Lead Generation is the process of attracting and converting someone who has expressed interest in a company's product or service. It is a way to attract potential customers to your business. And to direct them towards the final purchase.
But what is a lead? What types of leads are there? How to generate leads? What are the strategies used for Lead Generation? I hope this article answers all these questions.
What is a lead?
A lead is a user who has given their data to a company and, as a consequence, becomes a new record in their database with which the company can interact.
Leads are generated through valuable content that can be downloaded. It can be through a form or call to action, which can be on a landing page, web page, blog article, Facebook Lead Ads campaign, Twitter Leads Ads, Instagram Leads Ads, etc.
Therefore, to start the Lead Generation for your company you must create interesting and quality content for your target audience. And enable its download through different channels.
Types of leads
1.- Cold lead
It is the user who has downloaded any of your company's content. You have provided your basic information such as email for example and have accepted the privacy policy.
Usually, it is found in the initial stage of the buying process. So it is still far from the final transaction. It would be a cold lead.
2.- Qualified Lead for Marketing or Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)
They are those leads that are in a more advanced phase of the purchase cycle. That they fit in with the buyer persona of the company and that they have shown, many times, interest in its contents.
Normally the thing is to ask for more information on the forms. New fields are added to discover if they are a valuable business opportunity or not. If yes, they are considered qualified leads for marketing.
3.- Qualified Lead for the sale or Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
The qualified Lead for the sale is in the most advanced phase of the buying process. You are now ready to purchase. They are people who, generally, have been advancing in the conversion funnel and who respond to an offer much closer to the product or service that the company offers. For example, a demo, a trial, a commercial phone call, etc.
They are also usually the leads who have downloaded more content or more advanced content. As a consequence, the company has more information about them.
The best channels for Lead Generation
1.- Content
Content is a great way to guide users to a landing page. Content is typically created to provide visitors with free and useful information.
You can include the CTA anywhere in that content. The important thing is that you create content that attracts your visitors. Because only then will you increase the chances that they will click on your call to action and visit your landing page.
And of course, don't forget to personalize your content to attract users.
A study indicates that consumers are more likely to purchase if the brand personalizes the products:
-78% admit that if relevant content is provided, purchase intention increases.
-50% of the users affirm that if the contents are personalized individually, they would be willing to pay more.
2.- Email
Email is a great Lead Generation medium. A channel to reach people who already know your brand. And your product or service. In this case, it is much easier to ask them to take an action. Because they have previously subscribed to your list.
3.- Ads and Re-targeting
The sole purpose of an ad is to get people to take an action. If you want people to convert, make sure your landing page and bid exactly match what was promised in the ad. And that the action you want users to take is very clear.
4.- Blog
The great thing about using blog posts to promote an offer is that you can tailor the entire piece to the end goal. The important thing is that you create engaging content that makes your CTA highly relevant and invites clickers.
5.- Social networks
Social media platforms make it easy to guide your followers to take action. From the option to swipe up on Instagram stories to links from Facebook bio to Bitly URLs on Twitter.
You can also promote your offers in your social media posts and include the call to action in your headline.
6.- Product tests
You can break down many barriers to a sale by offering trials of your product or service.
Once a user is using your product, you can entice them with additional offers or resources to encourage them to buy.
Another good practice is to include your brand in its free versions so that you can also attract other potential customers.
7.- Recommendations
Referral marketing, or word of mouth, is useful for lead generation in a different way. That is, put your brand in front of more people. Which, in turn, increases your chances of generating more leads.
Regardless of the channel you use to generate leads, you want to guide users to your landing page. Of course, as long as you have created a good landing page that invites to convert.
Lead Generation Strategies
Online lead generation encompasses a wide range of tactics. Campaigns and strategies, depending on the platform on which you want to attract potential customers.
There are lead generation capture practices once you have a visitor on your site, but where do you start?
A.- Facebook Lead Generation
Facebook has been a method for generating leads since its inception. Originally, companies could use outbound links in their posts. Also information in your biographies to attract strangers to your websites.
However, when Facebook Ads was launched in 2007 and its algorithm began to favor accounts that used paid advertising, there was a major change in the way companies used the platform to capture leads.
Facebook created Lead Ads for this purpose. Facebook also has a feature that allows you to place a simple call-to-action button at the top of your Facebook page. Which helps you to send Facebook followers directly to your website.
B.- Twitter Lead Generation
Twitter has lead generation cards. These allow you to generate leads directly within a tweet without having to leave the site.
A user's name, email address, and Twitter username are saved. And all users have to do is click "Submit" to become a candidate.
C.- LinkedIn Lead Generation
LinkedIn has been increasing its share of ad space since its inception. When it comes to lead generation, LinkedIn created Lead Gen Forms. It is automatically populated with users' profile data when they click on a CTA, making it easy to capture information.
D.- PPC Lead Generation
When you talk about pay per click (PPC), you are referring to ads on search engine results pages (SERPs). Google gets 3.5 billion searches a day. What makes it a privileged place for any advertising campaign. Especially for lead generation.
The effectiveness of your PPC campaign will largely rely on a seamless flow of users. As well as your budget, specific keywords, and a few other factors.
E.- B2B lead generation
B2B is a particular business model that requires a particular approach to lead generation.
SEO is the number one resource for attracting leads, closely followed by email marketing and social media. Its effectiveness varies by channel.
Tips for Lead Generation campaigns
In any lead generation campaign, it can be difficult to know which parts of your campaign are working and which ones need an adjustment. Here are some tips for creating Lead Generation campaigns:
Use the right lead generation tools
The most successful marketing teams use a formal system to organize and store their leads.
That's where lead generation tools and lead generation software come into play.
How much do you know about the people who visit your website? Do you know their names or their email addresses? What about which pages did they visit, how are they browsing, and what do they do before and after completing a lead conversion form?
If you don't know the answers to these questions, you may have a hard time connecting with the people who visit your site. These are questions you should be able to answer and you can with the right lead generation tool.
Sometimes you use these tools to collect information about your lead generation forms, comment and survey forms, and much more.
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