You’ve Got More Leads Than You Think (New Lead Gen Strategies)

For nearly half of all businesses, the number one priority is generating more leads.

Maybe that’s you. Maybe you’ve studied up on all the marketing tactics, created some compelling ads, and you’re getting more people to your site… but you still feel like you could be doing more.

Well, you’re right.

Sure, direct marketing works. But it’s what happens after potential leads are introduced to your brand through ads and offsite marketing that you’ll find your extra lead flow – and ultimately revenue.

This isn’t news to you, but just because someone clicks on your ad or even makes it to your site or doesn’t make them a lead.

But they could be…

Depending on your current marketing efforts (Ads, video, etc.), you probably have a steady amount of targeted traffic headed your way. How many of those people stick around to subscribe to your email list or come back for your next blog post?

The bigger question: How can your turn that hard-won targeted traffic into red-hot leads?

In this post, we’ll show you that your next lead boost lies in places you’ve already looked.

Where Are Your Next Leads Hiding?

For better or worse, buying decisions are taking longer, involving larger buying teams, and happening more anonymously. Here’s a breakdown:

Only around 5% of website visitors give up their email address. And prospects will complete 70% of their purchase decision before they ever reach out for a sales conversation.
There are 4 decision makers in the average B2B buying group.
Forrester claims that a B2B buyer reads 3 pieces of content about a company for every one piece of marketing or sales content that company publishes.

Reading these states, it should be clear that the the 95% of people who won’t give up their email address – aren’t necessarily writing you off, either.

In fact, we’d argue that they are still leads. They just want a little more time and more information.

You’re Going to Need a Bigger Funnel

What classifies your current funnel or defines who you would call a “lead”? Typically, it’s not broad enough. Let’s clarify with an example:

Funnel 1: Target clicks ad and becomes lead. They’re immediately sent into some form of sales process – They buy or they don’t. (Rinse and Repeat)

Funnel 2: Target is sent to your website through ads, social media, though leadership on guest blogs, etc. Once there, target subscribes to email list and becomes a lead. He or she is then sent a series of informative, engaging emails emails until becoming a qualified lead – only then to be sent into the sales process.

Your funnel may look like one of these two basic examples. If so, you’re leaving so many other “leads” out to dry. What about all the other actions your audience takes – things like Facebook likes, retweets, or YouTube channel subscriptions? Do you have a funnel for those?

By opening up your definition of who a “lead” is, you’ll find yourself with a lot more potential clients. If you’re willing to nurture a relationship through ongoing conversation, someone who commented on your most recent Facebook post can easily (over time) be convinced to join an email list or schedule a consultation.

Widening your funnel does take more work, more content (more on that further down) and more processes. Although, if your goal is to increase leads, it may be as easy as redefining the terms you use.

Better and More Diverse Content

Creating more – and more kinds of – content is a no brainer. If potential customers are looking for more, you should obviously give it to them.

But be careful.

If they are only reading one piece of your marketing material for every three articles they’re finding about you, you shouldn’t just pump out more self-promotional material.

Instead…

Try telling your brand story to build trust or become more transparent.
Incorporate more interaction through social and video marketing (here are a bunch of ways you can to do that).
Write posts that are geared towards your ideal customer that give value (kind of like a post about acquiring customers or generating leads, when you make explainer videos).

The key is, like a good stock portfolio, you’ve got to diversify – not just what kinds of content you’re creating, but where you’re publishing it. Potential customers will check out every platform you can imagine, but it’s important to know your audience’s preferences.

For example, e-commerce will likely find Instagram more effective than Twitter, and quality images more impactful than a blog. B2B and SaaS, on the other hand, will most likely prefer Linkedin posts, longer Youtube/Vimeo videos, and loads of blog content.

All points of contact should convey your point with clarity, while being useful and entertaining. Moving your newly discovered leads downstream can be done by creating calls to action like: visit a webpage, watch a new video, or join a live event (Q&A, Periscope, etc.).

Bonus Tip: Don’t overdo it; all content you put out should be done well. Remember, quality wins over quantity in the world of inbound marketing!

Explainify videos generate leads and move people through funnels by communicating your brand or product with extreme clarity. We’ve even been known to increase the number of lead conversions by 23%! Scroll on down and click the image to download our case study!