It’s never been more important for businesses, and marketers, to utilise multiple channels to maximise their lead online generation efforts. With 80% of purchase decisions starting online, it’s critical that your lead generation strategy, and your website, are optimised to attract visitors, turn visitors into leads, and ultimately customers.

A multi-channel lead strategy should utilise everything from blogs to email and social media, to funnel visitors to your website where they can research, evaluate and purchase. To be truly effective in creating leads for your business, your website will need great design and useful information, as well as clear calls-to-action, content offers with forms to capture leads.

So how can marketers bring this all together? In this article, we look at the key channels businesses can use to create a multi-channel lead strategy to generate more leads.

1. Blogging

Blogging is a highly effective channel for lead generation. Through both organic search in search engines like Google, and sharing blog content across social media and email, blog articles drive traffic to your website.

According to HubSpot’s Benchmarks report, companies that blog 6-8 times per month double their lead volume. To maximise the impact of your blog strategy, every blog post should include links to landing pages within the copy of the post, as well as a prominent call-to-action at the end.

2. Email marketing

Many businesses think that email marketing should only be used to communicate with existing prospects and customers. However, email can be a great channel for new lead generation. Here are some ways you can use email to generate more new prospects.

• Focus on an opt-in strategy. If you’re buying email lists and spamming your prospects, no one will want to share your email with others. They will only want to unsubscribe! The first step to email lead generation is to make sure you have happy subscribers that enjoy receiving emails from you.
• Send people valuable offers. If you send really interesting or valued offers, whether it’s downloads, discounts or educational content, people will be more likely to share your emails with their friends or colleagues.
• Give people the tools to share. Don’t forget to add a ‘Forward to a Friend’ links or social media sharing buttons within each email so people are encouraged to pass it on.

3. Social media

Social media is a powerful channel that marketers can take advantage of to generate leads. Here are some tips for generating leads on social networks.

• Build a loyal following. Building a relationship with potential customers is a critical first step. Social media connections are really about people, not always company-to-individual. Get to know your audience online, communicate, share information and be generous. In order to generate leads, you need to have human interaction with others.
• Remember, social media is a dialogue. Companies that only use social media to blast out messages about themselves aren’t using social channels effectively. The goal is to interact with others and be helpful. When you share content on social media, don’t always post something that relates to your company. Share links to other interesting things you’ve found online. People will be very thankful you are noticing their work, too!
• Influence connections for content sharing. Publishing and sharing content that directs traffic to targeted landing pages is the single biggest lever to increase lead generation through social media. Share your content offers by posting links to landing pages, in addition to blog posts, discounts and other great resources.

4. Organic search

While promoting your offers across channels is crucial for lead generation, it’s also equally important to make it easy for people to find your landing pages through search engines. To do this, you need to apply search engine optimisation (SEO) best practices to your landing pages.

• Pick a primary keyword for each landing page and focus on optimising that page for that word. If you oversaturate a page with too many keywords, the page will lose its importance and authority because search engines won’t have a clear idea of what the page is about.
• Place your primary keywords in your headline and sub-headline. These areas of content have greater weight to search engines.
• Include the keywords in the body content but don’t use them out of context. Make sure they are relevant with the rest of your content.
• Include keywords in the file name of images (e.g. mykeyword.jpg) or use them in the ALT tag.
• Include the keywords in the page URL.

5. Use links and CTAs within content

Your content offers themselves are great channels for lead generation. Throughout your blog articles, social media, emails and web content, include links to other relevant and targeted content offers for potential customers. Not only will this increase your lead generation, but as people share your valuable content, other leads may discover the content offers too.

6. A/B testing

While this isn’t a channel as such, it is a great way to increase leads across all channels and tactics. A/B testing can be used in calls-to-action, landing pages, email marketing, advertising, and more.

According to HubSpot research, A/B testing landing pages and other assets can help you generate up to 40% more leads for your business. When done correctly, A/B testing can provide a huge competitive advantage for your company.

