to attract leads. If you would like to learn more about lead generation, download our guide on the 30 greatest lead generation tips!
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