Getting traffic to websites is a major preoccupation of most online business owners and marketers. It's also true that their main focus for traffic is generally search engine optimization.
Sure, search engine optimization (SEO) is indeed a great way to generating interest, however SEO shouldn't be the only means of getting targeted leads for your website. First, customer dynamics are changing and digital managers need to keep tabs on such trends. Second, there are other, sometimes equally good, ways of generating leads.
Yes, there are ways of getting leads for your business without going through the traditional way of trying to get the potential customer to your website first - in this post, I'll outline five ways to generate leads that convert.
Let's get started.
1. Webinars
A webinar can be a great way for businesses to educate, inform and connect with their target audience - and generate active leads as a result.
Webinars are growing in popularity, and many businesses have already taken note - the Content Marketing Institute reports that over 60% of marketers now make use of webinars as part of their content marketing strategy.
A major advantage of webinars is that they are interactive in nature. Your audience is not just watching a video or a webcast, but can actually get involved, in real time.
Webinars are good for business because they help to establish trust and credibility, thereby boosting their lead generating potential.
Planning Your Webinar
Planning and preparation are key to hosting a successful webinar. Generally, the average duration of a webinar is between 30 to 45 minutes - and an hour at most.
In your planning, you need to establish clear objectives for your webinar. Plot a clear schedule of events or subjects, decide on an adequate location or venue and chose your webinar presenter wisely.
You also need to set up a good landing page - see an example from KickoffLabs below.
Hosting Platforms for your Webinar
There's a range of providers who can facilitate your webinar - check out some of these platforms:
Crowdcast, Easywebinar, Webex, ReadyTalk, Livestorm, Webinarjam, GoToWebinar
Promoting Your Webinar
Promoting your webinar is also essential to its success.
You want as many high-quality leads as you can get to attend. Think of the various ways of reaching your target audience, like sending out an email to your database, engaging on social media, creating a unique hashtag and using paid promotion.
You should also look to leverage your speaker and her/his following to help raise awareness for your event.
2. Facebook Lead Ads
Most businesses that run Facebook ads use them to link each ad to a page on their website. Serious marketers also use those landing pages to capture lead contact info, and landing pages are great if your potential customers or targeted leads are browsing on a desktop. However, latest figures show that 90% of Facebook's active daily users browse on their mobile device.
Given this, it can be more profitable to find a lead generation strategy that's mobile friendly, which is where Facebook's Lead Ads come in. Lead Ads are a better way of generating quality leads from your Facebook audience on mobile devices.
Understanding Facebook Lead Ads and how they works
Facebook Lead Ads enable you to gather leads information direct from the ad, auto-filled from information on the users' Facebook profile. When you click on a lead Ad, it brings up a prefilled form with the details of the user - the advertiser can specify what info they want, be it name, email address, date of birth, etc.
Setting up Facebook Lead Ads is similar to other types of Facebook ads. Once the user clicks on your ad, confirms their details and submits the form, you'll receive the lead information, which you can then follow up on.
3. Quora
Quora is a question and answer network which enables people to crowd-source answers to virtually any query. And when it comes to high-quality lead generation, Quora is one of the most underutilized platforms.
According to Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, Quora now see more than 100 million unique monthly visitors. What if you could get a fraction of those monthly visitors as targeted leads? You can - with a good strategy, you can generate hundreds of leads monthly, build a massive following and establish yourself as a thought leader in your discipline.
Here's what you do:
Come up with an Effective Bio
Pay attention to your author profile, as it plays a key role to your success on the platform. Your bio should highlight your brand/company, carry a compelling picture, social validation, and a clearly defined offer.
Here is an example of a good bio on Quora.
Develop and Stick to your Strategy
The first thing you need to do is determine the types of questions you'll be providing answers to on the platform.
Know the type and style of content you're looking to provide, and set a schedule for your efforts if you can. Stick with your strategy for a minimum of three months and then evaluate.
Images and Relevant Links
In your answers, make use of images, infographics, and relevant links. This helps demonstrate your expertize in a more engaging manner, while including relevant links to support your answers - ideally on your website - can also increase traffic and leads.
Be genuinely helpful
While you are on Quora to help build brand awareness, your focus shouldn't solely be on projecting yourself as an expert.
Be genuinely helpful. When you're consistent, you'll begin to see an increase in your leads from the site.
4. Lead Magnets
A lead magnet is an offer made in exchange for getting the contact details of your visitors. Lead magnets are generally free resources, designed to help attract prospects. Effective lead magnet options include eBooks, templates, free training, cheat sheets, etc.
In order to get people's information, you have to provide an offer that justifies such sharing. An attractive lead magnet will increase your sign-up rates - but conversely, an unattractive lead magnet can easily fall flat
You can generate thousands of leads monthly with a good lead magnet, while they also have the capacity to attract 20-30% more leads every day.
For your lead magnet to be effective, it should:
- Be free (with sign-up)
- Make a promise
- Engage with key points
- Add great value to your customer
- Satisfy a need or solve a problem (at least give direction to solving the problem)
- Appeal to your target audience
- Provide needed information
- Have a clear call to action.
As an example, this is one of LeadsBridge’s most downloaded lead magnets.
5. Medium
Medium is best described as an online magazine, combining various blogs and bloggers into one dedicated space. And although it was initially created for individuals to help share their stories online, it's now become a platform that many brands and businesses also take advantage of to amplify their voice and generate leads.
If you're capable of producing quality content, Medium is the place for you. Medium rewards excellence by helping distribute highly shared and discussed content to other users.
Getting Targeted Leads on Medium
If you own or run a blog, you can rework all your previous content and post it again on Medium. As long as your stories/content are good, they'll be shown to visitors on the site. You may not even need to bother about content promotion, as it happens naturally on Medium - if, of course, your content strikes a chord.
Bear in mind that your content is sorted and shown to targeted audiences according to themed collections.
But the additional audience potential is big - for example, if your stories are featured in the 'Editors pick collection' - which has over 700k people following - the exposure can be significant.
To be successful on Medium, here are a few tips:
- Rework or rewrite old and valuable content from your blog before publishing on Medium
- Be strategic by creating a collection around a specific theme related to your business
- Add infographics, cartoons, and images to your posts
- Don’t forget to provide links back to your blog or website
- Take advantage of the key metrics provided by Medium to know how your content is performing
- Link to other content on your website
- Recommend other great posts in your niche or industry
Conclusion
Traffic and targeted leads shouldn't always be about SEO. Explore the methods discussed in this post and your targeted leads list will soar.