8 Ways to Generate More Leads From Online Marketing

8 Ways to Generate More Leads From Online Marketing

Contents Introduction 3 1. Optimise your SEO 4 2. Increase your IP targeting 4 3. Increase your social media presence 5 4. Web Presence 6 Landing pages: Make them count 6 Personalised web experience 6 5. Blog & produce relevant content 7 Blogs 7 Online video 7 6. Digital nurturing 8 7. Email marketing 8 8. Social seeding 8 Conclusion 9 About Tweak 9 2

introduction The internet has changed how businesses operate, and they are having to adapt. There is a growing consensus among business that online lead generation is the future. Before you start the lead generation process, it is important that you set yourself a target of how many leads you want to create. Having a clear target will help shape your lead generation strategy, and allow you to monitor your progress; showing what is going well, and what isn t. So how do you attract more leads in this new online generation? What are the most effective channels in generating new leads? In this whitepaper, we will guide you through the best practices of attracting new leads and nurturing existing leads, whilst making best use of your website as a lead generation tool. 3

Attraction Attracting new customers and prospects is key to your business. Conversion rates vary by industry but you will need an average of 10-20 leads to get one sale 1, so it is important to entice your viewer from the get-go. Having a strong digital presence is the most cost-effective way of converting leads into sales. 2. Increase Your IP Targeting Another string to your SEO strategy bow should be based on IP targeting. IP targeting helps engage your business with your local audience. Consumers are often looking for local products or services and following a local SEO strategy can prove to be a costeffective lead generator. Search engines provide geo-targeted tools based on IP addresses that help smaller to medium size businesses rise up the rankings. Registering your business with Google Places or Bing Maps, or a third party provider like Yelp or Yell is an effective way of helping your search-ranking rise. Provide as much relevant information about your business and include offers, photos and news updates to increase your local SEO. 1. OPTIMISE YOUR SEO Advertising and face-to-face dialogue was once the provider of information for people to make intelligent purchasing decisions. Today, people use search engines as the main part of the buying cycle to find background data on your company. A study by MarketingSherpa found SEO has the highest level of effectiveness among all online marketing techniques in generating new leads for business. 2 To improve your SEO, method is key. These are the some of the best methods in improving your SEO strategy: Be smart with your keywords. Keywords play a fundamental part in improving your search ranking. Undertake research for relevant and effective keywords that best describe your product to increase your search ranking. Content is king. Your content needs to be relevant to your target audience. Offering updated unique content providing solutions to pain points will keep viewers coming back to your site, generating leads and higher search rankings. Have an accessible site. A link-worthy site and a sitemap will ease navigation across your site. It allows web crawlers from search engines to efficiently find your site and pages, as well as users to find content from search engines in the fewest clicks. 1 MarketingSherpa, Website Optimization Benchmark Service 2 MarketingSherpa, Marketing Reseach Chart: SEO most effective tactic for lead gen, but also among the most difficult 4

3. Increase Your Social Media Presence What makes social media different to traditional lead generation activities is that it provides you a platform to build a dialogue with your potential customers. Building a relationship on social media is an important first step in generating more leads through the platform. Social media connections are your chance to talk to customers on a person-to-person level, rather than on a company-toindividual level. Publishing and sharing content, directing traffic to specific landing pages, is the single most effective way of increasing your lead generation using your social media platforms - but understand your audience. For example, LinkedIn is highly effective for B2B targeting and Twitter is a useful tool in involving yourself in topical discussion. The factors that determine success with social media are the same as any other lead attraction tactic. Your social media pages need to have enticing content and punchy copy, it needs to be relevant to your audience and it has to have a clear call-to-action. 5

4. Web Presence Now that you have attracted traffic to your website or landing page, how will you get them to stay and convert them to a fully-fledged lead? It is important to have a user-friendly website, that is both responsive and is simple to navigate. Your website needs to have strong content and clear call-to-actions throughout your site. Landing Pages: Make Them Count A landing page will most likely be the first thing a viewer sees on your site and it has to make an impact. There is an industry standard of five seconds for your landing page to entice the viewer and not to add to your bounce rate. A study by MarketingSherpa highlights the importance that companies place on landing pages with 68% of B2B businesses using landing pages to gain new sales leads for future conversion. To optimise your landing page and reduce bounce rates, these are the best practices: A well-executed, balanced landing page with a sign-up form should be at the heart of your online marketing efforts Have a design layout that errs on the side of simplicity Keep your copy short and punchy Use bold headlines Consider using interactive elements to engage leads without overpowering the page. The main aim of a landing page is not a visit to your website, it is a lead conversion for a particular campaign. Your call-to-action for lead conversion has to be clear and unambiguous. Keep it where it can be seen and tailor it to a particular audience you want to target. Personalised Web Experience With the exponential rise in mobile devices, it is important that your website is responsive, looks good and professional on any device. Responsive websites provide ease in their usability with clear navigation and prominent links to content throughout. Your website has to provide a personal experience for the user. For example, host a function on your site to interact directly with a potential lead, such as a live chat box, giving the customer a chance to engage with you and for you to answer questions they may have. Providing the viewer with simple site navigation and clear call-to-actions will help personalise their experience on your site, enticing them to stay longer. 6

