Do you generate leads online? Remember that crackling sound as your Internet would connect in the “old days”? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? We might be dating ourselves but it’s truly hard to imagine a time pre-Internet, don’t you agree?
So much information is passed, revenue earned, and life lived on the interwebs these days. It’s also impossible to run a business effectively without using the Internet. You don’t want to just “use” it though, as there are ways to maximize its effectiveness. Wondering how to create the best online presence you possibly can?
Read on for five tips on how to generate leads online. Also, don’t underestimate your own lead database.
Start With SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has a somewhat negative connotation, as many people think it’s simply using keywords in your copy that land you the top spot in an Internet search. In reality, keywords are only a small part of SEO and, even then, you have to be careful not to “stuff” your keywords, as Google and other search engines will pick up on this and penalize you for it.
There are plenty of other components involved in effectively using SEO, including link-building, video content, optimizing for mobile, and sharing content from social media. Once you manage to hone your SEO and use it to the best of your ability, you’ll be surprised at how much this will help you to generate leads online.
When it comes down to it, people have to find you to know about you! If you’ve got the backing of a big company, you’ll have a leg up in this, but if you’re an entrepreneur you might consider hiring an SEO consultant—it is that important.
Aim for the Heart
Whether you’re in the business of sales, marketing, or another field, it’s crucial to have content that goes right to the heart of your target audience. So first and foremost, make sure you’ve got the research done on whom your target audience is! Once you’ve done this, you can tailor your online content to this demographic.
Are you targeting moms, young, single women, or middle-aged men? The content you produce online should be very different for these various groups. The common denominator, though, should be content that elicits emotion from the end-user, as this means it is more likely to pass on via social media and, thus, will help you generate online leads.
Related: 5 Benefits of Using People Search Engine
Perfect Your Content Marketing to Generate Leads Online
No matter what your business sells or markets, having quality content on your website is a prerequisite for quality lead generation. Content truly is king. You might have done the research to find out best practices in your industry mandate that you post to Twitter three times a day and that you post on Facebook five times a day, but if you’re just throwing junk up there to meet these minimums, you’ll lose leads instead of generating them.
Whether it’s blogging, social media, or an email campaign, you need to spend the time and effort on your content marketing to make someone want to return to you for information. Your website and, in particular, the landing page of your website should represent your brand in the best possible manner. Using your website for quick leads can help grow a business exponentially.
Add Videos for VaVaVooooom
You’re sitting at your desk at work, hoping no one walks by, as you just watched a video transformation of a mangy, half-dead, abandoned dog into a gorgeous well-loved pooch being hugged and kissed by its new family. This is all of us, people. It’s what we do these days and, as we mentioned previously, hitting people square in the feels is more likely to have the content connect with them. Create videos to generate leads and ideally convert these viewers into clients.
Practice Social Listening to Generate Leads Online
Leads don’t have to be completely cold when you reach them. There could easily be warm leads, as in customers who have referred to your business in some way while online. Perhaps they were asking for recommendations or simply made mention of the possibility of using your services. It can also prevent a current client from leaving you for good, as you can use this technique to respond and keep their business.
By practicing social listening yourself or assigning someone within your company to do this, you can be proactive in using this technique to generate online leads that are also more likely to convert. Twitter is particularly helpful in this regard, as you can reply to the commenter in real-time.
Follow these tips on how to generate leads online and watch your business grow before your very eyes.
