Lead Generation Tips, Tricks, and Total Domination

Lead Generation vs. Demand Generation: What is The Difference?

Demand and lead generation are commonly confused but the two are not interchangeable. The important distinguishment between lead and demand generation is the following:

• Lead generation: Develops an engaged audience into quality leads through tactics such as an exchange of details, in return for a product or information
• Demand generation: Aims to grow an audience by creating interest and awareness that will lead to future business

For more on the differences between lead and demand generation and how they can work together harmoniously, read our breakdown. →

Why is Lead Generation Important?

The benefits of lead generation are numerous and have greater implications than simply increasing revenue.

• Grow Your Market: Although tactics such as lead generation landing pages are typically targeted at specific groups, they can also provide marketers insight into potential opportunities. Engagement and trends identified in the lead generation process can be applied to new campaigns to expand a company’s selling market and improve lead generation ideas.
• New Business Opportunities: As companies grow their network and community with their library of content and various outbound lead generation techniques, they are more likely to attract potential partners. Partnerships with other B2B lead generation companies are mutually beneficial and typically revolve around the creation of collaborative content or lead generation tools that have the potential to increase conversions for both parties.
• Improved Lead Quality: By calibrating outbound lead generation and content marketing for specific groups, the quality of leads increases. This also allows companies to identify the most successful strategies to appeal to target segments as well as refine techniques to improve lead quality.
• Build Credibility: Successful B2B lead generation results in growth and creates the opportunity to collect reviews and feedback from clients for social proof. Credibility is everything and can be leveraged in future marketing campaigns to drive results and prospects through the lead generation funnel.

Which B2B Lead Generation Strategies Work?

B2B lead generation marketing is no different from any other marketing strategy. The most successful campaigns include both inbound and outbound lead generation ideas that are best suited to capture the attention of target accounts.

Below are six lead generation tips for creating a multi-faceted lead generation campaign that delivers results.

1. Content Marketing

Inbound content marketing is perfect for the lead generation process as it is an efficient vehicle for demonstrating the value that companies can bring to their clients, new and old, in the form of useful resources. This content is integral to lead nurturing and to help encourage new clients to purchase a specific product or service for their needs.

The higher the quality of the content, the better it demonstrates a company’s expertise and thought leadership in their space, resulting in more sales.

Strong content that successfully appeals to target accounts can be gated with lead generation forms that require an exchange of information for access.

As a result, the quality of content marketing is integral to the lead generation process. For content marketing to be successful and considered lead generation marketing, it needs to be carefully constructed and designed.

What is lead generation marketing?

Content marketing designed for online lead generation consists of common lead generation examples and formats such as articles, whitepapers, and case studies. Successful B2B lead generation companies align content creation and outbound lead generation with the needs and interests of a target audience.

Below are some lead generation ideas that go beyond the more typical examples of content:

Guest posts
Guest posts are a prime example of a mutually beneficial agreement for lead generation campaigns. By posting on third-party platforms, marketers can boost the reach of their content and take advantage of each platform’s pre-established audience.

Depending on guidelines, content can link back to proprietary websites and lead generation landing pages. As a result, guest posts have the potential to not only increase traffic to lead generation forms, but also to grow a company’s target market.

Webinars
With live events so severely affected by the changes in content consumption post-pandemic, on-demand webinars are an effective tool for online lead generation and content marketing campaigns. This allows viewers to consume content at a time that suits them and possibly more than once.

Webinars are a powerful form of lead generation marketing as they create value by dissecting trends
and discussing important topics, either with company industry experts or with guests from other organisations.

Webinars can also promote unique offers for attendees and encourage lead generation as a result.

Podcasts
In addition to their growing popularity in the B2B space, podcasts are excellent lead generation tools as they present another opportunity to present compelling industry knowledge.

The impact of podcasts can also be enhanced with industry expert guests who are able to break down important topics into easily digestible content. This can also boost the reach of podcasts, similarly to guest posts.

Their on-demand format makes them popular offline and as online lead generation marketing content for their ability to be consumed at any time of the day. Many webinars and their topics can also easily be repurposed into podcasts.

Infographics
Infographics are efficient lead generation tools for presenting important and complex information in an accessible way that captures and maintains the attention of leads.

Thanks to their format, infographics are perfect lead generation marketing content for creating discussions about important topics on social media. These posts are also great for sharing thought leadership content and linking back to lead generation forms.

Overall, infographics represent a unique opportunity for B2B lead generation marketing in a creative manner.

Repurposing content
Lead generation marketing can be edited and repurposed with relative ease. Repurposing allows content to be enhanced to suit the changing needs and interests of target markets. Smaller changes may include improvements to SEO features, optimising content for specific regions, or updating information to match current trends.

Existing and evergreen content that has been successful in the past may be suitable for repurposing and adapting to different formats, such as infographics or podcasts as mentioned previously.

Repurposed content can be efficient lead generation marketing as it has the potential to re-engage and qualify cold leads, nurture current leads, and expand target audiences if relaunched correctly.

