Lead generation has become a bit like playing chess in the last 2 years. With marketing companies over-promising and under-delivering, business owners are frustrated, and many have taken their lead generation efforts on themselves. With that in mind, here are 10 effective strategies you can use to generate leads for your business.
Be Omnipresent: Unfortunately for small businesses, the world of online lead generation has changed dramatically. Simply running an ad on Facebook will not produce the same results it did 5, or even 2, years ago. Investing in all platforms has become the name of the game in 2020. Being able to run ads on Instagram, YouTube, Google, Reddit and even Snapchat will give your business a boost. While it is expensive to advertise across all of these channels, the results are usually shown in increased revenue. You can’t afford to be missing out in this new world.
Anticipate Needs and Questions: If you have been in business for any amount of time, you understand your customer. If you understand your customer, you can probably anticipate the different questions that will be thrown at you along the sales process. With that being said, be sure to address these concerns up front. Write comprehensive blog posts that answer the important questions up front. Create videos that give a holistic view of your product or service. In this new environment, no one wants to have to click around to various pages to get answers to their questions. Even more off-putting is the prospect of having to speak with a salesperson. If you can showcase your expertise up front, it is a good bet that a consumer will be willing to work with you.
Write Good Ad Copy: Ad copy writing has become a lost art in this day and age. Writing copy that is concise, compelling and relevant is difficult to do. Not every consumer is going to want to click an ad after reading 3 short lines. Not every consumer is going to want to sit through a book-length Facebook post either. Do NOT assume every consumer is just like you. Some people want more information, some people require less. The best advice regarding ad copy is to run multivariate testing and see what performs well. Is a shorter ad leading to more clicks and less conversions? Is a longer ad leading to less of both? You’ll find out by running several versions of your ad.
While on the subject of copy writing, it might be a good idea to discuss blogging. Recently, the folks at Databox published a great piece on blogging for lead generation. Writing a great blog is super helpful in generating leads. In fact, their survey of 23 bloggers about visit-to-lead conversion rates is insightful:
All of these blogs have excellent copy and a clear CTA. This is key to generating leads from your blogging efforts.
Generation is Half The Battle: Lead generation costs are not just your ad budget. All too often, I discuss lead generation with companies that say they’re getting leads for a low cost. When we dig in, we find that while the lead was GENERATED for a low cost, the low conversion rate has led to an extensive cost to get to closing. Often companies have to invest in ISA’s, remarketing campaigns, and other follow-up measures to close leads. If anyone is promising you a low-cost lead generation system, discuss the cost per conversion with them. See how they’re tracking lead generation for their current clients.
Use YouTube: Much like Facebook 10 years ago, businesses are still cold on YouTube. This is good for you, as the CPL is much lower on this platform than others. However, you should be aware that producing a YouTube video that will convert is no easy (or cheap) feat. With the hundreds of hours of video available on this channel, you’ll need to make sure you stand out from the crowd.
Follow-up is key: How you’re following up with leads is just as important as how you’re generating them. If you simply collect information and make a couple of phone calls, you aren’t following up well. It also does you no good to hammer the phone incessantly calling the prospect with the same questions everyone else is asking. In order to follow up EFFECTIVELY, you need to produce content that is relevant to their needs. Write a compelling blog about a topic they’ll be interested in. Send them a personalized video via a system like Loom or Bombbomb. Be authentic with them, and they will respond well.
Remarket: One ad isn’t always going to get someone to hand over their information. You’ll need to invest in remarketing campaigns. Create great image and video content and run it across the Google Display network. Upload a customer list and pixel data and push relevant ads to Facebook users. If you have email addresses, send some valuable information via email to the prospects you have some interaction with. Contact past clients and buy them a cup of coffee. There is no end to the types of remarketing you can do. Dropping the ball on this all-important tool is a recipe for failure.
Be original. Be you. Speak with your voice. Quit using tired slogans and catchphrases that everyone in your industry uses. One of your best marketing assets is your personality. Use your Instagram account to connect with your followers. Show them a day in the life of your business. Speak from the heart. Do not try to copy the others in your industry. You’ll get lost in the noise.
Maintain your campaigns: The “set it and forget it” days of digital marketing are over. As an example, take a look at Google search ads. The best campaigns are managed by manual keyword bidding. Every day, these bids change based on search volumes, other bids, and a host of other factors. You should be making adjustments often. Be aware of your metrics. If you’re seeing high click rates, but low conversions rates, then you might have something wrong with your landing page. If you’re getting a lot of conversions, but it is costing more than you think is acceptable, then be aware of the adjustments you need to make on that end. Knowing what metrics are important on every platform is key to lead generation success.
Stop thinking in old school terms. While I am not a buzzword fanatic, the mindset of lead generation has to change in order to be successful. When it comes to real estate, for example, stop thinking in terms of “buyers” and “sellers”. Think about the entire client experience. Stop thinking of people as ‘leads’. They’re human beings, with real life problems and real life goals, and the more you can see them from that angle the better off you’ll be in terms of communicating your message to them. Understand that not every ad will be a home run. Some ads just don’t work. But the short-term is not the best way to evaluate lead campaigns. Focus on the long-term goals and building a database of real people that want to do business with you.