Business growth is a long-term, complex process. However, everything has to start somewhere. Generating leads is one of the first challenges small businesses have to conquer to create sales. They need it to survive. In fact, according to the Small Business Administration, half of the companies fail within the first five years of running, while two-thirds only make it to their second year.
You must successfully apply lead generation techniques to attract prospective clients for your business and convert them to paying customers. And considering there are 4.66 billion active users on the internet, it just fits to use the platform for lead generation purposes. Fortunately, the internet doesn’t disappoint. It offers many ways on how you can connect with your target audience and convert them to sales.
Facebook has tools that help businesses generate leads and drive conversions. For instance, they have Instant Forms that you can use to let your audience sign up, answer a survey, answer a customized questionnaire, and provide other information. From what you can gather, you can create customized posts according to your audience’s wants and needs. This can increase their interest in your business and potentially make them purchase a product.
You can also use Facebook Messenger to generate leads. Sponsored messages allow you to connect with your audience and follow up on your previous conversations about particular products or industry-related information. The goal here is to engage with your audience to inform them about what you can offer.
From these tools, you can measure which information and messages attract the most leads. More importantly, you can measure which ones are converted to sales. You can leverage this and use those data to use for future leads and creating ads.
Facebook Ads is also an excellent strategy for targeted marketing. With it, you don’t have to guess which audience to target. Based on data you gathered from Instant Forms and Messenger, you can now choose a specific target audience to which your ads will automatically appear. Targeting a particular audience can now increase your chance of getting leads and converting them to sales. However, with this option, you will have to spend money on the ads.
PPC
Pay-per-click (PPC) are ads that are displayed on websites and search engine result pages. Google is one of the top search engines that you should take advantage of. Because they are getting billions of searches per day, your ads can reach a wider audience.
Many high-ranking websites offer ad placements, too. However, you have to make sure that you’ll choose websites that are related to your business. PPC campaigns can become successful if you use the right keywords.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is a cost-effective method of generating leads. It allows you to reach your target audience and personally offer them your products and services. To make it work, make sure to send emails that are customized for each lead. You can also group leads according to their expressed interests, purchase history, viewing history, location, or other parameters that you have previously measured.
When creating your messages, include several traceable links in your email. Measure the number of clicks that each link receives. Use this data to customize your emails further or target individuals who clicked those links.
You can also get help from email marketing firms to create email campaigns designed to engage with your prospective customers and convert them as sales. For example, digital marketing agencies like impressive.ie offer email marketing services that will help you build relationships with your audience and turn them into paying customers.
LinkedIn also has a tool for lead generation. It’s a great option if you’re targeting business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Called the Lead Gen Forms, it uses a call-to-action link or button to gather information from users. You can use this data to target businesses that can be turned into clients.
Twitter, meanwhile, allows lead generation through tweets without the need to leave their site. Called Lead Gen Cards, it asks users for information. They can only be turned into leads if they click the “submit” button.
SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) offers numerous ways to generate leads. It can be applied to written content, including blogs, e-books, white papers, guides, articles, and more. However, you need to learn the proper method of using keywords. But if you really want to generate leads, this should be an easy feat.
Connect, Engage, Sell
While lead generation is crucial in creating sales for your business, it’s a long-term process that you can use even when your company is years ahead. And you can use the data you gather to improve your sales and marketing techniques. If you establish an efficient system, you can apply it for years to come.
