Inbound marketing is a marketing strategy that attracts customers through the creation of experiences tailored specifically for them. When it comes to inbound lead strategies, the idea is to be a lead magnet - to attract customers to the brand through targeted content aimed at the ideal customer. The purpose of said content is to encourage the prospect to take action—initiating a two-way relationship that eventually leads to the sale.
Lead generation is the name of the game. All marketing activity functions for the express purpose of inviting people to visit your business, either in person or online, and ultimately make a purchase. ROI doesn't happen without qualified leads.
What is Lead Generation?
Before looking at the five types of lead generation strategies you should be implementing, it’s important to understand the concept of lead generation overall. In general, lead generation is designed to attract prospects to your business, increasing their interest through nurturing, and eventually converting them into customers. It’s a way of warming up potential customers to your business and getting them on the path to eventually making a purchase. Now, onto the topic at hand…
Five Inbound Lead Generation Strategies for Your Business
1. Content Marketing
A central component of any inbound lead generation strategy should include an emphasis on content marketing. Your website will attract a steady stream of quality visitors if you create valuable content that informs, educates, and entertains your prospects. Through content creation and purposeful content marketing, you can position your brand as a thought leader within your industry and build an all-important rapport with customers.
Blogging is one way to implement this strategy practically into your overarching marketing campaign. Of course, articles, eBooks, case studies, FAQs, customer stories, and more can all be considered when creating engaging content. The goal of content marketing is to provide readers with quality information that answers the questions they are searching for, builds a relationship with them online, and invites them to go deeper into your website looking for solutions.
2. Email Marketing
Another great way to reach potential customers who already know your brand, product, or service is through email subscriptions. Using email to share the latest blog posts, company news, and special promotions is a great way of engaging your base of subscribers. Stay in communication with your existing customers and give them reasons to keep returning to your store or website.
Inbound email marketing is planted on the firm foundation of smart communication. It is not about a mass email system and pays particular attention to making sure it doesn't feel spammy or overdone. Segmented email marketing is a way of touching contacts based on their particular interests or demographics. It shares information that pertains to specific customers. It's not aggressive or pushy, but instead is purposeful and targeted, all while keeping moderation in mind. This personalizes their experience based on what you know about them or about their preferences and tends to get better ROI.
3. Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the best way to get your content in front of prospects. You can optimize the technical aspects of your website through on-page SEO to ensure that your content is more easily found and read by Google, and therefore ranked high in the search engines over time.
After all, it does little good to put time and effort into creating a well-organized website with lots of educational and helpful information if you don't ensure that it can be found by potential customers. Good on-page SEO serves as the GPS coordinates that help prospective customers navigate their way to your website.
4. Video Marketing
Video marketing has surged in recent years as the most effective way to reach people, tell your business story, build a relationship with consumers online, and share important pieces of information that potential customers are searching for. Whether it's video for blogs, YouTube, social media, ConnectedTV, pre-roll or Geo-video, it is practically a non-negotiable part of your Inbound Marketing plan's success.
In fact, a survey by Statista, 2018 estimated that people watching online videos will account for more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic in 2022. These numbers are highest among younger viewers, but no demographic is immune. Among online consumers age 65+, over 63% of them view videos on the internet. Regardless of your demographic profile, video is a powerful way of telling your story and building a relationship with consumers online, one that can no longer be ignored.
5. Social Media Marketing
Last, but certainly not least, social media is an inbound lead generation strategy you should be utilizing in your overall marketing campaign. Whether it's Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or any of the other popular channels, social media contains large pools of engaged users who are actively looking for information and education through content. In fact, according to data from Global WebIndex, some 58.4% of the world’s population regularly use social media and spend an average of two hours and 27 minutes on various platforms. This number represents 4.62 billion people! That is a big audience to be sure.
Your content, of course, should be customized to the platform and the audience ensuring that the audience that sees your content is compelled to click through to your website. Some good examples of this type of lead generation include using the swipe-up feature on Instagram stories, using bio links in Facebook posts or stories, or adding Bitly URLs on Twitter that will make it easy to guide your followers' next actions. Your social media posts should also promote your offerings with a call to action. It should serve as a “next step” source for customers to find a way to purchase a product or to find your website.
Investing in Inbound Lead Generation is Wise
By investing in inbound marketing, you can effectively target an audience that is already looking for solutions to their problems. Inbound marketing provides more qualified leads as well as a better ROI by creating content that adds value to your potential customers.
Inbound marketing is an important part of a comprehensive marketing and lead-generation strategy. If you want to know more about how to implement inbound lead generation into your current marketing process, contact us today to learn more.