Generating leads online has the power to transform your marketing. Using a multi-channel lead generation strategy can reduce your cost-per-lead and deliver higher quality prospects to your sales team. The basics covered here are just the beginning. Continue to test and adjust each step of your inbound lead generation process to improve lead quality and increase revenue. Now go, put this into practice and become a multi-channel lead generation master!

Want to generate more leads? We’re experts at multi-channel lead generation and can help you set-up a strategy to maximise your marketing efforts. Give b:content marketing a call today to find out how we can help your business.

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We all lead such busy lives that the thought of having to give up even five minutes a day can seem almost impossible. In reality though, five minutes a day is not very much. It’s about the same amount of time as we spend cleaning our teeth each day. And if you can find five minutes a day for a week, you will have created more than half an hour for yourself.

When you put it like that, it doesn’t seem like a huge investment to improve your LinkedIn profile and reap the business rewards, does it?

LinkedIn is a unique social media tool because of its business and networking focus. It is designed to help you build relationships and strengthen existing ones, as well as build your personal reputation amongst your peers and potential customers.

Once you’ve got the basics of your profile working, LinkedIn can be a great place to promote some of the content you’ve developed for lead generation.

To help you put LinkedIn to work for you, I’ve broken down some common tasks into bite-sized pieces that you can mix and match to build your LinkedIn profile in just 5 minutes a day.

1 minute a day tasks

Accept invitations to connect
You will receive invitations from a wide range of people who want to connect with you on LinkedIn. Don’t just connect with people you know well, or people you want to do business with in the near future. Even though you may not know someone, LinkedIn can help you support your sales process, find staff, grow your personal brand and much more.

So take a minute to check your pending connection requests and accept any that are relevant.

Send a connection request to someone
LinkedIn will frequently prompt you to connect with people you may know. Grow your network by connecting with at least one new person each week.

The easiest way to start is to hover your mouse over the icon of the person with a plus sign in the top right of the screen and review the list of people that appears under ‘People you may know’. How easy is that?

Organise to catch up with one of your contacts
Need an excuse to get out of the office for half an hour? Why not invite one of your connections you haven’t seen for a while to grab a coffee with you. I bet a lot of your connections are based in your area. It only takes a minute to make a time to catch up and you never know what opportunities it might lead to in the future.

Customise your URL
When you first sign up with LinkedIn, you will be assigned a URL that contains random numbers and symbols. You can easily change this by editing the link underneath your photo on your profile page. A short URL is easier to use on an email footer or business card. It is also better optimized for search engines.

2 minutes a day tasks

Comment on a status or content shared by someone in your network
When one of your connections shares a story or status it will appear in your news feed on the ‘Home’ tab of your LinkedIn profile. Take two minutes each day to see what your network is talking about and make a brief comment on one of the posts. This is a great way to stay in touch with your network.

Share your own update
Got something to say? Simply select the ‘Share an update’ button on the ‘Home’ tab of LinkedIn profile and share it with your network. It could be anything from news about your current project, a recent success or something of interest to your network. You can also include a link to a webpage where people can find out more.

Share content with your network
Beyond sharing an update, if you have written an article recently you can easily share that on LinkedIn. You can even add the link to your profile so that it consistently shows up when people look at your profile.

Once you’ve added the link to your profile be sure to share it with your network, as outlined in the previous tip.

Check who has viewed your profile
LinkedIn cleverly offers you the opportunity to review who has looked at your profile recently. This includes both your current connections and people you are not connected to. Again, whether they are people you see as current leads or even potential employers, consider connecting with people you may want to network with in the future.

In fact, it’s a great idea to take two minutes to send them a message and connect personally.

3 minutes a day tasks

Send a personal message to new connections
Whether you know the person or not, take a few minutes to thank them personally for connecting with you. This will strengthen your relationship, or start to build one if it’s someone new. While you’re sending the message, take a moment to consider if you could share some useful content with them.

