When a client hires a digital marketer, they don’t just want a prettier website and quips in social media posts. Those might help, but only as a part of a larger, success-driven strategy.
The number one reason your client invests in your digital marketing services? They want to get more customers. Whatever you build for them, think in terms of generating leads. To help a client’s sales and revenue numbers climb, seek out methods of online marketing that increase the number of leads.
How Does Lead Generation Work?
If you plant tomatoes in your backyard, you don’t expect salad-ready fruit the next day. Gardeners understand the need for cultivation over a period of time until the harvest is ready. They know the best-tasting fruit comes after ripening. There’s also a build-up to creating an environment ripe for more sales. Cultivating an audience of potential buyers establishes through the process of lead generation.
Lead generation comes from a combination of inbound and outbound marketing. Together, they form the building blocks of a company’s growth. The goal is to build a list of potential customers, so your client can increase sales and revenue. They need to have a primed audience to which they can make sales pitches.
Inbound includes these elements:
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Website
Draw users to the website. Help them understand the identity of the business, the offers they have, and why they need the products.
Design a professional, easy-to-navigate website. Nothing turns customers away faster than a frustrating website. Avoid this by using a hosting service that provides good loading speed and support. Include clear navigational features throughout the site.
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Search Engine Optimization
Without optimization (SEO), you have a website sitting out in webspace like a wandering asteroid. Your goal isn’t that someone just happens to come across the website, occasionally. You need the intentionality behind good SEO to make it the first business they come across as they start their journey to purchase.
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Social Media Profiles
With so many people spending large amounts of time on social media platforms, marketers must take advantage of the visibility they provide. Social media provides a free or low-cost option for advertising and interacting with the business’s audience. Maintaining a profile is the easiest and quickest way to get information about the business available through these platforms. Make sure to include the business’s updated contact and location information.
Social media also offers the business the chance to directly interact with users as they engage with posts and profiles. They can also budget to promote posts, so more users see and interact with them. Help clients figure out a way to post regularly so their visibility increases. Use this opportunity to offer your continued service, as well, if you provide social media management.
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Testimonials
Including testimonials on your client’s website helps visitors to see feedback from previous customers. These reviews build positive reputations, and as a bonus, they help with on-page optimization of the website when they include keywords.
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Portfolio
Include a portfolio on the website for increased reputability. Potential customers can look at samples of previous work and get a feel for the product they could have if they hire your client. Add images or screenshots, videos that show function or special features, and descriptive copy.
Without a portfolio, your client’s customers face a blind decision. Help the customer visualize what your client can accomplish for them so they can make informed, confident decisions. Then your client can increase sales and their number of happy customers.
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Lead Magnets
To significantly increase leads, employ a lead magnet. Users exchange their contact information for free products or services, like trial offers, samples, e-books, or consultations. With this collection of information, businesses can create a list of potential paying customers.
With interest generated among prospects, marketers can invite decisions to purchase. You can offer more of your services to help businesses seal the deals. You can help your client with strategies to encourage potential buyers to take action.
Outbound marketing includes:
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Paid Ads
Paid ads target users with search histories that apply to your client’s business. These ads can be set to target location, demographic, interests, and more. They provide a broader reach than using only organic search engine optimization.
Paid social media ads create a scenario for ripe picking because of their extremely targeted nature. These ads can attract users to lead magnets, like free consultations or trial offers, and the repeated visibility helps build brand recognition.
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Cold Calls
Using a personalized approach to get in touch with new customers can increase leads and sales. Whoever performs the cold calls should do their research and have accurate background information to discuss with the receiver. They should also ask open-ended questions for optimized engagement.
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Emails
Speaking of personalized communications: Similar to cold calls, you can contact new customers through email campaigns. Again, find a way for businesses to make the technique personalized for each prospect. A copied-and-pasted, automated message likely won’t impress target customers. We recommend using Loom or a similar video messaging tool to create personalized videos.
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