5. Blog & Produce Relevant Content Content marketing has grown exponentially over the past few years and publishing relevant content does pay dividends. A study found that companies that maintain an active blog gained 67% more leads per month. 3 To maximise lead generation from your content, it is important to create content that people want to see, this will draw new visitors to your site showcasing your expertise in a particular area. Your content work should not end once your piece has been published. Monitor your content using analytic tools to help you decide what topics are working and show which are the best days to publish content by looking at lead generation statistics. Blogs A recent Benchmarks report by Hubspot found that companies who blog six to eight times per month double their volume of leads. 4 Including hyperlinks to relevant landing pages within the copy of the post will maximise the effectiveness of blogging as a lead generation tool. It is important to keep your blogs fresh and produce new content, such as industry tips and market insights if you want to drive more traffic to your content. 3 Social Media B2B, Generate More Leads with B2B Social Media Online Video We predict that 2014 will be the year of video. With online video increasing at a remarkable pace, it has never been a better time to add video to your content mix. Videos can be used to make you more relevant and are very effective call-to-actions to other content on your site. Video can be used for all parts of the sales lifecycle journey, from a company overview video right on through to video testimonials. Video is a very effective call-to-action and producing content in conjunction with the video launch, such as whitepapers and blogs will give viewers more content to assist them in whether to choose your product or service. 4 Hubspot, Marketing Benchmarks from 7000+ Businesses 7

6. Digital Nurturing Once you have attracted your leads with your effective SEO strategy, website and content, what next? Well, it s time to nurture relationships with your leads and convert them into customers. Companies often neglect existing leads with their lead nurturing strategy; instead companies should deepen relationships with leads through ongoing communication. Lead nurturing should be a consistent and targeted communication to advance your leads further down the sales funnel. While e-mail is important, social media and analytic tools have grown increasingly important in monitoring lead nurturing strategies. 7. Email Marketing 8. Social Seeding Email marketing is a powerful tool in lead generation. Email provides immediate and more importantly direct communication with your leads, offering you the ability to make offers or share content you have created. The aim of your email marketing strategy should be to stand out. Your leads will get bombarded with countless company emails each day, so every aspect has to be distinct. Your emails should have punchy subject lines, impactful graphics, clear product imagery and concise copy. Use your marketing emails as an opportunity to send people special offers and reward them for being part of your mailing list. It is important to maintain regular contact with your leads and tailor email content around what they signed up for. Pay close attention to what is working and what is not using click-through rates and adapt. Social media allows companies to engage with their leads during the nurturing period. Your leads can share feedback and you can use social media to interact and adapt your strategy around what the feedback is saying. Human interaction is important and getting to know your social media community will grow your following through brand awareness and increase your leads. It is important to use social media as a dialogue with your customers, instead of flooding messages about yourself. One example of social media being an effective lead nurturer is the case of Philips and LinkedIn. Philips monitored what thousands of radiographers were saying in discussion forums about medical imaging products and what challenges they faced. Listening to the feedback, Philips then adapted their products to help radiographers. 8

Conclusion Online lead generation is a powerful customer acquisition tool when used to its fullest advantage. Following these steps will put you in the best possible position when it comes to lead generation and nurturing. Have a clear, consistent message in all aspects of your site and throughout your social media channels, and search presence. Build a website that is easy to navigate with clear calls-to-action and prominent content throughout. Make your online presence count and watch the leads roll in. Attract Web Presence Digital Nurturing Optimise your SEO Increase your IP targeting Increase your social media presence Landing pages: make them count Pesonalised web experience Blog & produce relevant content Email marketing Social seeding Sales about tweak Louise Proddow, global marketing leader, entrepreneur, founder of Tweak marketing, held senior positions at Nokia, Dell, Sun Microsystems. Passionate pioneer of social brand, marketing and helping technology start ups. Our focus is to act as a virtual part of our client s team. We offer a specialised, award winning marketing service, brand, marketing creative, content, video and campaigns that deliver results in close collaboration. If you would like any further advice and guidance from the Tweak team please don t hesitate to get in touch, contact us: 01372 602615 louise@tweakuk.com www.tweakuk.com From strategy to execution, Tweak is with you all the way. Sources MarketingSherpa, Website Optimization Benchmark Service MarketingSherpa, Marketing Reseach Chart: SEO most effective tactic for lead gen, but also among the most difficult Social Media B2B, Generate More Leads with B2B Social Media Hubspot, Marketing Benchmarks from 7000+ Businesses 9

Highlands Farm Stables, Headley Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8QE +44 (0) 1372 602615 hello@tweakuk.com www.tweakuk.com