Review your settings
LinkedIn make frequent updates to the way the platform works, so it’s important to review your settings from time to time to make sure everything is working the way you want it to. This includes your privacy and visibility settings, as well as the way you’ll receive alerts and updates from LinkedIn.

Hover over your image in the top right of the screen, and then select on ‘Privacy and settings’ from the drop down menu.

Join key groups
One of the biggest networking opportunities with LinkedIn comes from joining groups relevant to your industry. There are thousands of groups covering every topic imaginable. By joining groups you can listen to what your peers and potential customers are talking about, and get the latest news and views from a range of sources.

Start by taking 3 minutes to search for and join up to 10 groups that focus on the industry you work in, and be sure to choose some that include your potential customers as members.

Become active in groups
Once you’ve joined some select groups, really put LinkedIn to work by becoming involved in the group. Make sure you start by listening and watching how others use the groups to share news, ask questions and point to resources, then start contributing yourself.

This doesn’t have to be time consuming, and is a really effective way to raise your profile among your peers and potential customers.

Summary

LinkedIn is a powerful networking and business development tool. If you can find just five minutes a day, you can start to build your LinkedIn profile and really get it working for you.

Start by reviewing your invitations to connect, and send some invitations of your own. Comment on content shared by your network and be sure to share your own updates and content.

Take your LinkedIn profile to the next level by joining and becoming active in groups relevant to your industry. I guarantee you’ll learn a lot and meet a lot of interesting people.

Before you know it, in the time it takes you to clean your teeth each day, you will have grown your network and opened yourself up to a world of business opportunities.

Feeling overwhelmed about getting started with LinkedIn? We’re experts at using LinkedIn to tell stories and build professional networks. If you need some expert advice, give b:content marketing a call today.

We’ll get people talking about you, and to you.

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Content marketing is the talk of the digital marketing industry right now, but for most business owners the term means very little.

The reality is, content is the heart of your website and content marketing is one of the most powerful lead generation tools available to businesses.

Whether you are targeting businesses or individual consumers, you can harness the power of content to build awareness, create connections, generate leads and achieve your business objectives. Done well, content marketing will allow you to build valuable trust with your potential customers before they even have a conversation with you.

So, how can you use the power of content marketing to generate more leads?

1. Solve your customers biggest problems

Most online search queries start with a desire for more information or a question that needs to be answered. It’s important that you take the time to understand what it is your potential customers are searching for so you can be present exactly where they are looking for answers.

Split your target customers into different groups and define their personas. Different customer groups will have different problems or questions, so establish a content plan to ensure you cover off each topic area over time.

Having a strategy that is highly targeted in this way will ensure you don’t just generate leads, but the right type of leads for your business.

2. Choose a format to deliver your content with impact

This can sometimes be the hardest part of content marketing. Once you have identified the content your customers are searching for, choose a format that will deliver the information with impact.

Generally speaking, for lead generation you want to choose a high quality, longer format such as eBooks, case studies and white papers. If you really want to go all out, host a webinar!

Make sure your content piece has a call-to-action, but keep the branding light and avoid the hard sell when using a content marketing strategy. It’s all about quality over quantity, so take the time to research the topic and make sure the finished product is polished.

If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out Econsultancy’s fantastic Periodic Table of Content Marketing which has heaps of ideas for different formats to delight your audience.

3. Promote your content

Once you have a shiny piece of content ready to go, make sure you tell people about it! Promote your content through your blog, social media and email to your database.

Depending on where your customers are searching online, you may even want to promote your content through paid channels. This might be as simple as promoting your Facebook post or Tweet in order to reach more readers, or using services like StumbleUpon or Outbrain.

Once you have a potential customer’s interest, you want to drive them to a landing page on your website where they can explore your content and offer.

4. Use landing pages to build your database

Content marketing for lead generation is all about give and take. You want to give a little away for free, and then in order to access the content, ask for a name and email addresses. Don’t ask for too much detail from people at this stage or they may go elsewhere.

