Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of lead generation. It’s that thing that everyone in the business world talks about, even though they might not really know what it is. People who are working on their marketing strategy know that lead generation should be a consideration, but oftentimes they don’t understand it or how to execute it. Understanding lead generation is essential. Here’s what you need to know.
What is Lead Generation?
Before you understand lead generation, you need to know what a lead is. A lead is someone that is potentially interested in your product or service. You will gather and collect their information using a variety of means in order to work towards making them your customer.
Lead generation is the process of generating leads; attracting and converting them into people who are interested in your company’s products and services. This is often done by actually searching for those who could be interested in your company and obtaining their information in order to work toward conversion.
There are many ways to generate leads. Understanding the ins and outs of lead generation can help you make the most of your resources in order to build a network of strong leads.
Common Types
There are two common types of lead generation; inbound lead generation and outbound lead generation. The most basic way to describe the two types is that inbound lead generation is when your leads find you and outbound lead generation is when you find your leads.
Inbound Lead Generation
Inbound lead generation occurs when you are discovered by someone and they decide to get to know your business. In some way they are made aware that your brand exists and in that awareness they discover that you may have something of value to offer them.
The typical process for inbound lead generation begins with the lead discovering your company via website or social media. This introduction leads them to respond to your call-to-action, guiding them to your landing page where they provide you with their information.
Outbound Lead Generation
With outbound lead generation, you find people to be your leads. You will reach out, contacting people that you think may become your customer in order to share your sales pitch. The outbound lead generation process starts when you determine your target market and identify people who fall into it. Once you have identified potential leads, you collect their contact information and reach out to them.
Growing Your Audience
Growing your audience is one of the best ways to gain new customers and build your brand. To do so, you need to focus on lead generation. Anytime someone shows interest in your products or services, they begin the customer journey. This journey moves them on the path towards conversion. With every step taken, your audience increases, as does the likelihood that they will become your customer.
Growing your audience through lead generation is a great way to connect with the ideal people for your brand. Instead of wasting time trying to capture uninterested individuals, you are reaching the right people with the right solution at the right time.
Using lead generation to grow your audience is effective because it enables you to target the right people, increase awareness of your brand, gather essential information on your leads, and to build loyalty to your company.
Lead Generation Tactics
There are a handful of common lead generation tactics that successful organizations use when they are attempting to grow their audience and increase conversions.
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Content Marketing (Inbound) The creation and execution of content is known as content marketing. It includes blog posts, articles, videos, images, podcasts, lead magnets, and more. Content marketing is one of the main tools for lead generation and it is used by the vast majority of businesses. The type of content used by a business will depend on the target audience. Before jumping into a content marketing strategy, determine the types of content that are most engaging to your audience.
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Social Media (Inbound) Social media is another essential tool that businesses need to use these days. It is one of the best ways to reach a target audience in order to make them aware of a brand, as well as to connect with them. Through posts, photos, ads, and short videos, organizations can showcase their brand to their audience. From social media platforms, warm leads will take next steps such as visiting a website, signing up for a lead magnet, or even becoming a customer.
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SEO (Inbound) Using search engine optimization on your website will help to attract new leads and gain customers. This is because your website is the number one thing people will look at when they are getting to know your business. If your website is optimized, they are more likely to find it, use it, read it, and stick around.
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PPC Advertising (Outbound) A type of outbound lead generation, PPC advertising is a great way to reach out to your target market, showcase your organization, and get them to take your call-to-action. Paid ad campaigns can be run in most areas of the internet, however, social media and Google Search tend to be the most effective places. PPC ads get your audience to click a link that takes them to a landing page where they can provide their information in exchange for a lead magnet. This is one of the best ways to collect email addresses with ease.
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Cold Emails (Outbound) Sending cold emails to an email list of potential leads can be incredibly useful in gaining leads and conversions. Send regular emails that offer expert information and details on your brand. This is a great way to keep your business at the front of their mind while showcasing your value.
Tools for Lead Generation
Focusing on lead generation is important, however, it can be time consuming and stressful. By using automated lead generation tools, you can streamline your process and ensure flawless generating.
Email Lookup Tools
Software for email lookup allows you to find leads’ email addresses with ease. With this tool, you can locate email addresses from any website or platform. Once you have collected the email addresses, you can start to build a list of leads. Top email lookup tools include SalesBlink and Hunter.
Email Outreach Tools
Email is one of the best tools to help you generate leads. There are a number of ways to use email, such as email campaigns or cold emails that are sent with the use of automated software. With the right software, you can create and send personalized emails automatically to your potential leads. Try MailChimp and Constant Contact for email outreach.
Marketing and Sales Automation Tools/CRMs
CRMs, or marketing automation platforms, are a great tool for effectively executing many of the tactics you need for lead generation. These tools enable you to find your target market, narrow them down, organize them, send emails, schedule content, and even sync with other tools. Try Zapier or Zendesk for marketing and sales automation.
Communication Tools
By using communication tools, you will have the ability to send messages and communicate with people who visit your website. Through this aptly timed and appropriate communication, you have the ability to generate leads. Drift and Intercom have seamless communication capabilities that make them great options for lead generation communication.
Advertising Tools
Advertising tools help you build and automate ads in order to intentionally target your desired leads. They perform testing and data collection, helping you bring leads to your website and landing pages. Google Ads is one of the top tools for executing effective paid ads. You may also want to try AdRoll as another option.
Audience Growth Tools
Audience growth tools are tools that make it easy to offer visitors incentives for becoming your lead. Incentives include things such as coupon codes and chances to win prizes, such as giveaways. There are a number of tools you can use for audience growth, such as KickoffLabs.
KickoffLabs is a top tool for lead generation. With KickoffLabs, you can qucikly set up and execute effective campaigns such as giveaways, waitlists, referral marketing, and more. Easily get started with our library of templates, pop-ups, and integrations. Reach your goals even faster by gamifying spreading the word with our contest actions.
Conclusion
Lead generation is essential for businesses. It is one of the top tactics for growing a brand and increasing conversions. There are a number of ways to generate leads, such as social media, PPC ads, emails, and more. When you’re ready to dive into lead generation, let KickoffLabs help. Create a free account or email our support team today at support@kickofflabs.com to get started!