6 Lead Nurturing Strategies for Reaching Beyond the Inbox

Data-driven marketing is the foundation of informing the development of iterative marketing campaigns and strategies to enable marketers to better reach their goals and innovate. This is especially true when considering full-funnel lead nurturing initiatives and implementing the workflows necessary to support seamless experiences for buyers.

Improved targeting and segmentation, as well as personalization and UX, are some of the other benefits derived from successfully executed data-driven marketing strategies. This section illustrates how different sources of data may enable marketers to diversify their lead nurturing strategies beyond the inbox in their nurturing strategies.

Targeted display ads leverage user email addresses to display different advertising according to the lead's unique properties and step in the buyer's journey.

However, it is important to implement this strategy with as much accuracy as possible to avoid being seen as invasive. Invite prospects to consume content specific to their persona, funnel stage, and pain points. For example, content designed to drive sales conversions is not apt for TOFU leads, as they are unlikely to convert. Instead, leverage short-form, informative assets that position your brand as a trustworthy solution provider.

On the other hand, MOFU leads are likely evaluating options and more open to longer-form content that touches on more product information. For this reason, content focused on product comparisons and features is highly valuable for leads in this stage. However, it is important to refrain from overly salesy language. MOFU leads are still considering multiple options and looking to identify the solution that provides the most business value, making this a top priority in messaging.

According to a 2022 GWI report, modern users spend an average of 2 hours and 26 minutes per day on social media. The same study informs that uncovering information on products and brands is reported by users to be the second highest reason for using LinkedIn, the platform most widely used by B2B marketers (93%).

LinkedIn supports this by sharing that up to 75% of B2B buyers rely on social media to inform purchase decisions (according to their studies). This emphasizes the importance of leveraging social media in B2B lead nurturing strategies, which can be done in a myriad of different ways.

This can be supported by the regular sharing of valuable content addressing common pain points and challenges, engaging with your current audience, and utilizing hashtags and keywords. In essence, the quality and accuracy of your content is a powerful driver of increasing your followership.

As for newsletter subscribers, exclusive access to content and insights that align with audience preferences and needs is a powerful way to earn their attention. Remember these assets should match the interests of your audience on social media platforms, which for most, will be prominently TOFU users following your pages as part of brand discovery. Sponsoring or partnering with relevant newsletters in your industry can also help you reach prospects in bigger, shared audiences.

Furthermore, most platforms offer paid advertising options that can be utilized to showcase your brand and content to targeted audiences. These solutions allow you to extend your reach beyond your follower base, attracting lookalike audiences aligned with your ICP and buyer personas. However, given the cost of this strategy, paid social initiatives must be informed by the latest lead intelligence data to support the best performance.

Additionally, social media platforms offer organizations the opportunity to implement community-building strategies. By engaging with followers and users who find posts through organic discovery in comments and online forums, companies can empower their digital presence and foster trust, by humanizing the brand and enhancing the overall experience.

Dynamic retargeting enables marketers to serve different ads to users according to their behavior on the company's website. This helps to engage prospects with ads specific to their interests. For example, product page views, products in abandoned shopping carts, or visits from cold leads can serve as a basis for this retargeting process.

For leads in the BOFU stage, special discounts and bundle offers can encourage them to complete a purchase. However, this should be supported by a sophisticated nurturing strategy to avoid communication being interpreted as pushy. Therefore, all retargeting initiatives must be based on a combination of lead scoring and intelligence on previous interactions, so as not to risk causing churn.

In essence, retargeting must be utilized as a method for enriching the lead’s brand experience with additional content, rather than pushing for a sale.

Via paid search advertising, companies can place their ads on relevant search engine result pages (SERPs). This approach is based on user email addresses and relevant keywords in search queries, allowing for personalized targeting.

This is also a cost-effective approach for securing performance, as most search engines operate ads via pay-per-click (PPC), through which companies pay only when users click on their ads.

This is a method to direct users to relevant nurturing content or particular product pages, depending on their buyer's journey stage, previous interactions, and other behavioral data. Search advertising can help existing prospects keep your brand top of mind while simultaneously paving the way for quality lead generation. With the right approach, it can also be used as a part of retargeting strategies.

ABX frameworks are built by incorporating insights collected from decision makers at target accounts to inform its strategies. Marketers implementing ABX must engage prospects who are actively researching and considering multiple solutions, and seek to promote meaningful experiences. The approach is capable of continuously meeting prospect needs via an ever-evolving buyer experience that caters to their needs, challenges, and behavior across the entirety of the sales process.

This is ever more important in a time in which buyers are increasingly independent with their research, with 75% of B2B buyers preferring to engage with sales experiences that do not involve SDRs. Accurate lead nurturing, therefore, becomes a must to properly educate your prospects and guide them throughout their buyer’s journey.