Using a landing page for content like this will allow you to effectively convert visitors into leads. Once you have a potential customer’s email address, you can nurture them with subsequent emails, content and offers and hopefully turn them into a customer.

KISSmetrics have developed this great diagram showing the anatomy of the perfect landing page.

So, that brings us to our last point which is make sure you provide quality content for each stage of the buying process.

5. Provide content for different stages of the buying process

At any point in time you will have customers in the research or engagement stage, right through to the buying stage. At each stage, the questions are different and the content will be different. Map your content to the buyer journey, and be consistent by publishing new content regularly.

No matter which stage you are creating content for, the key is to focus on creating value and a tailored call-to-action. The best content marketing strategies make potential customers feel nurtured without being pressured to buy.

Done well, a solid content marketing strategy can also help you turn your customers into vocal advocates of your business, sending more and more customers your way. The ultimate lead generating tool!

HubSpot has a great diagram that illustrates this perfectly.

Summary

To effectively generate leads with content marketing, you need to focus on your potential customers’ information needs and solving their biggest problems. Once you have identified this, you can start to define your customer personas and map your content to their buying journey.

Use a variety of formats and promote your content through email, social media and paid channels where appropriate.

Over time, a solid content marketing strategy that provides targeted content and offers will help you build trust, turning leads into customers, and customers into advocates.

Not sure where to start with content marketing? We love telling stories that engage, motivate and change people. If you need some inspiration and expert advice on your content marketing, give b:content marketing a call.

We’ll get people talking about you, and to you.

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It’s been 12 hours since the TEDx Brisbane event wrapped up, and my mind has been racing ever since. I even dreamed about TEDx, so profound and challenging is the experience of spending a day with a community of such amazing people. This was my second TEDx event. It’s always an intense day, a roller coaster of emotions, a tsunami of powerful ideas and emotions that wash right over you.

I haven’t quit my job yet. Juanita Wheeler, the godmother of TEDx Brisbane, suggested we needed to wait 72 hours before doing anything rash. Sage advice I think. She never said anything about blogs though, and since I love words, I decided to try and put pen to paper to capture my TEDx experience.

Here’s what I’m reflecting on this morning, 12 hours later, having slept on it all.

This morning I went into my office and wrote on the blackboard above my desk, “You have the power to change stuff.”

We are all procrastinators at heart. Because change is hard work. It’s hard to break old habits. It’s hard to embrace new ways of doing things, new ways of thinking. It’s even harder to see things from another person’s perspective.

Turns out, if you do anything for 10,000 hours you become an expert. But you don’t need to be an expert at everything, and you don’t need to be an expert right now. You just need to start. To do the work. To make a change.

‘Affluenza’ is quietly killing our planet. We need to respect our stuff, as much as we respect others and the earth. Every time we spend money, we help shape the economy and contribute to the fabric of our culture. So make a simple change and buy more of the stuff that helps the world, and less of the stuff that doesn’t. It’s not rocket science.

Where ever a problem exists, there is a solution just waiting to be discovered by someone with the passion and patience to find it. Art plus science equals innovation. And the most intelligent design works with nature, and goes with the flow instead of against it. Use that power to solve your biggest and smallest challenges.

All people are worthy of respect, but not all ideas are. The best ideas are the ones help us all to flourish, and to live well. And we all win.

Where there is great suffering, there is also great hope. The human spirit is strong, and capable of far more than we can ever imagine. Whether it’s facing illness or disadvantage, great tragedy and sadness, or simply standing in front of a few hundred people to talk about yourself, humans can and will triumph. We will find a way. We will stand up.

In the face of these challenges to the heart of who we are, to what we believe in our soul, it can be hard to know when to stand up, to be an advocate, to be brave and say something. Or when to go with the flow, to be in the moment and to just let it go.

