Posted by All businesses — big and small — need to generate leads regularly to sustain themselves. But the biggest irony is that it’s also something that marketers struggle with. In fact, 61% of marketers say that lead generation is the main challenge they face.
It’s evident that lead generation is tricky terrain. Even if you do manage to generate leads, it’s of no use if they are not high-quality ones. If they drop off the sales funnel mid-way, you’ll lose out on business.
So, what’s the way out?
If you know how to do content marketing right, you can solve this dilemma. In this post, we’ll discuss different ways in which you can generate high-quality leads through content marketing.
How You Can Leverage Content Marketing For Lead Generation
Before we get into the details, let’s get one thing clear. There are many benefits of content marketing. And it can help you skyrocket your growth too.
However, lead generation requires a lot of effort, time, and patience. So, don’t expect to attract hundreds of leads overnight. You’ll have to use multiple lead generation strategies consistently to be able to see a big difference.
Now that the expectations are set right, let’s get into the details. Here is how you can leverage content to attract more leads:
1. Create Lead Capture Forms
One of the best ways to generate leads is to add a lead capture form on your website. Typically, these forms offer some sort of reward or discount to users in exchange for their contact information.
The reward can also be in the form of access to premium content, including webinars, checklists, white papers, and ebooks. Since users get something in return, they are likely to give their contact details more willingly. After all, a good offer or reward is hard to resist.
While designing your lead capture forms, make sure you highlight the value that you have to offer. Design it in such a way that there are minimum distractions. The focus should be what you have to offer.
If you’re willing to go the extra mile, you can also experiment with a gamified lead capture form. From the spin-the-wheel games to puzzles, there is a lot you can try out with this concept.
Since there is a fun element involved, it can help you captivate your audience’s attention.
2. Publish Targeted Blog Posts
Before users move along the sales funnel, they need to be educated. They may even have several queries that you need to address. To aid them during their research, well-written blog posts can come in handy.
To create effective content, it’s a good idea to create target personas for your brand. List down pain points for each of them and then create content that addresses their pain points. Invest some time in finding popular keywords and understanding the search intent.
Based on this, come up with topic ideas and create content where you can answer frequently asked questions and use keywords naturally. Along with the audience, your content should also appease the web crawlers.
To improve readability, you can include more subheadings and write shorter paragraphs. Also, use bullet points to draw attention to the main points in your content. You can also use tools like Hemingway Editor and Yoast SEO to check your blog post’s readability.
If you can get your blog posts ranked on the search engine results page, it can open a goldmine of opportunities for lead generation.
3. Create More Videos
Just like blog posts, videos can be a great platform to educate and engage your audience. Think of them as stepping stones on the path to conversion.
It’s not just loose talk.
In a survey, two-thirds of respondents admitted to having been inspired by an online video to make a purchase. Furthermore, 90% of them also said that they discovered new brands and products through YouTube.
Need more proof?
86% of consumers also said that they’d like to watch more videos from their favorite brands in a survey conducted in 2020.
Even marketers seem to agree that video marketing is important.
Now that you know the merits of video marketing, let’s talk about what kind of videos you can create. For different phases of the buyer journey, you can experiment with the following formats:
- Explainer videos
- Video tutorials
- How-to videos
- Product reviews
- Video testimonials
- Product close-ups
- Interviews
- Live videos
- Webinars
The best part is you can publish these videos on your website, social media channels, landing pages, and in your emails. This way, you can generate more leads and nurture them too.
4. Create Online Courses
An online course enables you to share your knowledge and provide value to your target audience. It can be a great way to get more targeted leads in your funnel. That’s because anyone who is signing up for your course is already interested in your niche and product.
However, to get people to sign up, you need to first understand the type of topics that interest them. Additionally, you need to design a course that stands out from the others that are available out there. Lastly, marketing your online course well is extremely important to capture more leads.
For this, your landing page should be well-designed and highlight the benefits that people can get from the course.
5. Host Webinars
The lockdowns brought by the COVID-19 crisis put a stop to physical events happening across the globe. Because of it, webinars have shot up in popularity. Not just that, it’s also an effective form of lead generation.
