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Grow Your Business: The 2020 Guide to Online Lead Generation

65% of businesses say generating traffic and leads are their biggest marketing challenge. Without leads, you’ll fail to grow your business!

Don’t let your competitors snatch up quality customers. Instead, use this online lead generation guide and set yourself up for success in 2020. With these different types of lead generators, you can attract more people to your business.

Not only that, but you can attract the right people. By focusing on leads most likely to become customers, you can save time and money with your lead generation efforts.

Then, you can boost your sales numbers and watch your business reach new heights!

Start growing your business and closing more deals with these six steps to online success.

1. Email Marketing

Email marketing isn’t a new lead generation strategy, but it is an important one. 

The secret to a successful email marketing campaign is to keep innovating. New email marketing trends pop up every year. If your emails look the same way they did 20 years ago, you’re probably not impressing your prospects.

Instead, you can use email marketing to get people excited about your products and services!

Email marketing doesn’t act the same way it did 20 years ago, either. Today, more businesses are using marketing automation to improve their email marketing campaigns. Marketing automation tools allow you to automatically send personalized, targeted emails to leads.

It’s not enough to send a single message out to your entire subscription list anymore.

Instead, people expect a personalized experience. New marketing tools make it easier for you to learn about your customers. Then, you can separate your audience based on buyer personas. 

In order to use email marketing for online lead generation:

  • Don’t treat your audience generically
  • Communicate your company’s value within the email
  • Make sure each email has a purpose (to inform, entertain, etc.)
  • Mind your timing (especially if subscribers are in different time zones)
  • Experiment with different subject lines, copy length, etc.

Use email marketing to encourage prospects to come to you for more information.

2. Search Marketing

B2B buyers complete at least 12 searches online before engaging with a website. Meanwhile, 72% of buyers expect B2B companies to personalize communications. Otherwise, they’ll leave and search for a company that caters to their requirements.

In order to reach prospective clients, don’t forget to neglect search marketing.

There are two main types of search marketing: search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

Both require you to know who your customers are and what they’re searching for. Start by complete thorough research using tools such as:

  • Google Trends
  • Google Keyword Planner
  • SEMRush
  • Ahrefs

These tools will give you valuable insight into how your prospects search online. 

SEO

For a strong SEO strategy, you need to keep up with the latest changes to Google’s search algorithm. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

  • Make sure your website is mobile-optimized
  • Improve your website with user experience in mind
  • Make sure your webpages load quickly
  • Create high-quality, unique content on a regular schedule
  • Establish a link-building strategy

Use your keyword research to determine which topics are relevant to your topic audience.

Don’t forget to keep up with the latest SEO trends, including video content, voice search, artificial intelligence, and more. 

Once you start posting unique content on your website, your site will appear on search engines like Google. The higher your ranking, the better brand awareness you’ll build. When people search for your product or service, they’ll find your content.

Then, you can use lead generators such as buttons and forms on your site, allowing you to turn those visitors into leads.

PPC

Pay-per-click advertising allows you to post digital ads on search engines and social media platforms. You can use your keyword research or buyer personas to make sure you appear in front of prospects.

After clicking on your ads, people will visit your website.

Then, you can use the lead generators on your landing page to gather contact information, giving you the chance to convert those leads. 

3. CRM

As you utilize these online lead generation strategies, you’ll need a lead generation and management software to stay organized. You can use your CRM software to increase conversion rates.

CRM software will help you recognize opportunities you might otherwise lose track of. 

When people convert into a lead on your website, it’s important that you respond quickly. Otherwise, they might lose interest. You can use your CRM to track data in real-time and increase your chances of turning that lead into a paying customer.

4. Social Marketing

There are now approximately 223 million social media users over the age of 12. Social media gives you the chance to connect with prospective customers by generating natural, two-way conversations. 

First, determine where your leads spend the bulk of their time. For example, your customers might prefer LinkedIn over Instagram, or vice versa.

Then, experiment with different types of content. Try using different hashtag combinations as well. Don’t forget to remain consistent by posting on a schedule. 

In order to stay organized, try automating your posts. You can use call-to-action language to encourage people to visit your site to learn more.

Don’t forget to respond when people comment on your posts.

5. Content Marketing

There are many ways you can use content marketing to capture your customers’ attention. Try mixing it up with:

  • E-newsletters
  • Blog articles
  • Video materials
  • Case studies
  • Ebooks
  • Infographics
  • Checklists

You can encourage people to fill out a form before they can download valuable content, such as a full ebook. 

Here are a few more lead capture ideas to get you started.

6. Customer Referrals

Have your current customers lend a helpful hand. Encouraging customer referrals is a great way to get your current customers engaged and help you generate new leads. 

Then, reward your current customers for their help. For example, you can give them a coupon off their next purchase for each new customer they refer your way.

6 Steps to Online Success: Get Started with Your Online Lead Generation Guide

With these six steps, you can achieve online success in 2020! Start using these online lead generation tips today to bring more people to your business.

Searching for more tips? Explore our latest Marketing posts today for more helpful guides.