Rather than this polarity, this impossible choice between two things, we need to find our duality. It’s not one or the other. It’s not black and white. Your way or my way. We need to find the capacity to hold more thoughts, ideas and beliefs in our hands, hearts and minds.

Whether we choose, in the moment, to take a stand, to stand up and be counted, or to let it go, we must find more love in our hearts. We must realise that it’s not necessary that we all see eye to eye, all of the time. We must simply find more love. That’s when we move from empathy to impact.

We all have the power in our hands, hearts and minds to do this. To solve problems, face challenges, to live more and to love more.

We all have the power to change stuff.

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Your website called. There are three things that it wants you stop doing today. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Stop neglecting your web content

There’s no doubt that your website is one of the most powerful tools your business owns, but when was the last time you reviewed your web content? Be honest!

In this digital age, savvy consumers are researching your product or business online long before they pick up the phone.

Did you know that one of the most commonly visited pages on your website is the ‘About’ page? I don’t even need to look at your web data to know that. It’s a fact. Your potential customers are checking you out! The question is, are you looking your best and saying all the right things to them?

The ‘About’ page on your website is a great opportunity to showcase what you do and what you can do for you potential customers. If you’ve designed it well, it’s also an opportunity to funnel all of those web visitors to other relevant pages on your website where you can continue to build trust.

Beyond the ‘About’ page, think about updating your ‘Products’ or ‘Services’ page with fresh content showing recent projects you’ve completed, case studies that detail the successes you’ve helped your customers achieve and testimonials from satisfied clients.

If you’re like many businesses, you put your website up a few years ago and have hardly touched the content since. This is a huge opportunity wasted. Take some time to review your website content and make sure it’s not only up to date, but showcasing your business in the best possible light.

2. Stop ignoring your website data

Did you know that you can access free data from Google about how people are using your website and how your site is performing? Many people don’t even know they can access this data for free. Others know it exists but are not regularly checking the data and using it to inform business decisions.

The free data available from Google Analytics is an absolute treasure trove of information that has the power to transform your website and digital marketing activities. From the number of visitors your site receives, to the pages they visit and the amount of time they spent on your site, this information will really show the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for your website.

So stop ignoring what your website is trying to tell you! Set up or login to your free Google Analytics account today and learn more about your website and your customers. Aim to login once a month and check the data. You can even export the data in PDF reports or into Excel for further analysis.

3. Stop thinking of your website as an online brochure

There was a time when most business websites were simply fancy online brochures. These websites covered general information about the business and the products and services on offer. They included nice photos and contact details for more information.

This is no longer enough when it comes to your website. Your website should be engaging, interactive and ever-changing. It should compel your potential customers to return regularly to read more, to learn more about you and to build a relationship with your business.

Your website should delight. It should look and feel like it is loved and looked after often.

Beyond the standard ‘About’, ‘Contact’ and ‘Products’ or ‘Services’ pages, consider adding a blog to regularly communicate with your potential customers. This is a great way to keep people coming back to your site, and also encourages them to engage with you by leaving a comment on your articles.

If you can, create some short videos to communicate your key messages in a different way. Studies consistently show that video content is by far the most popular type of content on the internet.

You could also develop some checklists or how-to guides that people can download. These are all things that you can add to your website over time to keep the content fresh and engaging to your customers.

It’s time to think beyond the online brochure and focus on how you can add value for your potential customers through your website.

Summary

For many businesses, constantly maintaining and updating their website can seem like a time consuming task. But in this digital age, it’s never been more important to keep your website up-to-date and engaging.

Take some time to review and update your existing web content, and think about what other useful content should really be available on your site. If you’re not sure where to start with developing more content, check out the data available in Google Analytics to understand how people are currently using your site, and where you might be able to improve.

Your website will thank you for taking the time to show it a little more love.

Want to stop neglecting your website and start using it to grow your business? We love listening to websites and translating what they’re trying to tell you. Give b:content marketing a call.

We’ll get people talking about you, and to you.

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