73% of marketers in the B2B space consider hosting webinars as the best tactic to generate leads. After all, webinars enable you to engage with your audience and provide valuable information and training.
In return, you can get the contact details of those who are attending the webinar. Typically, you can get more targeted leads through webinars because you’re likely to share advanced knowledge in a particular niche.
To generate more high-quality leads through your hosted webinars, it is a good idea to ask qualifying questions in the sign-up page. This way, you can gauge their interest and figure out what they want from the session.
On the landing page, you should give a brief introduction to the speakers and highlight what they will cover in the webinar.
6. Create More Ebooks
You can use ebooks as gated content to generate more leads and grow your email list. From expert tips to case studies, you can create ebooks to reach out to buyers in different stages of the funnel.
However, creating an ebook requires a lot of time and effort. Make sure your ebook is written with a specific target persona in mind. You should be able to put yourself in their shoes and think about all the information that they would find useful.
For instance, an engineer may require product manuals, CAD files, certifications, or sizing charts. Based on the requirements, you should create an ebook with informative content and good imagery.
At the end of the ebook, it’s also a good idea to add another CTA defining the next course of action. You could redirect them to your Contact Us page or redirect them to your social media channels.
7. Make Quizzes
Typically, social media quizzes are associated as a strategy to boost engagement and get more views. But you can also use them for lead generation. The only difference is that you don’t provide them the results right away. Instead, you ask for their email address and send them the result in their inbox.
People are likely to be curious about the result, especially if they have already put in the effort to take the quiz. So, there is a good chance you may get leads more easily.
What’s more, you could publish these quizzes on your website. BuzzFeed has a whole section dedicated to quizzes on their site.
8. Leverage Guest Posting
Typically, inbound marketers look at guest posting as a way to reach out to a broad audience, amplify reach, and get more backlinks. But if you play your cards right, it can take your lead generation efforts to the next level.
The key to winning with this strategy is to get published on sites that have the same target audience as yours.
To shortlist the best sites, you should also look at domain authority, community engagement, and overall reputation. Higher authority sites can give you better visibility which in turn can translate to more leads.
That’s not all.
Picking the right topic is also equally important. Invest time in understanding the general tone of the articles previously published on the website. Based on that, pitch fresh topic ideas that are relevant to their audience and haven’t already been covered by them.
9. Publish User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) is a great way to provide social proof and win the trust of your prospective leads.
If they are already past the initial stages of the funnel, looking at UGC can help them gain confidence in your products. Indirectly, it can help you generate more leads and improve your brand reputation.
To get user-generated content, you need to encourage your audience to post photos, videos, and GIFs with your products. Provide a branded hashtag to make sure that your UGC campaign makes a buzz on social media.
For inspiration, check out the “Share a Coke” campaign run by Coca Cola. It was replicated in 80 countries across the world. If you do a quick hashtag search on Instagram, you can see how the results page is flooded with their product photos.
10. Publish Influencer Testimonials
Another tactic to win consumer trust is to feature influencer testimonials on your social media channels, websites, and in newsletters. Influencers are like celebrities. They are well-recognized and considered authority figures in their niche. Their audience even looks up to them for product recommendations.
When their fans see them endorsing your product, they are likely to want to give it a try themselves. That’s the power of influencer marketing. Without trying too hard, you can turn cold leads into paying customers.
You can collaborate with them to create sponsored content to promote your brand. That, in itself, is a lead generation strategy. However, if you want to leverage your collaboration even after the campaign ends, you should ask for their testimonials.
You can feature them on other platforms and repurpose it in multiple ways to generate leads later on. Global media company Foundr’s website flaunts testimonials from influential entrepreneurs, including Marie Forleo, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Daymond John.
Even if someone is visiting their website for the first time, displaying testimonials from such successful entrepreneurs helps them build credibility within the entrepreneurship space.
Ready to Generate More Leads?
In this post, we’ve made quite a strong case for you to leverage content marketing to generate more leads. If you’re not brimming with ideas already, you need to re-read the post.
When you create your new strategy and see the leads growing + your revenue increasing, all the effort will be worth it, we promise!
Do you have any questions related to any of the lead generation strategies mentioned in this article? Please feel free to share them in the comments section.