Who is your target audience and where should you reach them? These are the questions your business should be asking at the onset of an online lead generation campaign.
Lead generation is the process of capturing the interest of prospective consumers using digital or traditional marketing methods. Sounds easy enough, right? However, 65% of businesses report that lead generation is their biggest marketing challenge. With the expanding reign of online marketing, there are countless opportunities for businesses to connect with prospects. Yet, many businesses fall short due to the misconception that lead generation solutions are universal. Marketers often hear success stories and try to apply these tactics to their own business. Drawing inspiration from another business is a great way to strategize, but it’s important to understand that one company’s lead generation campaign might not work for another.
First, establish your audience. Are they another business or an everyday customer? From there, you can isolate your target market and appeal to their specific interests.
B2B Lead Generation
Definition: B2B (or Business-to-Business) marketing is when one business promotes its product or service to another business.
If you represent a B2B company – a business with products and services intended for professional clients – your lead generation strategies are going to look a lot different than those targeted to the everyday consumer. Below are 3 popular and effective techniques for B2B online lead generation.
Strategy 1: Pay-per-Click (PPC) Advertising
PPC advertising is an efficient lead generation tool for B2B companies. If your business uses a paid advertising platform (i.e. Google Ads), prospective clients can find your website by entering select keywords into Google. B2B businesses hold an advantage in the PPC advertising game, as Google Analytics reports fewer searches for business-related inquiries (which are less common than everyday searches). This means less competition for your PPC ads.
Strategy 2: Company Blogs
Although there’s no single best approach to online lead generation, 93% of B2B companies believe content marketing generates more leads than traditional marketing. Blogging, in particular, can be incredibly advantageous to businesses. With the right amount of engagement, it can drive traffic back to your website and foster strong leads. A company blog should demonstrate your company’s unique knowledge on a subject, without pushing your sales agenda. A successful blog will lend your business an authoritative and professional image, reflecting positively on your products and services. The most successful blog ideas for a business include:
- Infographics (visuals are a strong method for attracting interest)
- Videos
- Tips or advice
- Informative pieces on areas of specialty for your business
Strategy 3: Social Media Marketing
According to HubSpot, LinkedIn is the top social media platform for B2B marketers, as it’s primarily dominated by a professional audience. When creating content for LinkedIn, appeal to corporate and professional interests. For further lead potential, take advantage of LinkedIn Ads – another important contributor to B2B lead generation.
B2C Lead Generation
Definition: B2C (or Business-to-Consumer) marketing is when a business promotes its product or service to everyday consumers.
B2C lead generation depends on a marketer’s ability to elicit an emotional response from prospects, whereas B2B lead generation is about demonstrating a company’s value to another company. Businesses seek products or services to boost their company’s revenue, for example, while a consumer’s buying patterns are solely based on their personal interests. To generate leads, B2C businesses need to rely on personability.
Strategy 1: Social Media Marketing
Social media is the highest performing channel for B2C lead generation, with 3.2 billion social media users worldwide. According to an April 2019 survey by Statista, Facebook is the most popular social media channel, with 2.32 billion users. As a result, 97% of B2C marketers rely on Facebook for online lead generation, due to its unlimited opportunities (both organic and paid) for businesses to engage with prospects.
Strategy 2: Email Marketing
Email marketing offers an effective lead generation platform for both B2B and B2C businesses. Yet, it provides the perfect opportunity for B2C businesses to create customized content based on the personal needs of prospective consumers. Emails allow businesses to generate interest and drive traffic back to their website, all in one place. For better results, create shareable content and use CTAs that will encourage readers to visit your website.
It’s important to know your audience, whether you’re creating an online lead generation campaign for a B2B or B2C business. Customer awareness will offer you a better understanding of how to market your product or service, helping your business generate leads more effectively. Contact one of our experts at Worldsites Toronto to learn more about online lead generation for your business.
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