Find out more about how INFUSE can help your business create effective lead generation content. →

2. Social Media

Social media platforms are integral to a B2B lead generation business as they provide direct contact with potential leads and lay the foundation for future relationships. Social media posts can be used for more than the promotion of content and can showcase company culture.

To boost LinkedIn lead generation, companies can leverage their executives as influencers to create regular thought leadership posts that encourage discussions and take advantage of their expansive networks.

By bringing the focus to the experts behind companies, posts become lead generation marketing that creates and nurtures interest in a more personal and relatable manner. This helps to drive more traffic to websites, content, and lead generation landing pages.

Whilst LinkedIn lead generation takes advantage of industry experts within an organisation, other social media platforms benefit lead generation campaigns with a plethora of different tools and formats. Instagram for example, helps to promote both video and images that can be used to appeal to specific target market groups.

For more social media and LinkedIn lead generation tips, read our definitive guide. →

3. Email Marketing

Emails are one of the most powerful forms of outbound lead generation as they provide companies with another way to connect with potential clients, on their time.

Emails can be created to distribute lead generation content to target audiences who may have demonstrated interest or already been collected in lead generation forms.

Any offers and promotions a company is running can be featured to improve email lead generation and can lead to fast-tracked sales.

In addition, emails can leverage contests and sweepstakes to drive leads through the lead generation funnel in a way that has the capacity to encourage additional interaction.

As potentially the first official point of contact, emails should be client-centric and carefully constructed to avoid being sent directly to spam. Data from interactions can be used to improve content and emails for future outbound marketing.

With the multiple possibilities of email marketing in mind, email lead generation campaigns require sales and marketing alignment to be truly successful.

4. Website Optimisation

Part of implementing successful online lead generation comes from website optimisation and the inclusion of lead generation tools. Below are a variety of lead generation examples for increasing website performance.

Landing pages: As landing pages are an essential part of B2B lead generation, optimisation is important to effectively drive traffic to lead generation forms.

Lead generation landing pages should include clear copy that appeals to visitors, eye-catching design, links to relevant content, and CTAs that promote interaction.

At the heart of an effective lead generation landing page is an attractive offer. This should be constructed with a specific target segment’s needs and interests in mind to be successful. If the offer is too general, then it is unlikely to be appealing.

Chatbots: As proprietary websites continue to expand with content and product pages, chatbots can be efficient B2B lead generation tools for guiding visitors to what they’re searching for and quickly.

Chatbots are built with AI and machine learning and can also be calibrated with lead definitions to accurately guide visitors through a variety of options that can streamline the lead generation process.

Their ability to provide 24/7 support to website visitors makes them valuable B2B lead generation tools, particularly for international lead generation companies that operate in multiple time zones across the globe.

Exit-intent pop-ups: Exit-intent pop-ups can be effective lead generation tools and have the power to ensure potential
leads or sales are not lost.

Before leaving a website, visitors are sent an exit-intent pop-up that is prompted by a JavaScript snippet that tracks the speed and movement of their mouse towards the upper page boundary.

These pop-ups make visitors an offer to capitalise on their initial interest. The offer could be a sign-up list for email newsletters, a discount, or a piece of content supported by credibility, such as the number of current subscribers for a newsletter.

Well-implemented intent pop-ups can be integral to B2B lead generation strategies.

SEO-focused content: SEO is imperative for successful B2B lead generation strategies. Thorough keyword research for content and website optimisation can help to yield more organic traffic, which in turn can boost lead generation campaigns.

Organic inbound lead generation also has the potential of expanding target markets and identifying valuable segments.

5. Optimized Distribution

To ensure that outbound lead generation strategies and content are successful, it is important to identify the correct channels of distribution for target audiences.

Each segment will have different preferences, interests, and emotional triggers that should be accounted for. Effective market segmentation can help to indicate the best channels.

In addition to implementing lead generation strategies across multiple channels, determining the correct time of day and day of the week for outreach is essential. This will also vary depending on different target audiences and should be regularly tested and adapted to yield the best results.

6. Finding The Right Lead Generation Partner

Implementing successful lead generation strategies can be a lengthy process full of trial and error that can be facilitated by partnering with B2B lead generation companies.

However, as there are a variety of different B2B lead generation services to choose from, it is important to distinguish which lead generation business stands to benefit your campaign the most.

Investigate their lead generation process, the different services they employ to deliver results, and company culture to determine if they make a good fit for your business. Credibility in the form of client reviews and prestigious awards are another indicator of quality B2B lead generation services.

Conclusion

B2B lead generation is complex and ever-changing. However, by focusing on key aspects of campaigns and partnering with lead generation businesses, companies can drive results and ultimately excel.

Our dedicated team at INFUSE develops effective lead generation strategies informed by multiple data sources to deliver our clients the best results possible.

Find out more about the lead generation services we provide. Let’s build successful strategies for your business together.

Get in touch at [email protected] →